Grown and raised in Springburn, North Glasgow, Emma has always had a passion for her local area. She started volunteering in Springburn at the age of 12, by getting involved in her local park. In 2017 she raised the funding for and built an outdoor classroom in Springburn park, the idea behind which was to ensure that local young people could have access to nature and outdoor learning as well as a place to sit in their local park.

From this Emma got involved in Springburn Community Council and helped lead the 2019 ‘Our Springburn – Shaping The Future Charrette’, where over 2,000 local people shared what they wanted in the local community. In order to carry out these findings she became vice chair of Spirit of Springburn SCIO, a community development charity which was set up in 2020. To ensure that young people were actively involved and listened to in the community, she set up Springburn Youth Forum in 2019.

One of Emma’s biggest achievements in these roles was to create the Springburn Bench Project, an outdoor seating area in Springburn for local people to use and get outdoors which has the only recycling facilities available in Springburn, as well as opportunities for community growing and biodiversity enhancement of the area. She has also lead the Springburn Community Street Festival for 3 years in a row with over 5,000 people in attendance, which is a highlight of the North Glasgow calendar.