Today (22nd October), 587 community groups across Scotland are celebrating a share of £19.3 million from The National Lottery Community Fund. The funding set to power up local projects comes as the National Lottery prepares to celebrate its 30th birthday next month.
Across Edinburgh, 55 groups are picking up grants totalling £1.7 million. Among them are Citadel Youth Centre in Leith (£166,909), CHAI (£73,120) LifeCare in Stockbridge (£40,696) and Granton’s Empty Kitchens Full Hearts (£19,972).
From historic walled gardens to derelict playgrounds, some of the successful projects will help people reconnect with nature and each other.
They include Friends of Granton Castle Walled Garden who receive £10,000 to host events and gardening sessions at this unique historic site.
Local people have campaigned for eleven years to save the abandoned medieval garden from commercial development. The last vestiges of a once grand estate (the 15th century castle collapsed in 1928), the garden itself had been neglected, for decades.
Like the plot from the beloved children’s novel “The Secret Garden”, Isla Brown led a group of local volunteers, to re-discover and to revive the lost garden of Granton.
“It was thrilling to finally have the keys. When we opened the gate the garden was completely covered with bindweed and brambles. It was so overgrown that it felt like walking into a small woodland, though the old paths remained clear enough to guide us through the wild.”
Isla and her team immediately set about reviving the Garden.
“We’ve planted apple trees as part of our efforts to restore the garden’s fruit-growing heritage. As a botanist, I’ve identified and catalogued the wildflowers that naturally grow here and we make a concerted effort to ensure none are lost as we work to increase biodiversity.
“Bees and butterflies are also thriving in the garden.
“It’s surprising how many people say they never knew the garden was here because it’s so hidden from view. It really is a secret garden. We also harvest produce from the garden and donate it to local organizations like Pilton Community Health Project and Fresh Start, who use the food for community meals.”
The garden may have been lost in the twentieth century but a hundred and sixty years ago, the “lost Garden of Granton” was very much on the map. Isla said.
“We have records of tourists arriving by boat in Granton, staying at a nearby hotel, and visiting the garden. We even have a 17th-century doocot (dovecote) on the site.
“The first gardening manual published in Scotland, The Scots Gardner (1683), includes detailed instructions for setting up a kitchen garden. We’ve tried to follow some of those instructions ourselves, adding a historical twist to our modern gardening efforts.
“Looking to the future, we’d love to plant more native flowers, like snowdrops and primroses, and continue caring for the lovely old roses that date back to the garden’s market garden era. This place has an incredibly rich history, and it’s delightful to see it coming back to life.”
Mental health support charity Growing Matters also acquired a lease on an historic walled garden attached to Gilmerton House, an 18th-century estate in East Lothian.
Today, the charity receives an award of £10,100 to build a pond which they plan to supply with fresh water by restoring a historic well on the site. Once completed the pond will enhance the garden’s biodiversity and host pond dipping sessions for local children.
The once verdant Victorian garden had been left wild and neglected for decades. Once they got the keys in 2016 the group quickly set to work clearing the brambles and bringing the garden back to life.
Gary Biggar, 59, is one of the volunteers helping to regenerate the garden. He said: “The garden has become a safe haven for many in the community.
“Our project offers a tranquil, non-judgmental space where people can reconnect with nature and build mental resilience. After the sessions, we gather for tea and cake and a chat. It’s a chance for people to come together and not feel isolated.”
Gary like many of the volunteers loves learning about the history of the garden: “We discovered an old report from the Caledonian Horticultural Society, dating back to 1885. It detailed an apple and pear congress in Edinburgh where a gardener from Gilmerton presented a new apple variety, named Lady Kinloch, which was met with high praise. This suggests that the garden likely had an orchard in the past.”
With a focus on sustainability the group have added several features to the garden including a herb garden, alongside vegetable plots, a polytunnel, a native tree forest and a bee area with six hives. They have also built an open-fronted craft shelter, where they host workshops in willow weaving and beekeeping.
Commenting on the funding Gary said: “None of this would have been possible without the support of National Lottery funding.
“We celebrated this achievement with our community during our recent open day, marking the occasion with flags and festivities.”
Disability charity, get2gether are another of the lucky groups. They have secured an incredible £195,000 to run social events, exercise classes and workshops for adults with disabilities.
The group works to reduce social isolation and increase the resilience, emotional wellbeing and self-determination of its members.
Natalie aged, 37, regularly attends events hosted by the group. Natalie said: “Before joining get2gether I was stuck in a pretty lonely, confusing and isolated life.
“My life has changed in so many amazing ways since joining. I now have a supportive community around me where I’m seen as a whole person. get2gether gave me a safe space to learn who I am and recognise my worth.
“Since joining get2gether I have gained some huge achievements that I never thought possible for me. I am now doing a college course. I never thought I’d be able to do that. The group has made me realise that I do have a future and a place in the world. I have so many good things to say about get2gether, it’s hard to get it across. It has changed my life.”
Commenting on today’s funding from The National Lottery Community Fund Director of get2gether, Mojca Becaj said: “This funding enables us to continue creating inclusive and accessible social events that foster connections and empower adults with disabilities to lead fulfilling lives.
“Thanks to the Lottery funding, we can further enhance our members confidence and increase community engagement, making a real and lasting impact on our members’ lives.”
The Royal Scots Regimental Trustwere also recipients of funding, being awarded £2,982 to create an interactive exhibition in partnership with Hearts Football Club.
The exhibition will explore the local people including Hearts players who were impacted by the First World War. The exhibition will be held at Tynecastle in the European Suite and will support the football club’s 150th celebrations.
Colonel Martin Gibson OBE DL, Lead from The Royal Scots Museum Outreach Teamcame up with the idea for the project. “I was determined to reach out from our Regimental Museum in Edinburgh Castle to engage with the Edinburgh community, by telling the unique story of The Royal Scots 373 years of service.
“Hosted by Hearts FC as part of the Club’s 150th Celebrations, our interactive exhibition focussed on soldiers stories, many who were from the local area. Visitors of all ages came along and were reminded of the close synergy between the Regiment and Hearts, originating from the outbreak of the Great War in 1914 when Hearts players were the first to be allowed to enlist, and the famous McRae’s Battalion was raised in Edinburgh. The National Lottery funding enabled our dedicated team of volunteers to design and produce real quality displays.”
Retired Regimental Sergeant Major, Gordon Lumsden, 73, from West Lothiancontributed to the exhibition.“I shared my military story with the really interested visitors who clearly enjoyed the exhibition experience.
“It was good to bring our story to the heart of where we used to recruit. I met several people from our former recruiting area whose family had served in The Royal Scots.”
Announcing the £19.3 million package of grants, Kate Still, Scotland Chair of The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “This November, the National Lottery celebrates its 30th birthday. For three decades, communities have come together, supporting one another and transforming lives through National Lottery funding—a truly inspiring achievement.
“National Lottery players can take pride in knowing that their contributions have helped groups like get2gether and The Royal Scots Regimental Trust to support people to lead more fulfilling and connected lives.”
National Lottery players raise over £30 million a week for good causes across the UK. Thanks to them, last year (2023/24) The National Lottery Community Fund awarded over half a billion pounds (£686.3 million) of life-changing funding to communities across the UK, supporting over 13,700 projects to turn their great ideas into reality.
Despite leaving North Edinburgh for the bright lights in London when she was only 17, Linda never forgot where she came from and was very proud of North Edinburgh , its people and the community’s long history of fighting injustice (writes LYNN McCABE).
She felt very strongly about inequality and social justice and although she had a comfortable life and could have spent her retirement years with her feet up, she chose to get involved in her old community and do what she could to try to improve things.
She was passionate about education and was a great advocate for lifelong learning and signed up for a variety of courses which covered some of the topics she was interested in including Scottish history, politics, the Scots language and the arts. Even when she wasn’t attending a class, she was always researching something and was keen to share her learning with others.
She joined the Power to the People group in 2012, a new project developed by local activists who wanted to study the history of protest in Scotland through the arts. It was a perfect fit for Linda with her passion for politics, Scottish history and the arts.
The class ran for a number of years and brought together people who were new to activism as well as people who had been involved in community politics and the trade unions.
Linda was really interested in listening to everyone’s views but was more than capable of holding her own during the many heated debates that took place each week!
Through the years, the focus of the class moved from studying the history of protest to actually taking part in protests! Members of the Power to the People group got involved in many local issues including cuts to local services and the campaign to stop the eviction of local families from their homes.
Linda was at the heart of these protests helping to design placards and banners and was actively involved in a sit-in at the local housing office and a protest that ended up taking over Ruth Davidson’s constituency office. She also took part in numerous protests outside the city chambers every year in response to proposals to cut vital local services.
Having exhausted the subject of the history of protest in Scotland over a 2 year period, Linda and her class mates from the Power to the People group decided it was time to undertake another research project where the focus was closer to home.
This project was going to focus on North Edinburgh’s history and would cover some of the big industrial, housing and political changes in the area over the last century. It turned out that there was too many interesting things which they felt could not be missed out so the history timeline began with the Roman encampment in Cramond!
The information the group unearthed was fascinating and highlighted how central North Edinburgh was to Scotland’s history.
On the completion of this research, Linda and a few other folk from the group decided their next priority would be to promote North Edinburgh’s hidden history and over a number of years they developed heritage walks, a history hub down at Madelvic and led a successful campaign to protect and restore the Granton Castle Walled Garden.
Linda remained actively involved in all these projects even as her health deteriorated and was instrumental in helping to preserve the area’s cultural heritage.
Another passion of Linda’s was arts and culture. She felt strongly about the need for the arts to be accessible to everyone. She was a regular visitor at the city’s art galleries and kept her eye out for new exhibitions and cultural events which were heading to Edinburgh.
She was quick to share this information with all the groups and projects she was connected with which ensured that local folk from didn’t miss out.
Linda was very good with her hands and was one of the stitchers involved in creating the Prestonpans tapestry, The Diaspora Tapestry for the Homecoming and the Great Tapestry of Scotland.
She almost succeeded in convincing her friends from North Edinburgh to embark on a new project called the Great Tapestry of North Edinburgh which was going to cover key historical events and famous people associated with North Edinburgh. Everyone was really excited about the idea of this project, until they realised that they were going to have to be involved in doing the stitching!
Despite a really positive meeting with Andrew Crummy who had designed the other tapestries, the consensus amongst the group was that it was a good idea but none of them were likely to be alive to see the tapestry completed so sadly that project didn’t come to pass!
Another passion of Linda’s was womens’ rights and so on Wednesday afternoons she would catch up with her pals from the Women’s International Group (WIG) who ran a programme of informal learning opportunities for local women.
The group also organised numerous events including womens’ health and well-being days, hustings, and public meetings on local issues and made history when they became the first singing deputation at a full council meeting.
Being local women, the Women’s International Group were well aware of all the strong North Edinburgh women who had came before them and made a point of celebrating their achievements and the achievements of inspirational women from around the world at their annual international womens day events.
Linda was always at the heart of these gatherings and did presentations, took her turn at chairing the event, read poetry but was equally happy to do the register or make the tea and coffee.
Linda’s passion for her community continued through the last few years of her life. She would regularly email me funding information or links to materials which she thought would be useful.
Despite her health issues, she remained interested in what was happening in North Edinburgh and regularly shared words of support and encouragement to the friends she had made in the community over the years.
Linda was most definitely a North Edinburgh ‘wummin’ through and through and will be missed by all who knew her.
We were incredibly saddened to learn about the death of our dear friend Linda Garcia (writes GILLEAN PATERSON, Chair of Friends of Granton Castle Walled Garden)
Linda was one of the founder members of the campaign to save the Walled Garden back in 2013. She played a crucial role with her knowledge of Granton and the various local organisations in which she was active.
She was always determined, cheerful and very well informed despite all the setbacks we faced over the 4 years it took to come to an agreement with Edinburgh Council, whereby the Friends group would officially look after the garden.
She brandished petitions, approached shoppers in Morrisons and passersby on the waterfront path, lobbied the council and always brought along snacks and drinks to our regular meetings.
Once we were in the garden Linda played a crucial role as a volunteer gardener and trustee. She always had wise counsel regarding how we planned to involve the community in the Walled Garden project, particularly older and isolated local residents.
She was also up to the minute with other great ideas such as getting funding for outdoor exercise equipment and vertical wind turbine generators.
She also enjoyed the practical side of rescuing the garden from wilderness and managed to be elegantly dressed even when pulling up endless weeds.
Gillean Paterson (Chair of Granton Castle Walled Garden)
Save the date! Come and enjoy all of the abundance in our garden on the 23rd September.
If you want to bring your own fruit and veg to share and show off then please do!
There will be wonderful singing led by Penny Stone from 2:30-3:30pm so be sure not to miss it, our singing at our wassailing earlier in the year has worked wonderfully on our apple trees!
There will be a garden tour, produce to take home, berry picking, refreshments and good chat. Our gardener @alex.juliette will also have some drop spindles to try your hand at wool spinning in preparation for autumn.
Lots to see and do, share around with your family and friends and we hope to see you there!
A newly upgraded walking, wheeling and cycling path, which provides a vital link in the north of Edinburgh, has been officially named after a famous explorer who once studied in the area.
Speirs Bruce Way was formally opened yesterday (Friday, 30 June) and celebrates the accomplishments of William Speirs Bruce, a late 19th/early 20th century scientist known for his expeditions to Antarctica and who studied at the Scottish Marine Station for Scientific Research in Granton.
The core path in Edinburgh’s Granton Waterfront connects the heart of the neighbourhood with public transport links and shops along with Granton Beach, the future cultural and leisure offering at West Shore Studios, the promenade and a planned coastal park. Speirs Bruce Way will also serve a future housing development to the west of the path.
Plans for the wider regeneration of the area to make Granton Waterfront a new sustainable coastal town for Edinburgh include 3,500 net zero homes, a new primary school and lots of green and open spaces.
Councillor Scott Arthur, Transport and Environment Convener, said: “This major upgrade has not only brought a key walking, wheeling and cycling route back into use, but has created a much more accessible and safe space for people to spend time, whether travelling with a wheelchair, using a buggy or out for a jog.
“Today I was delighted to help officially open the path, which recognises the area’s former student and pioneering explorer, scientist and oceanographer William Speirs Bruce.
“Our £1.3bn regeneration of Granton Waterfront is one of the largest and most ambitious projects of its kind in Scotland. Improving connectivity and strengthening active travel links is central to this, and our wider ambitions to achieve net zero by 2030, reduce kms travelled by car and to create a safer, more sustainable and pleasant transport future for Edinburgh.”
Simon Strain, Head of Places for Everyone Programme at Sustrans Scotland, said: “This upgraded route is an important achievement for Granton Waterfront.
“The Speirs Bruce Way greatly improves the link between Waterfront Avenue and West Shore Road with a path that is suitable for all to use, whilst also enhancing connections to the nearest bus stops and the Waterfront Broadway local centre.
“By making it safer and easier for residents and visitors to the area to walk, wheel and cycle we hope that many more people will have the confidence to leave the car at home when making their everyday journeys.
“We’re grateful to the City of Edinburgh Council and local community members for their hard work and considered input which has helped make this project a success.”
Upgrades include widening the path to provide space for both pedestrians and cyclists, the installation of new lighting and path access improvements at the north end where it meets West Shore Road.
As well as providing a key north-south link, Speirs Bruce Way passes by the 17th century Caroline Park House, the remnants of Granton Castle to the east and the boundary wall of the former Granton Gasworks to the west.
A Historic Environment Scotland plaque has been installed to commemorate Sir Thomas Hope (Lord Advocate to King Charles I) who lived at Granton Castle.
Through Places for Everyone, the Scottish Government has granted Stage 0-2 funding for further projects in relation to Phase 1 of the Granton Waterfront Regeneration, on which an initial planning consultation is currently underway.
Designs for the upgraded path were produced by WSP, with construction carried out by Mackenzie Construction.
Come join us for wassailing at Granton Castle Walled Garden on the 19th February from 2 – 4pm. There will be activities, songs and refreshments all inspired by the wonderful apple trees.
Wassailing is an anglo-saxon tradition where the fruit trees are blessed with offerings of song, food and drink to encourage them to provide a bountiful harvest.
We will gather together and give the trees of our orchard a much needed cheer and scare away all of the bad spirits! Bring along some friends and family, and perhaps make yourself a lovely apple themed crown to wear.
Cash donations are appreciated but not required, if you have any questions please ask!
and we’ll offer taster yoga sessions 
and much more!