Edinburgh College community garden scoops national award

Edinburgh College is celebrating after winning a national award last night (28 November) for its community garden, thanks to its outstanding contribution to the wellbeing needs of the college and the local community.

The community garden won first place in the Health and Wellbeing category at theCollege Development Network Annual Awards (CDNAA) at an awards dinner at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Glasgow. The college also won a Highly Commended award for its electric vehicle project and a Commended award for its innovative induction programme for new students.

Designed to recognise the talent, skills and achievements of colleges, their staff and students, the College Development Network Annual Awards provide a valuable opportunity to celebrate the exceptional projects and initiatives taking place in colleges across Scotland.

The judges were impressed with the far-reaching effects and benefits of the garden, including everything from the positive impact on sustainability for the college as a whole to the improved mental, physical and emotional health of the gardeners.

Based at the college’s Milton Road campus, the garden was established inSeptember 2012 to transforman area of previously unused land into a green space for staff, students and the local community to enjoy the outdoors and work together to grow plants, vegetables and fruit. The main aim of this was to encourage a healthier lifestyle, promote outdoor activity and encourage a more environmentally friendly way of producing food locally.

Since the opening of the green space, the community garden has come on leaps and bounds over a short period of time, with more than 160 students, staff and community groups using the facilities. Fifty individuals grow their own fruit and vegetables in the garden’s plots while groups such as Sikh Sanjog, a local charity that supports women and their families from the Sikh and minority ethnic communities, have used the garden as a social space.

Harriet Cross, sustainability coordinator at Edinburgh College, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to have won theCollege Development Network Annual Awards for the Milton Road community garden. Our community garden has been a hugely popular resource for the students, staff and the local community and it’s fantastic for it to be recognised by a national awards body.

“Gardening enables individuals to pause and reflect on events happening in their life and I think this is why it has had such a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of the garden users. Not only does the garden promote healthy eating and focus on the importance of where our food comes from but it also gives people the time to chat and socialise with like-minded people. The garden coordinator, Severine Monvoisin, has led the garden project and completed a course to enable her to use listening skills to give appropriate responses when individuals open up and talk about personal matters while gardening.”

Severine Monvoisin, garden coordinator at Edinburgh College, said: “We have seen huge improvements in the confidence levels of students using the garden. It gives them a sense of purpose and accomplishment. For example, a student with special needs required help to change into gardening wear and this made her very reluctant to use the garden. However, after a few months, she started to work with her peers taking on tasks she could achieve, such as weeding and planting seeds, and this gave her confidence in her own abilities. She now no longer requires any help to put on her gardening outfit and regularly uses the outdoor space.”

The success of the Milton Road community garden has sparked another green space project at the college’s campus in Sighthill, which is currently under development. The unused acre-sized area of land at the Sighthill campus will be supported byCarr Gomm, a charity that supports vulnerable people through personal, practical and professional help. By involving community groups at the very beginning of the project, the college hopes the community garden will be a valuable and integral part of the local area.

As well as receiving the top award in the Health and Wellbeing category at theCDNA Awards, Edinburgh College was awarded the Highly Commended prizefor its electric vehicle research project in the Sustainability category. The college operates and monitors a fleet of electric vehicles and is conducting research into their environmental viability. The scheme – a partnership with SEStran, Edinburgh Napier University and Mitsubishi Phoenix – has gone from strength to strength and is now the largest of its kind in Scotland.

The creative arm of the college was also under the spotlight at the awards ceremony thanks to an innovative induction programme for new students developed by students themselves. The Creative Industries team picked up a Commended award for its project, which involves students being given responsibility for developing induction activities for new students. The scheme was set up to ensure inductions are as well-tailored for students as possible.

Pictured top: Severine Monvoisin, garden coordinator at Edinburgh College and Harriet Cross, sustainability coordinator at Edinburgh College.

Pictured above: Garden users at the Milton Road community garden.

Featured image: The Milton Road community garden under construction in 2012.

Free compost at Broughton High School today

The City Council is giving away free bags of compost in Edinburgh today (15 May) to thank residents for recycling using the garden waste recycling service. The local venue is Broughton High School’s car park, where bags of compost stocks will be handed out from 3.30pm until stocks are exhausted. Please note that access must be from Fettes Avenue, NOT East Fettes Avenue.

You can claim one 20kg bag at the event, but supplies are limited so it will be on a first come first served basis – and be aware that the bags are heavy so please be prepared! The council’s recycling team will be on hand to provide information on all recycling services.

The compost is made from the materials collected in the garden waste bin, to find out more please visit the city council’s garden waste page.

Botanics plant sale’s on Sunday

Summer’s supposedly here, and this Sunday provides your annual chance to purchase from an enviable collection of plants at truly wonderful prices. Organised by the Friends of RBGE, there’s also the Connoisseurs Collection and the Home Baking Stall.

The sale takes place from 2 – 4pm at the RBGE Nursery, Inverleith Avenue South. Admission is £3 (Members free).

Blackhall Plant Sale this Saturday

Blackhall Horticultural Society Sale this Saturday

The Annual Plant Sale is on Saturday 11 May from 10am – 12noon at Blackhall St Columba’s Church. Great variety of top quality plants at low prices – and there’s teas and coffees too.

Note that the Society’s AGM takes will be held on Monday 13 May at 7.45pm in the small hall.

Minister pledges support for community growing schemes

Scotland’s growing Grow Your Own movement was given extra support by Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead during a visit to Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre this morning. The minister was impressed by the Centre’s Drylaw and Telford Community Gardens project, and after meeting some enthusiastic volunteers Mr Lochhead endorsed the workings of the Grow Your Own Working Group.

Made possible through Climate Challenge Funding, Drylaw’s community gardens project has now been running for three years and – like the healthiest of plants – has continued to thrive. From small beginnings the project has flourished and now encompasses two orchards and vegetable and flower beds at Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre, along with a number of patches of once unused and unwanted across the area which have been transformed. And it’s not only flowers and vegetables that have flourished – the number of volunteers involved in the gardening project has grown too, and the group has supported te development of gardening projects at nearby Ferryhill and Rowanfield schools.

Richard Lochhead met Centre staff and volunteers to talk about the project before going on to plant some tatties with Brendan and Brandon, two green-fingered helpers from Rowanfield School. He also met members of the Centre’s enthusiastic gardening group who proudly displayed their recenty-created willow tunnel.

The Minister said: ” There are so many benefits to projects like this one, and I am really very encouraged and impressed by what I’ve seen in Drylaw today. It’s been great to see the contribution of the staff and the enthusiasm of the volunteers and it would be great to see these ideas replicated all over Scotland. I’ve also learned some posh new recipe ideas from some of the young volunteers, so well done to everyone involved!”

Mr Lochhead’s support for community initiatives like Drylaw Community Gardens follows the launch of a consultation on simplifying and overhauling Scotland’s allotment rules, and there are three meetings taking place for people to air their views – in Inverness, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Twenty seven recommendations were made in a report from the Grow Your Own Working Group (GYOWG) that covered six key themes: planning, legal, skills, community land, guidance and funding. The GYOWG has been working collaboratively with the Scottish Government and other partners to deliver these recommendations.

Mr Lochhead said: “More and more people are looking to get their hands dirty by getting back to nature and growing their own food. Growing your own food allows people to eat the fruits of their own labour and understand where their food comes from – a topic which is high on the agenda at the moment. The work of the Grow Your Own Working Group is making it easier for people to do this by pulling people together to develop best practice and practical advice, and encouraging more people and groups to get involved.”

David Jamieson, Chair of the Grow Your Own Working Group, said: “The wonderful garden in Drylaw is an excellent example of a community making the most of their local space to get active and grow food. We are delighted that Mr Lochhead is able to see for himself the fruits of their labour, and really pleased that the Scottish Government is doing so much to encourage communities across Scotland to do likewise.”

Cammy Day is vice-convener of the city council’s Health and Wellbeing Committee as well as being a member of Drylaw’s management committee. He said: “The health benefits associated with community growing include providing exercise in the open air – exercise which we can take at our own pace and therefore suitable for all ages; it helps to relieve stress and is of proven benefit to mental health and wellbeing. Locally produced food also contributes to healthy eating and helps to combat the risks of obesity and sedentary lifestyles. It also helps to reduce our carbon footprint, so contributes in a small way to the battle against climate change.”

He added: “The Community garden project has been a great success and it’s been a real community initiative that’s gone from strength to strength. I’d like to thank Roy (Douglas) and the staff and management committee at Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre, particularly Elizabeth (Graham) and her team of volunteers for all the hard work and effort they have put in.”

Jason Rust, also a city councillor, is legal adviser to Scottish Land & Estates. He added: “We are keen to see partnership working with public, private and community landowners making further land available for allotment sites and community growing spaces, and for awareness of the range of advantages to be increased. Drylaw is a great example of what can be achieved.”

The Edinburgh allotment consultation meeting will be held on

Thursday 16 May from 2 – 4pm in Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, EH11 3XD.

For more information about growing your community, contact the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens on 0131 623 7058, email scotland@farmgarden.org.uk or visit the website www.farmgarden.org.uk

You can also visit Drylaw & Telford Community Gardens on Facebook

Growing demand produces allotment consultation

Scotland’s Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead has launched a consultation to consider the shape of future allotment legislation following the announcement of Government plans to simplify and overhaul Scotland’s allotment rules.

Among the questions being asked are: should councils be required to provide people in their area within a specified timeframe? And should councils have a duty to provide a specific number of allotments in their area per head of population?

Mr Lochhead said: “Growing your own food is continuing to grow in popularity in Scotland and this goes hand in hand with an increasing desire to know where our food comes from. Allotments provide a range of benefits including better health, an opportunity to learn new skills, and an understanding of where food comes from – not forgetting the chance to eat the fruits of your labour.

“We’re committed to helping people to grow their own food and this consultation will consider what changes should be made to the existing legislation to make it simpler and fit for today’s community needs. Many communities have expressed a desire to get back to nature and more involved with growing their own food and that’s exactly what we’re working to make possible.”

The consultation runs until Friday 24 May.

Get Edinburgh growing at Botanics

Next weekend sees the launch of an exciting new initiative at the Botanic Gardens:

Do you want to grow your own food but don’t have a plot and can’t wait for an allotment? Do you have a garden that you can’t look after or that you would like to share and meet new people? Come and find out more about Edinburgh Garden Partners and start your partnership. Free fun activities, all ages welcome and no booking required.

Where: Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh’s Real Life Science Studio, John Hope Gateway

When: . Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 April from 1pm — 4pm

Get together to grow together

Edinburgh Garden Partners is a local charity that works with all Edinburgh City residents and aims help regardless of difficulties with health or wealth. They help those who have gardens but are unable to maintain them; the most common reasons are poor physical/mental health, struggling for time and lack of knowledge. The charity supports individuals by helping them to find a volunteer gardener from the bank of volunteers it recruits.

Any matches made are mutually beneficial, the garden owner receives help to keep the garden tidy and attractive and the volunteer is allocated a place in the garden where they can grow vegetables and/or soft fruits. Both people involved in the match often share the fresh food and in time they will often begin to share good times together in and around the garden.

These matches have all sorts of benefits for those involved, such as increasing fitness, gaining gardening knowledge, decreasing social isolation and better connecting communities.

Edinburgh Garden Partners have many years of matching and supporting Edinburgh residents in garden sharing, they’ve shown it to be safe and an enjoyable way to grow food and maintain the garden.

Nancy is 89 years old and her husband 2 years her senior, their house has a large garden that was once full of flowers and vegetables. Five years ago they were forced to turf over the veg patch and scale back what flowers they were growing due to loss of mobility. For Nancy, this was a sad moment as she enjoyed fresh food and was proud of her productive garden.

It was a relief when she found that there was a specific service that could help. Edinburgh Garden Partners matched her with Abby, a woman who lived only a 15-minute walk away. Abby has been on the allotment waiting list for the last 3 years and she was keen to get started as soon as possible.

Now, Nancy and Abby often chat out in the garden and talk about how the crops are doing. Abby gets all the practical experience she needs to learn how to grow her own food and is confident that when she does get an allotment she’ll know where to start. For Nancy, she now has the joy of seeing her garden as she likes and enjoying the fresh tomatoes from it once again.

The charity currently has four partnerships in this part of Edinburgh and there are others looking for both gardens to grow in and for volunteers to help. If you’d like to volunteer your garden or your time then please call 0131 220 5067 or email info@edinburghgardenpartners.org.uk

Edinburgh Garden Partners

EGP logo

Green award for Drylaw gardeners

Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre is being celebrated by national environmental volunteering charity, The Conservation Volunteers. As part of the charity’s regional Green Heroes Awards, Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre is being recognised for the positive environmental impact it has made in Edinburgh.

Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre was presented with the Community Award and was chosen for their outstanding commitment to volunteering and inspiring positive environmental change in Edinburgh with The Conservation Volunteers.

Elizabeth Graham, Community Engagement Coordinator at Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre (picured above, left) said: “Our volunteers put a lot of hard work and enthusiasm into the gardening project so it is great for this to be recognised by TCV. Everyone is welcome to come and help in the garden so we are a diverse group of people and everyone plays their part. Our main focus this year, thanks to funding from Scottish Natural Heritage, has been recording the species we have and building on this to increase the biodiversity of the area.”

Through their involvement in local conservation projects, Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre has created a wildflower meadow, planted a wildlife hedge, worked with two local schools to help them grow their own, and planted two community-managed orchards.

The Conservation Volunteers’ Green Heroes Awards recognise winners from six categories: Partnership, Volunteer of the Year, Project Leader, Community, Green Skills and European awards.

Chris Peach, TCV Scotland who nominated Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre said: “We’re delighted to be acknowledging Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre who has given such an enormous amount of time and energy to conservation in Edinburgh. Without Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre providing their unwavering support and commitment we would not be able to enjoy the green spaces in Edinburgh we love and use every day. We hope that by highlighting the work of Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre, it will inspire others to get involved in protecting the green spaces in Edinburgh and ensure that they remain here for future generations to enjoy.”

For more information about the Conservation Volunteers’ Green Heroes Awards visit: www.tcv.org.uk

Gardening session by Royal Appointment!

Fancy getting your hands mucky this weekend?

The Friends of King George V are planning to do some gardening on Saturday (weather permitting). The group will meet at 10am to add some new shrubs in the bed by Logan Street and to plant some bluebells donated by the city council. Bring a trowel, spade or fork if you can, but the Friends also have tools to share.

Interested? Email andy@kgvsy.org.uk