Do you like mushrooms? Would you like to grow-your-own? Come along to Rhyze Mushrooms Alchemy Workshop to learn to grow mushrooms on household waste.
Wednesday 12th October 3pm – 6pm at Granton Community Gardeners
Book your place by contacting Jules on 07517 109 319 or julesryan@pchp.org.uk
Research by Scottish Green MSP Alison Johnstone has revealed a mounting crisis in Lothian region for the increasingly popular idea of growing your own food. A Freedom of Information request has revealed that Lothian residents face waits of up to NINE YEARS for a council allotment.
Research has revealed that over 3000 people are on waiting lists across the region – Edinburgh’s current waiting list is 2773 – with the waiting time for sites varying from four to nine years with an average waiting time of four to five years.
The Greens add that some local authorities are opposing the idea of timescales and targets for providing allotments. Existing legislation says councils should provide allotments but it doesn’t specify any timescale, resulting in huge waiting lists – and this despite statistics showing a third of Scotland’s population lives within 500 metres of vacant land!
Alison Johnstone, Green MSP for Lothian and food spokesperson for the Scottish Greens (pictured above), said: “These figures suggest Scotland needs Right to Grow legislation in the same way we have seen community groups being given the right to buy land that comes up for sale. It is appalling that across Lothian than are over 3,000 people on waiting lists and probably hundreds more who feel it’s pointless putting their name down.
“It is hugely embarrassing that in East Lothian – known as the Garden of Scotland – there are over 300 people waiting yet the local authority doesn’t want to set timescales to reduce the lists. I will be looking for opportunities in the forthcoming Community Empowerment Bill to give control to the increasing numbers of people looking to grow their own food. The demand is there, the land is there and the benefits are obvious.”
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![Inverleith7[1]](https://i0.wp.com/nen.press/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/inverleith71.jpg?ssl=1)
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.
