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Call for volunteers as charity reveals mental health benefits

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  • The ‘high’ from volunteering found to be as great as ‘runner’s high’

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Fort Kinnaird volunteers deliver garden makeover at Craigmillar community centre

The gardens at Caring in Craigmillar’s community centre have been given a new lease of life thanks to a team of volunteers from Fort Kinnaird.

Caring in Craigmillar offers support services to elderly, disabled and vulnerable members of the local community. Service users are collected from their homes and brought to the care centre where they enjoy tea, lunch and a programme of activities, which often take place in the garden.

Fort Kinnaird Deputy Centre Manager Lindy Watson recently attended a meeting at Caring in Craigmillar and saw the opportunity to transform the garden into a space that was welcoming and inspiring for the centre’s community.

She then invited property and construction consultants from Gleeds and Thomas & Adamson, who work on site at Fort Kinnaird, to join a team of staff from the retail centre to makeover the garden.

Lindy Watson said: “We are extremely proud to have worked together to transform the garden at Caring in Craigmillar.

 “The centre does an incredible job of looking after the most vulnerable people in our local community, so donning some gardening gloves and picking up some tools was the least we could do.

“We hope the Caring in Craigmillar community enjoy the new space, and feel inspired and very much at home in the garden.”

The project involved the creation of new landscaped spaces, including the installation of a healing path with rock borders, as well as a general clean-up and planting.

Kellie Mercer, Manager at Caring in Craigmillar said: “Everyone at Caring in Craigmillar would like to thank the volunteers who gave their time effort and put in so much hard work to help us achieve a lovely space for our members.

“It has made a huge difference for our members who now enjoy spending time in the garden.

“Some of our members are no longer able to get outside in their own gardens at home, so with your help we have achieved a fabulous bright and safe space for everyone to enjoy.”