Scotland: Midlothian volunteers transform barren wasteland into community garden sanctuary
An abandoned piece of land that had become disused and covered in litter was transformed by a group of volunteers made up of all ages and backgrounds over the space of a year.
By Jacob Farr
Edinburgh Live
Feb 17, 2024
Excerpt:
Volunteers of all ages and backgrounds teamed up to transform the 1150 sqm area into a community garden, landscaping and building a space that includes a 20ft greenhouse, two gazebos, an orchard of apple and cherry trees, a willow den, a pond, a children’s play area, beehives and wildlife homes for bats, hedgehogs and frogs.
It has also played host to a number of successful events including the King’s Coronation celebrations and a Halloween pumpkin-picking party.
“By exchanging knowledge and experience with other more established community gardens, it’s opened our eyes as to what is possible with further support and funding,” Laura Joyce, the community garden designer and volunteer co-ordinator said.
“Ideally, we would love to appoint an employed worker that could open the garden more often and coordinate group access so the garden could be utilised to the fullest.”
Newtongrange Guerrilla Gardeners – a voluntary group formed in 2021 – had a vision of brightening up the village, making it a greener and more welcoming place for all.
The aim is to provide an opportunity for locals to work together to transform public spaces and boost the well-being of all villagers.
Within days of publishing the proposed garden design, the Newtongrange Guerrilla Gardeners were inundated with people wanting to help – either by donating spare garden tools, furniture, bulbs, and plants or by giving up their time to dig, weed, sow, and grow.
A team of up to 30 volunteers now tend to the garden on a twice-weekly basis, growing a wide range of fruit and vegetables which are distributed free of charge to the local community via The Pantry.
