Bridgend Allotments are an organic allotment site in the grounds of Craigmillar Castle Country Park, Edinburgh (one of the less well known Country Parks in central Scotland). The allotments are easily accessible from the main road and just next to a bus stop. For those outside the UK who aren't familiar with allotments, they're sites where people can rent an area of land in which they can grow their own vegetables and fruit (though many have limits on the number of fruit trees that can be grown). The whole Bridgend allotment site is organic and includes composting toilets, rainwater collection for most of the water supply, a small wildlife meadow and a communal hut in the middle of the site as well as a lot of very imaginative recycling, such as these mini-greenhouses made from old windows and waste wood:
Part of the site is set aside for the Bridgend Community Health Allotment, which runs a project to get people (particularly those who live in the local area) together to grow healthy organic food. Trained horticulturalists work with participants to help them grow food for themselves and to develop skills and self confidence.
This is an old post I'm recycling for Organic Fortnight.
Fantastic, I love the mini green houses. We have various community garden here, but nothing quite as set up as this, possibly ther is I just don't know about it...
ReplyDeletewow. This took some effort.
ReplyDeleteWe don't really have any community gardens in my neighborhood, but more toward the city centre, there are a couple of house lots that are used as garden plots by people.
In my neighborhood, most people have enough yard space to have their own gardens. Some compost, or buy the compost the city makes from recycled leaves and branches. But I don't think any of my neighbors have anything as spiffy as those mini greenhouses made from recycled stuff.
(Oh, and collecting rainwater is rather pointless here.)
I am impressed. And isn't Craigmiller one of those neighborhoods with sort of a rough reputation? Maybe this will get a few young people interested in something productive.
What a cool idea using the windows!
ReplyDeleteThere are lots of community gardens in Victoria, a larger city down island but none here that I'm aware of.
the previous comments here are old ones from when I first published the post
ReplyDeleteI don't remember this post anyway!
ReplyDeleteI love the new banner.
It bears repeating!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting! We don't have community gardens here..
ReplyDeleteOur Kookaburras are a type of kingfisher - very sharp beaks for 'fishing' - ours laugh like a crazed ghost and make you feel inferior - hahaha (we have heaps around here).
ReplyDeleteHey - my comment went on the wrong post - sorry bout that :)
ReplyDelete