Green shoots for community growth - by Lorna McNiven, Big Blog Scotland
This week it’s National Gardening Week, so we thought we’d share with you this amazing project in Glasgow which has been using its green fingers to improve the local community.
The Woodlands Community Development Trust, (WCDT), focuses on the long-term regeneration of the Woodlands area; both environmentally and economically. They offer local residents an opportunity to take part in both horticulture activities and development of the area.
Tim Cowen WCDT’s manager, explained how the Trust is always looking at ways to improve the Woodlands area and get the local community involved: “We have been able to further develop Woodlands Community Garden as both an outdoor community hub and therapeutic space. Our free pop-up café, which is busier than ever, offers an alternative model to food-banks and is centred round a shared meal cooked using fresh ingredients, including those grown in our own garden. We have also been able to meet the increased demand and expand the support and training we can provide to our volunteers.”
The Woodlands Community Development Trust hopes to reach just over 10,000 people in the area over the three years with 115 people volunteering.
Katherine, who volunteers at the Woodlands Community Garden, said: “I had recently become unemployed when I first came across the garden. I had lost a lot of my confidence and really missed interacting with people on a daily basis. Since then, I have been volunteering once or twice a week, made many good friends in the neighbourhood, enjoyed day trips, learned how to use gardening tools and have even started growing my own vegetables. Thanks to my regained confidence, I have started valuing what is important in my life again. Woodlands Community Garden is a truly wonderful hub for the local community – I can’t imagine what my life would be without it. I’m excited for what the future holds.”
Malcom, a volunteer at the Pop-Up Café, said: “Volunteering at the cafe and meeting other people really boosted my confidence and made me feel more relaxed when communicating with others. I get an awful lot of satisfaction helping out at the cafe and am really pleased that this funding will enable it to carry on.”
Source: Big Blog Scotland
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