I spent some time researching their project on socials to discover that they were a new project taking on the reclamation of a garden from an overgrown, disused piece of council-owned land. They had been doing great work clearing the space, making it safe and bringing the community together to do work.
As they were still getting started, I reached out to organise a visit to learn more about their project, their plans, and to suggest that they apply for funding through the Just Transition Participatory Fund (JTPB Fund). Volunteer or community groups who are making adaptations to their projects or community to reduce carbon emissions can apply for JTPB funding. Past projects have included a tool shed and teaching area, reducing the need to transport tools and teaching people to plant for biodiversity; an outdoor classroom area in St Fittick’s Park and an electric bike to support residents who do not have access to their own transport. The applications are put to a public vote to ensure that money is going to projects that communities want.
At Gairn we got shown around the site: a small rectangular piece of ground, on the edge of a row of houses and along the edge of the South Deeside Way. Whilst the community had been doing magnificent work removing the forest of weeds, GCG were ready to make the site more secure and accessible for all, ready for the community to start planting and growing.
Their pool of volunteers was gathered from the local neighbourhood and a few from a local nursery, who had been down helping pull weeds one day. GCC have been working closely with Aberdeen Council, ensuring all planning and permissions for their work are in place and have been doing lots of fundraising for supplies (including our SEED Fund).
GCC shared their plans, including replacing the dilapidated fencing and creating access for all users, including the possibility of access from the South Deeside Way. The plan was to make the garden accessible to all, with wide paths and areas to sit and rest. They hoped to continue to engage with their local nursery and planned on other groups attending and working in the garden, sharing growing skills and helping locals to access gardening.
Creating future plans – funding support, roadshows and more...
After we explained what the JTPB fund was looking for, we discussed the option for GCG to apply with the plan to kick-start their garden transformation and start their growing as soon as they can. Together we created a plan for the different projects that could be included in the application. Later, GCG and I met and reviewed the plan, developing it to find ways to make it as sustainable as possible by thinking about locally sourcing materials or contractors; or choosing second-hand tools. When it came time for Gairn to write the application, I supported them throughout the process, reading their application and suggesting edits to ensure they had as strong a proposal as possible.
As part of the animation stage of the JTPB Fund, I was looking for venues for a community roadshow event. These events are open, drop-in information events to give information about the JTPB Fund, encourage groups to apply, and support groups to develop climate adaptation ideas to projects to apply for. They also give me an opportunity to meet with NESCAN members to learn and support ongoing projects out with the JTPB Fund.
Through my research of the groups in Aberdeen South, I had found there were a large number of community growing groups in the area and decided to organise my event around them as a theme. I decided to invite GCC to be the “host” group since I was working with GCC for their JTPB application. The idea was to build peer support and to connect GCG with other similar groups who were further down their community gardening journey and could offer advice and guidance.
Peer to peer support
I invited other community gardening groups from across the area: members and non-member groups. A lot of time was spent on social media pages and websites learning about all the wonderful projects happening in the city before contacting them to invite them to attend.
The next “main” groups to invite were the community councils and community centres as they would be excellent at sharing the event within their networks and could suggest who else to invite. This also worked well to find a venue as there were several community centres nearby - Ruthrieston Community Centre (RCC) was just down the road from GCG and so was a perfect venue. (Coincidentally, I had been supporting RCC with a JTPB application).
Using the NESCAN network to identify members who had skills in community growing, One Seed Forward and CFINE for example, and my colleague I brought some experts to join and shape the conversation. After a brief introduction, we introduced ourselves and talked about our projects. One new project was created, two had more finalisation of an idea, and two other groups linked up with each other for future activities. GCG shared their story and progress with the groups, and we finished the event with a tour of GCG, where we discovered lots of interesting potato plants growing.
The weeks running up to the submission date were full of answering questions about the application and finding answers to problems to make sure everything was covered and organised by the deadline.
This experience has been really rewarding for me. Getting the chance to connect with and learn from the different community groups in South Aberdeen gave me a real sense of the important work they’re doing to create sustainable, community-driven projects. Helping Gairn Community Garden through their application process was especially meaningful. It gave me a behind-the-scenes look at the dedication and passion these groups have. I’ve learned a lot about the challenges they face, the power of working together, and how funding can truly help turn their ideas into something lasting for the community.
February 2025 update
GCG were successful with their JTPB fund application – congratulations for all their hard work putting together the application and encouraging their community to vote. I look forward to helping them spend the money on their improvements and supporting the next stage of their project.
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