The West Pilton Gardening Group is seeking funding to expand and further develop our existing community garden, increasing access to fresh, locally grown produce for people in our area. Our project supports food security, environmental sustainability, and community wellbeing. By enhancing the garden’s infrastructure and capacity, we will be able to grow food for our local sharing initiatives, involve more volunteers in meaningful activity, and provide opportunities for informal learning and skill-building.

Our community garden is already a valued local resource. With additional support, we aim to increase its impact by producing food, engaging more people, and creating a greener, healthier neighbourhood. Produce grown in the garden will be shared via our Community Sharing Shelf at the PEP Centre and used in our community groups. The project will also promote mental and physical wellbeing by offering regular opportunities for residents to connect with nature, learn new skills, and contribute to a shared purpose.

Project Objectives:

• Expand and improve our community garden to boost food production.
• Provide fresh, sustainable produce to our community groups and local residents, supporting the City of Edinburgh Council’s Net Zero and Anti-Poverty priorities, as well as aligning with the priority goal of Creating Good Places to Live and Work.
• Promote wellbeing and social connection by involving volunteers in growing activities, skill-sharing, and informal education.
• Foster a greater understanding of urban food growing and sustainable practices through hands-on experience.

How We Will Use the Funding: A grant of £4,000 will allow us to:

1. Install Two Greenhouses – These will extend the growing season, support seed propagation, and increase our ability to produce food year-round.
2. Purchase Tools, Equipment, Seeds, and Plants – Essential resources to expand and maintain the garden effectively and sustainably.
3. Employ a Sessional Gardener – We will hire an experienced gardener for 3 hours per week over 6 months (£25/hour). This role will involve planning and overseeing growing activities, supporting volunteers in the Gardening Group, and delivering informal education and skills sessions.
4. Increase Volunteer Engagement – We will involve a diverse group of at least 15 local volunteers, including existing PEP service users, in regular gardening sessions. Funding will help us promote the project widely across the community, making volunteering accessible and inclusive.

This project will be an inclusive, community-led initiative. The garden will serve as a space not only for food production, but for social connection, skill-building, and positive action on climate and health.

The bunker is well placed at the north end of Costorphine Hill to be a hub for locals who like to experience nature. We are aware that there is food poverty in the local area and are working with Tummies not Trash to establish a partnership to host weekly meals, and we have joined ECCAN. As we have plenty of outdoor space, we would like to set up a community garden that will simultaneously provide food for volunteers and also give people an opportunity to socialise and interact with the land in a positive way. Ideally, we would run a weekly drop in event that ties in with the live-in volunteers on site who could monitor the progress and keep things going in between sessions. We are a young charity and it is important to us to work in a sustainable way and establish relationships with the local area, filling a need that exists in the community. We could also potentially buy more chickens (we currently have 5) or ducks to provide eggs.

Nearly all Old Town residents live in flats with no access to a garden. EOTDT’s Community Growing Collective aims to partner up keen gardeners with greenspaces that need tending. The project has four main aims:

1. To get more Old Town residents playing an active role in gardening in their community. 

2. To grow fruit, vegetables and herbs for the community to use

1. Skill sharing, civil empowerment, and creating long lasting relationships. 

2. To improve Old Town greenspaces for public accessibility and enjoyment.  

Through previous funding, we have set up partnerships with the West Port Garden and Scottish Veterans’ Residencies. We have had a launch event to inform local organisations of the project, and recruited 20 volunteers so far. We require further funding to purchase gardening resources and equipment, to hire a freelance growing coordinator, and for staff time to organise and evaluate the project. 

Volunteers will work on gardens in weekly slots, planting, tidying, weeding, and doing any maintenance work to improve the spaces. Any food grown will then be used in The Crannie’s free community pantry, and in their weekly cooking group and subsequent community lunch. A focus will be placed on skill sharing and community empowerment, with the Growing Coordinator helping to teach about growing veg in Scotland. Additional focus will be on building community relationships, allowing the participants to enjoy spending time in the gardens and working together.

We hope the funding can support the Community Growing Collective becoming a mainstay of our weekly programme, while allowing the local spaces to flourish. The Veterans’ Residencies garden is used by 80 veterans, and West Port Garden is a very central publicly accessible space. We hope that when it has been transformed, it will be an enjoyable place for local residents and passers-by to experience. 

The project aims to be as sustainable as possible, contributing positively to the climate via several avenues: empowering locals to grow their own food, lessening the need for imported supermarket goods, and creating enjoyable accessible greenspaces in the Old Town.

By concentrating on growing our own fruit and vegetables we aim to decrease our carbon foot print by sourcing as much of our food locally or at least from the UK contributing to the Council's Net Zero target.  In addition we will offer working in a garden environment to volunteers of all ages who will benefit from working with plants and growing food.  Being a Jewish organisation from a security point of view we will not be able to open our doors to the general passing public unless we have prior notice of who is coming through our gates.  Having said that we are already taking Church and local U3A groups round our Biblical Garden which forms part of the general garden. We have connections with the Salisbury Centre next door and St Mary's Cathedral Eco Group. A fruit orchard is the next step in expanding our food growing operation. Volunteers from the wider community are welcome to work with us in the garden. At the moment we a limited amount of edible produce eg leeks, onions, coriander, broad beans as well as non edible plants in the Biblical Garden eg roses, poppies, lily of the Valley. 

We would like to expand our growing vegetable space to accommodate a waist high trug to allow accessibility for older gardeners and cooks who find bending difficult. In anticipation of more volunteer gardeners we need more gardening tools and shed to house the equipment. 

Tuk Tuk Grow and Go is a mobile community food growing and cooking initiative for families in Edinburgh. Using our tuk tuk and soup bike, we’ll visit neighbourhoods, community spaces and schools to deliver hands-on educational sessions that make growing and healthy eating easy, fun and accessible. 

We’ll begin with short sessions that engage families in thinking about what they could grow at home – focusing on simple, low-maintenance options like herbs and easy to grow vegetables that work well in small spaces. We’ll explore what would be practical and enjoyable for each family, considering their needs, available space and interest. 

At each location, we’ll display examples of plants grown from seed and offer Growing Survival Kits – simple starter packs including compost, pots, seeds or seedlings, and easy-to-follow instructions. These kits will be tailored based on family feedback, supporting people to feel confident and capable of growing their own herbs and vegetables at home, all year round. 

Each session will also include a food component: hot soup or a dish using the same herbs or vegetables being promoted. We’ll serve this using our branded soup bike, and share easy, family-friendly recipe cards and optional take-home ingredient packs. 

To connect participants with wider growing opportunities, we’ll offer optional tuk tuk visits to nearby growing sites, creating positive experiences and potential new links for families. 

By bringing everything directly to communities, Tuk Tuk Grow and Go reduces participation barriers and makes food growing visible, social, and engaging. It encourages small but meaningful actions that support climate goals, health, and community resilience. 

We hope to reinvigorate our exiting planters to create a working food garden in a site shared by Tollcross Primary School and Community Centre.   This would radically improve the amenity of the area which is largely  covered in asphalt with only six large trees on the site.   A group of volunteers maintains the existing gardens but overtime the topsoil in the planters has become heavily eroded and some equipment needs replaced  -  At present the only way of watering these planter boxes involves carrying bucket loads of water by wheelbarrow! 

This grant would allow for a reinvigoration of the existing planters allowing us to develop a sustainable and educational  food garden without any further ongoing funding.  We have included costing for one wheelchair accessible picnic table to allow the space to be more accessible for the whole community.

There is some underused space around our school campus. We intend to put in raised beds to use this space for growing food, flowers, and herbs.

We intend to involve the community; school, nursery, church, and local; to help us maintain the growing space, and to share in the food which we grow. This will increase the role of the campus as a focus for community groups and positive local action.

We have a space in the school for cooking the produce, and a venue to support the sharing of what we grow together. This would expand the use of the cooking area in the school, making it more efficient and purposeful.

We intend to use the grounds development expertise of Earth Calling (https://earthcalling.org/) to create the space which our community groups can then maintain.

Earth calling will do the labour, and then deliver a training session for parents, staff, and community members so that they can take the allotment project forward.

The flowers will act as a welcome for pollinators as well as community members. The herbs will be available seasonally to local families, and used in sensory play in the nursery. The vegetables will be prepared and shared with the community, using our existing school cooking area, giving experience in harvesting, preparing, and cooking produce from fresh.  

The trees are intended to provide a green corridor between two existing isolated stands of trees on site. The wildlife hedging will provide a home for small animals, such as songbirds, and increase biodiversity on the site.

The community members, children, and staff, of the campus will have an opportunity to develop skills and awareness around food growing and plant care. We hope that adding a bench to the space will make it pleasant and encourage community members to spend time there and share skills. We will also have two tables, one which can be used for garden work, such as potting and gathering harvest, and the other one for offering produce, flowers, or herbs to the local community.

A class/year group (P5) from the primary school will maintain the allotment during the school day, and there is access outside of school hours, and terms, from the all-year nursery/ELC. Evening and weekend access would be through a ‘Friends of’ group who would have a copy of the gate key.

The class/year group (P5)will incorporate this into their ‘class yearly project’, as part of their Eco and Sustainability curriculum. This will form part of their Interdisciplinary Learning incorporating all curriculum areas including Literacy (Writing and Reading) and Mathematics. Allocating to a class/year group also ensures that all pupils as part of their, ‘StJV Pupil Learning Journey’ have this learning experience.

We would like to develop the outdoor farm area of Longstone Primary School.  We have so far constructed 5 large raised beds for growing vegetables and further space is available around it.  We would like to add fruit bushes and plants to this.  The area will help develop the children's understanding of where our food originates, allow them to learn how we can grow our own and then enjoy the reward of picking and eating it.  Our goal is to provide further outdoor learning opportunities and a space that the children can be proud to take care of.

How do we hope to spend the money?

We would like to purchase and plant a selection of fruit plants, including raspberries, blackcurrants, strawberries and rhubard.  We would also like a supply of seeds and seedlings for the vegetable area, including herbs for a sensory area.  We would also purchase some child-sized gardening equipment, including gloves, small trowels/forks and watering cans.  Other gardening supplies such as compost, seed pots and growing supports/trellises would also be needed.  We would also look to purchase a folding fire pit and safety equipment so that small groups could be involved with outdoor cooking.

Who will benefit from this project?

The site is accessed by 300 children - 250 from the primary school and 50 from the attached nursery.  This project would provide garden areas accessible to all of these children, giving the option for teachers to incorporate outdoor learning into their classes.  It would also be available for use in extra-curricular activites with a gardening club.  This project is coordinated by the parent council so would also provide volunteering and social activities for the parents and carers willing to help.

Gracemount Medical Practice Community Garden Project   Led by Transition Edinburgh South  

Transition Edinburgh South (TES) seeks to transform the underused outdoor space at Gracemount Medical Practice into a vibrant, biodiverse community garden that promotes health, sustainability, and connection. This collaborative project will bring together patients, staff, volunteers, and local residents to co-create a space that benefits both people and planet.

The project is rooted in four key objectives:

1. Enhance Biodiversity:

We will introduce pollinator-friendly planting schemes, wildflower areas, and a diverse range of native plants to support local wildlife. The garden will act as a green corridor for insects and birds, increasing biodiversity in an urban setting.

2. Community Engagement:

Through regular workshops, planting sessions, and seasonal events, the garden will provide a space for people to come together, build relationships, and foster a shared sense of stewardship and pride in their local environment.

3. Improve Well-being:

The garden will offer a calm, accessible space for relaxation and therapeutic activity, supporting both mental and physical health. Patients referred through social prescribing will be able to engage in gentle gardening, nature connection, and group activities tailored to their needs.

4. Build Skills and Knowledge:

Participants of all ages will have the opportunity to learn about gardening, ecology, and sustainable practices. Skills gained will help people feel more confident in caring for green spaces and contributing to a more resilient local environment.

Target Audience  This project is open to:

- Patients of Gracemount Medical Practice, including those referred through social prescribing.   - Local residents of all ages and backgrounds.   - Community volunteers and TES members.  

Planned Activities   We will run a series of inclusive, hands-on activities to bring the garden to life:

Garden Design Workshops:

We’ll invite the community to shape the vision for the space through co-design sessions.    

Wildflower Planting Days:

Participants will learn about and plant native wildflowers to attract pollinators.    

Educational Sessions:

We’ll host practical workshops on biodiversity, composting, and sustainable growing techniques.    

Creative Engagement:

Art, poetry, and storytelling workshops will connect people emotionally to the space, encouraging a sense of ownership and joy.

Outcomes   By the end of the project, we expect:

1. A thriving, biodiverse garden that enhances local ecology and supports pollinators.   2. Stronger community connections through shared, meaningful outdoor activities.   3. Improved well-being for participants, with positive impacts on physical and mental health.   4. Increased awareness and understanding of biodiversity and sustainable living.  

This project will be managed by Transition Edinburgh South in close partnership with Gracemount Medical Practice, with ongoing input from the local community. It builds on our 15 years of experience running community growing projects and supporting local climate action.

Together, we aim to create a welcoming, healing, and life-affirming space — a small oasis where biodiversity and community can flourish side by side.