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.

There is a huge unmet need for food growing space such as allotments, and ours is a low-income area where growing your own is often the only way to access high-quality, organic fruit and vegetables.

Local young people recently built several new raised beds to create an allotment area at Sighthill Community Centre (Gate 55), as part of an SVQ in Rural Skills. The project will support them and the other residents who have begun growing food here - using organic, no-dig methods - in becoming a formally constituted and thriving community food growing group.

The project will enable the group to fit out a space to use for propagation; plant fruit bushes; and install a water butt.

It will cover the cost of a part-time Project Worker (12 hours per month) who – as well as taking part in weekly gardening sessions as a volunteer herself - will work to promote and expand the group and ensure that all parts of the community can come and get involved. The Project Worker will provide the group with administrative support, and link it up with potential partner organisations such as RBGE to come and run workshops in Gate 55’s new food growing spaces.

The food growing spaces now encompass an allotment with seven large raised beds and a tattie ridge, and a large planter in the courtyard of the building. As well as these, there is a sizeable south-facing garden area that the centre will be inviting the group to develop and use for community food growing (it is currently short grass and paving, but has two mature apple trees in it), with support from the Project Worker and the Wider Achievement Officer at Gate 55 (who will work in partnership on this project). The group will go on a visit to Lauriston Farm to get more ideas about what they want to grow in the different spaces.

The project is partnering with Sighthill Library, with plans to set up a seed library inside it.

This autumn, the project will see the group look at composting and wormeries, with a view to additional composting or wormery facilities being built for the food growing.

The growing spaces will be open to all. Everyone will be able to come and simply enjoy them or take part in simple tasks such as watering at any time during Sighthill Community Centre: Gate 55’s opening hours.

The produce will be made available to the local community for free at two large harvest meals, which will be open to all, and, during other periods, using a very low-cost, community veg box (pantry-style) scheme.