Community Fund – Royal Edinburgh Community Gardens – March Update

March has been the first month that Rhys and I have been in the gardens and what an incredible place to be! We have also been lucky enough to welcome new volunteers Simon, Simone and Sabrina to the team. There are already so many wonderful volunteers who dedicate their time and energy to make the gardens the lovely, peaceful place it is: it has been a real joy to meet you all and we look forward to growing with you over the coming months.

So, developments this month: our long awaited and greatly anticipated toolshed arrived! And was built in less than a day thanks to Hunter, Eddie, Rhys, Stevie and Bill who came to lend a hand on the day. In less time than the experts take, the shed was erected and roof was on! The tools are being carefully relocated and soon we’ll be looking forward to having a new room in the portacabin to use for learning/lunching out of the rain. Thanks guys for all your help – what a team

Hillary Vipond, the Gardens Manager, is heading back to Canada to spend some time with friends and family. She says “It has been a fantastic privilege to meet and work together with the many people involved in the gardens project, and phenomenally rewarding to see it develop. I will miss you all”. We thank her for her time with us and wish her all the best in her new ventures. The position is now being advertised, see here for the job description, and please pass this around your networks.

In the gardens the growing is slow but under the fleece the pachoi and kale is looking happy and the beds for the first early potatoes have been prepared and planted so looking forward already to those delicious new potatoes in the summer. As we all know the long winter has delayed much growing in the garden, thankfully though the weeds haven’t started yet! However the glasshouse is looking wonderful as so many people have kept that going throughout the winter! So thanks to all of you! Now we wish for warmer soils so they can be transplanted and continue their growth.

Now enough from me! Each month we would like to introduce you to a member of the team here are at the Royal Edinburgh Community Gardens, as they are the people who make the Gardens what they really are! This month we would like to introduce you to Eddie Kielts, and this is his story. “I started volunteering in the gardens when they first started about 3 years ago. I heard about it through my sister who is part of Shandon Food Group. As a group we come to the gardens once a month but I started lending a hand during the week too, through the drop-in sessions.

I come along because I like being outside and working away in the gardens. I also like meeting people and there’s such a wide range of people at the gardens it’s always really sociable. Over the 3 years there has been such a positive change, they look really good and it’s been great to see them develop.”

Many thanks to Eddie for everything he has contributed to the gardens over the year, and to all of the volunteers who make these gardens the special place they are. See you at the gardens!!