The Shettleston Community Growing Project (SCGP) is a resident-led initiative which has seen the transformation of a derelict site into a multi-use space for residents, community groups and local schools.
As well as giving local people an opportunity to get their hands dirty and learn to grow their own fresh produce, it will also act as a hub for community events and promote carbon and energy reduction initiatives.
The project will also help save an estimated 1.286 tonnes of carbon a year and help local residents and school children learn about how the choices they make around food, recycling and energy can make a big difference in the global effort to tackle climate change.
SCGP, which received just over £172,000 from the Scottish Government’s Climate Challenge Fund, was officially opened by Roseanna Cunningham, the Minister for the Environment and Climate Change.
Glasgow City Council contributed a further £18,700 through Glasgow Greenspace and the Shettleston Area Budget. Both the Council, with four services involved, and Shettleston Housing Association contributed staff time to assist in the development of the project
Minister for the Environment and Climate Change, Roseanna Cunningham, said: "The Shettleston Community Growing Project is a fantastic example of people working together to make a real difference to their local and national environment and I'm sure it will be at the centre of community life for years to come.
"Locally the benefits are there for all to see, with people getting the opportunity to grow their own food while developing their skills and creating a more sustainable community by transforming this piece of land.
"Nationally The Climate Challenge Fund is giving Scotland's communities the chance to reduce their carbon emissions . Over the last three years we have made £27.4 million available through the fund and we are extending this into the coming year with an additional £10.3 million.
"While all the CCF projects, like this one in Shettleston are playing their part in reducing emissions they are also bringing wider social and economic benefits and improving the quality of life for many."
Bob Duckett, Chair of SCGP and Shettleston resident, who has been involved in the project from the very beginning, said: “The SCGP site is all we hoped it would be and we are very grateful to the Climate Challenge Fund for making our idea a reality. It also shows what local people can achieve if they put their minds to it and have the right help and support.
“As well as the obvious benefits of growing our own food, members and volunteers have the opportunity to make new friends and contribute to the local community. There is a sense of learning and fun with different generations working together with a common purpose.
“The project provides an opportunity to gain skills that increase employment opportunities or encourage people to move onto further training and a career in areas like horticulture or grounds maintenance. It can also help overcome the barriers to work that some unemployed people face like lack of self-esteem.”
Councillor Alistair Watson, who represented Glasgow City Council at the opening and is the convener of the Regeneration and the Economy Policy Development Committee, said: “Glasgow is challenging all its citizens to be greener and help us make our city one of the most sustainable in Europe.
“The Shettleston Community Growing Project is a brilliant project and an excellent response to this challenge. It will help people in the area to reduce their carbon footprint by cutting food miles, help save them money on their food bills and encourage them to get out into the fresh air to garden and get some exercise.
“I want to take this opportunity to congratulate all those in involved with the SCGP for a job well done. I am sure that many other groups around the city will be inspired by what this project is doing to help ensure we are all living greener and helping to make Glasgow a low carbon community.”
Chris Cunningham, the Director of Shettleston Housing Association, said: “Shettleston Housing Association has been delighted to assist the SGCP with the growing project and has been happy to contribute the land for the allotment site.
“The project will breathe new life into an area which had been a problem for some time. The local community and all the partners and funders have now ensured that this will happen.
“We are now looking around our area to identify more sites that the SCGP could utilise and I look forward to seeing many more growing spaces and more opportunities for local residents to join in with this very worthwhile project”
SCGP is a partnership project led by residents in the Shettleston and Tollcross area and assisted by Shettleston Housing Association, Glasgow City Council’s Development and Regeneration Services.
The two areas of land that comprise the SCGP site were in the ownership of Shettleston Housing Association and Glasgow City Council respectively and both had lain derelict for years. As neither the Council nor the Housing Association had any plans to develop the site, the opportunity arose for it to be given over to community use. Local residents identified a community allotment site as the best use for the land and formed a steering group to take their plans forward.
The new allotment has 50 raised beds or plots, a communal fruit bed, seven hot houses, a wildflower meadow, and a communal area for workshops and open days. The beds have been constructed using top quality, sustainable Scottish larch, which has an estimated lifespan of over 20 years.
Elsewhere, recycled timber has been used for the shelter area, which also has a green roof that collects rainwater, transferring it into recycled whisky barrels where 8000 litres can be used for irrigating the beds. Individuals, families, schools or community groups are able to apply for a plot and everything they grow in it will be for their own consumption.
The Climate Challenge Fund award has also paid for an on-site, part-time project officer to provide users with practical assistance and advice on food growing and on the wider carbon reduction issues and energy saving measures they can apply in their own lives and homes
As well as increasing local food production and beautifying an unsightly piece of vacant land, the project will help to show the physical and mental health benefits of gardening and promote healthier eating. The site is fully accessible for wheelchair users and the raised beds are ideal for people with who might find a traditional allotment space too demanding.
The project will also assist with Glasgow’s objective to become one of the most sustainable cities in Europe within the next 10 years through the Sustainable Glasgow initiative.
It is estimated that SCGP project will also assist Glasgow City Council with a number of its own objectives, including the removal of the site from the Scottish Government’s vacant and derelict land register and, via the council's Glasgow Greenspace team, the facilitation of environmental enhancements in partnership with communities.
Two local primary schools, St Paul’s and Wellshot, will use the area for their studies.
A new Food Miles Resource Pack, created in collaboration with the two schools, will now be available to primary schools throughout Glasgow to help them teach children about the environmental cost of transporting food and the importance of growing, eating or buying local seasonal produce, while linking directly to the Curriculum for Excellence.
Two clients with Glasgow City Council’s Social Work Services Accord Centre, worked on the site part-time with the contractor learning new skills including hard and soft landscaping. The same project, is providing ongoing maintenance to the site in return for the use of two of the raised beds.
The Shettleston Community Growing Project (SCGP) was awarded £172,769 by the Climate Challenge Fund. The Climate Challenge Fund aims to help Scottish communities make a real difference by significantly reducing their carbon emissions. The fund is £27.4m over three years (2008-11).
Sustainable Glasgow is a city-wide partnership to make Glasgow one of the most liveable and sustainable cities in Europe. It brings together partners from the public and private sectors to work with citizens, communities and businesses. The city is committed to reducing its carbon emissions by 30 per cent within 10 years and building a greener and more sustainable future for Glaswegians. The unparalleled strategic approach taken by Glasgow will help to create jobs and boost the economy, tackle social issues including fuel poverty and regenerate the city. For more information visit http://www.sustainableglasgow.org.uk/