Our garden produce helps feed local families :)

 

We are very pleased to have been able to supply grapes, tomatoes and some pumpkins to the Basics Barn today.  The tomatoes are destined to be turned into chutney and the grapes will go out in food boxes over the next couple of days.

Sandra came a little early to collect, so got roped into helping to harvest them!

Most of our produce has now been harvested for this season.  You can see our latest staff box had a lovely variety of items in it.

We continue to maintain the garden and are clearing old plants to prepare the soil and make way for new sowings next spring.  We will soon be planting onions and garlic for an early crop next year, along with salad crops in the polytunnel.

Thanks for reading!

Co-op Funding News and Garden Productivity

 

The Co-op funding session has now ended and we are due to receive £966.57 towards our Memorial Garden Project.  A huge thank you to all those who made the effort to shop at the Coop, spread the word and choose us as your local good cause!

In other news, we donated some of our crops to the Basics Barn during the half term holidays.  Potatoes and onions went into food boxes, tomatoes were turned into soup and runner beans went into stew.  These were then frozen to provide meals in future to local families.  

The Basics Barn staff thanked our Academy gardeners: "Everyone on the team was amazed by your generosity and we're very sure that our clients will be delighted to receive the soup and stew - especially as the weather gets colder and colder. "

Tasty sweet corn-on-the-cob also went home with Harrison, Jacob and Dougal for them to cook and enjoy with their families!

Finally, we have made Green Tomato Chutney which is now for sale to help raise funds for our garden project.  Feedback was very positive some years back when we sold jars so hopefully folk with enjoy these too!

Grow and Learn Awards Ceremony

 

On Thursday 14th October we were thrilled to be able to hold a COVID-safe Awards Ceremony in the garden.  Five senior boys were presented with certificates and pin badges for passing their Grow and Learn courses from the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society.

Well known horticulturalist Jim McColl was our honoured guest.  He gave us a talk, presented the awards and took a wee tour of the garden.

There was a buzz of excitement after so long without guests or events in the garden!

Darren greeted everyone and ensured they completed details for Track and Trace!

We enjoyed welcoming parents...

...and drinking tea & coffee ably served by Mr Sievewright.

After the ceremony, the boys were keen to show Jim our hot composter.  They had previously given it a good wash.  Jim was impressed at the compost produced from canteen food waste and sawdust.  Well done to all those who passed the course!

In other news, Dougal and Jacob can be seen planting crocus bulbs into pots for springtime.

They were donated to the school in order to publicise the International Rotary campaign to end polio across the word.  Click to find out more!

Harvesting Underway!

 

We are very happy to be back in the garden and there are lots of crops for us to harvest!

Jacob picks some parsley...

...to add to our first produce boxes of this session.

Dougal has also been busy cutting back tomato plants to let more light and air reach the ripening tomatoes.

In other news, before the summer break we planted a new hedge on the edge of our wildflower area...

...and added stones into gabion seating in the Memorial Garden

We would also like to thank all those who came to our plant sale!

We had a busy time setting up but it was well worth it as...

...not only did we raise £190.65...

...but we also had lots of fun!

New Funding Page set up

 People have been asking how they can donate to our Memorial Garden project so there is now a JustGiving page.  Click on the link below to find out more:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/teamcg?utm_term=XYevVnb8m

This is also connected to our "Co-operate" Page so any co-op members can now donate directly if they wish, as well as choosing us as their local cause to support.

Please spread the word and if you are tempted to make a small donation yourself, it will be MUCH appreciated!

Please help our Memorial Garden project by becoming a Co-op member

 

Here's how it works:

You can get a co-op card (or replace a lost one) here

Select us as the cause to support by going to our project profile page here.

Once you have chosen to support us, every time you use your card in the Co-op, funds will be added to our cause.  Some "small print" below explains more detail about how.

Encourage friends and family to choose us too.  The good news is they can support us by using any coop anywhere in the UK so long as they select us from our profile page here. Our project reference number is 46461.

This is a difficult time to get funding so, to every person who chooses to support us wherever they are, we say a huge "Thank You!"

Before the current lock-down we worked hard to clear more stones and weed the soil to prepare for planting.  We even got a few plants in.  Now as we plan for easing of restrictions we look forward to getting back to work on the garden as the spring and summer arrive.

We need funds to help us keep tools and equipment operational, buy some special plants to remember loved ones lost, create a wildflower area to encourage pollinators along with seating areas and a secure gateway to keep rabbits out!  The aim is to make the place beautiful, peaceful and reflective - kind for both people and nature.

So please if you can, choose to support us and shop in a Coop store with your card!

The "Small Print" from the Coop:

How does Co-op Membership help my community? As many of you will know, Co-op Membership recently changed. We’ve now made it easier to give communities a helping hand, so together, we can make things a little bit fairer. When you buy selected Co-op branded products and services, 2p from every pound you spend goes into your Membership account. We’ll also give the same amount to support community organisations and local causes. This means the community reward is split equally between the Local Community Fund and the Community Partnerships Fund:

 • The Community Partnerships Fund allows us to tackle the bigger issues by working with like-minded national organisations. 

• The Local Community Fund, which is what you’re a part of, allows our members to support grassroots causes and projects which are close to their heart.