Hello one and all! Yesterday was a delightful day in Glasgow or whatever ever good weather constitutes to a nice day in Glasgow this mild/wet winter. The weather was bizarre but it did not hinder any of the mid-week group – they have grown accustomed to working in seasonal changes within the first hour. This was the first time I had ever worked with Urban Roots and I must say I am impressed with what they have accomplished with the garden in a year and a half.
Area was previously covered in huge brambles.
We were fortunate that we had an almost full van of volunteers and members of urban roots to help us with the community garden tasks. These tasks are still on going and include laying chicken wire for the board walk; laying membrane that stops weed growth through to the topsoil; installing tubes and roofs for raised beds so that the plants generate heat as a sort of greenhouse effect; and clearing any dangerous rubbish from the site.
This first row of Chicken wire we started to lay. The Chicken wire stops people slipping especially in wet weather or if covered in mud or leaves.
The second set of Chicken wire
Pipe going into the raised beds. Allows plants to generate heat and self sustain life.
Plastic roofing for raised beds
Inside raised bed
Splitting everyone in to teams we tried to tackle as many tasks as possible. The group worked hard and managed to get a lot done but it is a massive task and it will take a while before everything is finished. Anyone who is interested in helping should go to their website at http://www.urbanroots.org.uk. This project is really important from an educational stand point as it teaches about climate change and the adverse effects human activity is having on our ecosystem – as well as getting people involved in technical projects in the outdoors.
The people who work in the old Church Hall were very generous as they cooked Vegetable broth soup along with bread, pate, cheese, crackers and most importantly shortbread. So it is safe to say we were very appreciative for the warm welcome and fantastic lunch.
After lunch we continued the days tasks with everyone in good spirits and recharged batteries. It was hard to leave as the project was so enjoyable for everyone and it showed as we finished slightly later than usual. We finished the day with a nice group photo of some of us on site.
Everyone is all smiles after a job well done!
Shortly after that we packed up all the tools and drove back into town to drop off the volunteers. It was a fun day as it exposed Urban Roots to many people who did not know about the organisation (including me) and to the great work they are doing. It also convinced me to want to do more at the site in the future and other local community gardens.