Echinacea - from Pine Ridge to the 'Pans

In 1950, Alfred Vogel travelled to the Americas, studying medicinal herbs used by the native people.  He met Sioux medicine man, Ben Black Elk, from whom he learned about Echinacea purpurea and returned to Teufen, Switzerland, with a small bag of seeds.

Using the seeds gifted by Black Elk, Vogel nurtured his Echinacea plans in Teufen, establishing a strong, healthy crop, which was used to create the first batch of Echinaforce®.

Bioforce, who market A Vogel's products in the UK, very generously gifted us 30 boxes of Echinacea purpurea seeds - the same variety that Black Elk once gave to Alfred Vogel.

We sowed some in small pots, ready to transplant into the park in about six weeks time.  We won't see any flowers for two years - but we think they will be worth waiting for.

Thank you Mobex

Mobex East Lothian is a youth based referral project, the aim of which is to deliver training programmes designed in consultation with young people to build confidence, group awareness, leadership and team work skills.

This can include outdoor activities such as bushcraft and watersports, practical involvement with accredited environmental projects, creative arts and craftsm or activities which promote environmental awareness and community regeneration.

The Mobex team have been hard at work installing the timber edging for the paths in the community garden.

Thank you to the Mobex volunteers for all they have done - the Friends of Cuthill Park really appreciate your efforts!

Workshop: Where do we GROW now?

A workshop for community food growers on finding new places to grow fruit and veg in our towns and cities

Tuesday 29 May 2012

6pm to 8pm (registration and sandwiches from 5.30pm)

The Space, Media Education, 183 Dalry Road, Edinburgh

What is it about?

We want to help more communities in Scotland to find more spaces and new ways to grow their own food. National research published last year highlighted that more and more people in Scotland want to grow their own fruit and veg but land availability is a major constraint.

Scottish Government has funded greenspace scotland to bring together community groups who are working on food growing and local food projects to create a vision of ‘our ideal food growing community’.

We will create a visual plan of a typical Scottish settlement which

·           illustrates the range of different community growing models (e.g. allotments, community gardens, edible landscapes) and

·           matches these to the different places where community growing could happen (e.g. school grounds, backgreens, temporary spaces, even road side planters)

At end of the project we will have a big map of a typical Scottish settlement that illustrates all of different places where community growing can happen with supporting information on each of these.

We see it being used by communities to spark ideas, identify which types of growing they want to take forward, and to begin to map their own community growing vision and plans. It will help them to:

·           take a more strategic and community wide approach to community food growing

·           consider all of the different land and growing options that are available to them

·           select the ‘right’ growing model for specific sites and circumstances

What will we do?

This event will involve us in discussing and mapping out the different places and ways communities can grow food. A graphic artist will help us to record and illustrate these. We need your ideas, expertise and knowledge to help us do this.

Please join us and other community growers to help us to help more communities to grow their own.

Places are limited and so please request registration from and return to info@greenspacescotland.org.uk by 21 May 2012

·           If you are personally unable to attend – we would welcome another representative/representatives from your project/group to attend in your place

·           Travel expenses for community representatives can be refunded - a claim form will be provided at the event

·           This workshop will be repeated on Thursday 31 May 2012 in Glasgow – please let me know if you would prefer to attend this session

Kind regards

Ea

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greenspace scotland is an independent Scottish charity and social enterprise that works with a wide range of national and local organisations to ensure that everyone has easy access to quality greenspace. Creating a growing community is one of our current projects; find out more about greenspace scotland here www.greenspacescotland.org.uk

greenspace scotland - transforming urban spaces into people places

Ea O'Neill
Project Manager

greenspace scotland12 Alpha Centre
Stirling University Innovation Park
Stirling
FK9 4NF
Tel:  01786 465934
Fax: 01786 469679

Ea.O'Neill@greenspacescotland.org.uk
www.greenspacescotland.org.uk
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