Back in September 2010, the Friends of Cuthill Park began the arduous task of clearing the overgrown area where the Garden was to be sited.
It became clear quite quickly that this
was a bigger job than any of us envisaged. Fortunately over a
dozen families came along to muck in.
After hacking down the shoulder-height nettles, we discovered a horrendous collection of masonry, metal and various material fused together following decades of fireraising in the park.
We didn't realise then that we were about to embark on a seemingly never-ending treadmill of weeding, planting and weeding. However, we persevered and today have a real garden (alas, the weeding will never be completely finished, it is a garden after all!).
Key milestones:
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| October 2011: we harvested our first crop of squash! |
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| December 2011: Community Justice Team installed stone centrepiece |
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| February 2012: Awarded £3,000 from ELC's Environmental Fund - and a plan starts to emerge! |
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| May 2012: Mobex install timber edging for paths. |
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| November 2012: The 1st Prestonpans Guides weeded the borders of the garden and volunteers laid back to create more paths. |
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| June 2013: Edinburgh and Lothians Greenspace Trust were very helpful in planning and securing our shipping container. |
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| October 2013: Volunteers from the Co-op built some raised beds. |
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| March 2014: A huge turnout of volunteers helped to plant a Woodland
Trust tree pack to form a hedge along the edge of the garden |
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| May 2014: Cockle shells, reflecting the town's fishing heritage, were put down on top of weed membrane in a boat-shaped bed |
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| April 2015: Mountains of earth were moved and a seating mound created thanks to LDS missionaries. |
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| March 2016: Foundations are put down for paths in the garden |
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| February 2017: A new plan start to take shape... | | |
The vision is for three distinct areas: An 'outdoor room', in front of the shipping container; a 'growing area' with an assortment of raised beds; and a 'social space' with ornamental flower beds.
Can you help?
Jobs include:
- Installation of wooden edging around flower beds and paths
- Installation of posts (to which a shade sail can be affixed)
- Welding of hooks on shipping container
- Waterproofing of canvas
- Building of pergolas
- Landscaping
- Planting
- Installation of fence and gates
- Moving of large boulders
- Sorting out of shipping container
- Sourcing a ship's wheel
- Collecting items
and of course...weeding!
