Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Vibrant volunteers create glorious garden
JUDITH TONNER
Residents of all ages worked together to create a new community garden feat u r i n g planters and play areas created entirely from upcycled metal, wood and tyres.
Volunteers in Moodiesburn teamed up to create the new facility at the Pivot Centre, transforming the space with new raised flowerbeds and food growing areas, a bug hotel, train play area and even a scarecrow.
Helpers also painted fences and installed seats and swings, tyre trampolines and a welcoming archway to the garden – constructed thanks to £4000 in grants and more than 100 hours of volunteer time.
It was designed by upcycling artist Kumar Prashant using ideas generated by local youngsters, who recently saw the finished product and tried out its play areas at the garden’s official opening.
The project was suggested after several groups expressed interest in having a community growing space; and the area’s community learning and development team, led by Claire McLaren, local group Northern Corridor Community Volunteers ( NCCV) and the seniors’ Discovery Group teamed up to make it a reality.
NCCV co- ordinator Claire Williams said: “Much of the space was shut off to the public by a large metal fence and was unused.
“We needed many weeks and a lot of community pressure to get permission to make this happen, and it’s amazing to see the difference.”
Residents from a variety of groups came together to construct waste materials from scrapyards into play equipment, vertical gardens, planters and artistic installations.
Now its maintenance will be shared by the groups who worked together to build it, while the Coalfields Regeneration Trust is funding a series of community gardening sessions to ensure it continues to grow with part of their £2400 contribution towards the project.
T h e Mo o d i e s b u r n community also received £800 from TK Maxx and Neighbourly for waste collection and reuse for upcycled playspaces; £ 500 each from Greenspace Scotland’s young placemakers fund for design workshops and North Lanarkshire Council for plants, tools and painting; plus £250 grants from Warburtons, Aviva, Co- op, Scotmid and Volunteering Matters Action Earth.