£7k green dream

A group dedicated to improving the environment has bagged nearly £7,000 for its voluntary work.

Darkwood Crew — a sub-group of Ferguslie Community Council — will receive a cash boost after four different applications were accepted.

The body has received £250 from Volunteering Matters, which will be used to fund a Ferguslie Flourishes community planting programme in the village green over the next eight weeks.

Bulb planting and the creation of a flower bed will form part of this project, which will be completed as part of the group’s weekly meet-ups every Wednesday at 6.30pm.

Darkwood Crew has also been awarded £300 to host a Community Climate Change Conversation and £1,500 from Paths for All, which will be used to introduce a path improvement plan.

This will include access ramps, benches and planters and it is hoped this will encourage better use of the path networks for accessing local services.

Finally, £4,810 has been awarded by Renfrewshire Council’s Green Spaces, Parks and Play Areas and Villages Investment Fund to establish a growing area at a plot of land that runs adjacent to Darkwood Court.

This will aim to provide an opportunity for inter-generational engagement, as well as providing the community with a growing area for schools, nurseries and residents to use and enjoy.

Meanwhile, Darkwood Crew and the Tannahill Centre are set to combine forces to tackle isolation and loneliness, fuel poverty and food poverty by launching a weekly community meal event.

Terry McTernan, who runs Darkwood Crew, said:“We have received significant support from the recently opened Spar Ferguslie on Ferguslie’s Main Road for the creation of this provision and we hope it grows from strength to strength.”