Kindness and graft helps dream garden blossom
A Raploch project aimed at increasing biodiversity has been launched by residents and volunteers.
The Oak Garden Project, accesssed from Elm Street, has been lovingly tended and includes a thriving growing space with fruit trees as well as planting beds for vegetables and flowers.
The scheme is led by Alexia Forschner from the Top Of The Town and Joe Swindells of Raploch who have received help from nearby residents Frank Wilson and Dave McPhee.
Help has also come from construction services company Bowmer + Kirkland, the principal contractor on the £17m Kildean Office Development scheme, as well as Stirling Voluntary Enterprise, Raploch Community Partnership, Stirling Community Enterprise and Stirling Council.
The Oak Garden Project chairperson Alexia Forschner said:“We are very grateful for all the support we have received from the beginning and for the trust that has been placed in us.”
Treasurer Joe Swindells added:“A lot of hard work and hundreds of hours of effort have gone into getting us to this point.
“The support from everyone has been great and Bowmer + Kirkland getting involved has really pushed us to the next level.
“From a dream of a garden that the community could be proud of we are now beginning to see it come to fruition. It’s incredibly exciting.”
There are also plans to develop a sensory area, improved access, and seating in future.
Bowmer + Kirkland presented £2000 of funding to the Oak Garden Project and with support from their sub-contractors Interlocked Construction Ltd and Total Recycling (Scotland) Ltd, they completed 60 hours of volunteering in the garden in preparation for the project launch event which took place last month.
Bowmer + Kirkland senior site manager Alan Anderson, said:“Bowmer + Kirkland are proud to support the Oak Garden Project and recognise the significant social and environmental impact this community group will have on the local and wider community.
“We are confident that with continued dedication and hard work from residents and volunteers, the Oak Garden Project will prosper, and the communal garden will go on to be utilised and enjoyed by people of all ages.”