The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Following a fire last year, Carnoustie Community Garden is up and running again producing free food for those in need. Pauline Marr, Laura Tierney and Laura-may Kennedy get to work in one of the new polytunnels. Picture by Gareth Jennings.
An Angus community garden which was badly damaged by a deliberate fire is set to rise from the ashes.
The Food is Free Carnoustie community garden was ravaged by the blaze at the beginning of December.
The founders and volunteers at the garden, which produces free food for the community, were devastated at the time as nothing was left of the polytunnels.
They feared it would be impossible to get up and running again in time for this year’s harvest.
However, the community rallied around and, with the help of dozens of people, the polytunnels have been replaced and the group is on target for a bumper season.
Laura Tierney, who cofounded the Panda Lane initiative five years ago, said she has been overwhelmed by the help that has poured in.
She said: “The support has been incredible.
“Andrew Gray from Auchrennie Farm, who built our original polytunnels, has been amazing and supplied us with new polytunnels free of charge.
“They were erected at the weekend, which was absolutely brilliant, and gets us ready to get planting and growing again.”
Laura said that she and others were already planting seeds and bringing them on at home, and now that the tunnels are up they can move them to the garden.
“We really feel that everything is on the right track again,” she said.
“We have a feeling of hope and a fresh start and the support we have had has been heartwarming and overwhelming.”
She said everyone was working hard to get the garden ready for the start of the new season and, all being well, they would be in a position to begin harvesting again from the middle of the summer.
The Food is Free scheme is part of a movement which began in Texas and has grown to include communities around the globe.
They take pieces of ground and turn them into gardens producing free harvests for everyone.
Volunteers leave fruit and vegetables at various locations across the town for locals to enjoy.
Project supporters in Carnoustie and beyond quickly got to work helping clear up the ruined polytunnel after the fire and a crowdfunding page for repairs raised thousands of pounds.
A 16-year-old girl was subsequently charged in connection with the fire.
There was little doubt the Food is Free Carnoustie community garden would rise from the ashes following December’s devastating blaze.
While lesser groups may have given up on the venture, the garden’s founders and volunteers merely rolled up their sleeves and got to work, helped by local backers.
They now expect a bumper year for the garden. The project is clearly well-loved locally and those who have nurtured it will undoubtedly get their rewards when harvesting begins in the summer.