Grants will help allotments which put plans on hold
Throughout the worst of the pandemic, allotments remained our boltholes and sanctuaries keeping up our spirits. Now, as restrictions are lifted and the days grow longer, we can look forward to a return of some of those popular communal events which have been on hold.
Many sites depend on funds raised at open days, plant sales and seed swaps to finance projects or to buy some communal tools.
Site committees usually have a wishlist and have no difficulty spending any money raised.
A secure communal hut, such as a metal shipping container, should come top of the list for any site contemplating buying expensive equipment such as strimmers, lawn mowers, hedge cutters and shredders.
If a shipping container sounds a bit too utilitarian there are some splendid examples of how they can be customised. Edinburgh’s Inverleith Allotments have one with solarpowered lighting, tables and chairs.
The Scottish Allotments and Gardens Society have just announced that they are offering grants totalling £12,000 to sites who have had to put plans on hold.
The grants will be distributed throughout Scotland and vary in amount from £250 to £1000.
Their recent newsletter gives details of the kinds of projects they will consider supporting.
Full details and an application form are on the SAGS website (www.sags. org) and the closing date is 30th April 2022.
With climate change in mind, they are keen to help projects that increase sustainability or biodiversity.
Ponds for wildlife such as frogs and dragonflies are popular on some sites. Others incorporate wild areas where native plants can flourish.
Also on the SAGS list is funding to help introduce or improve access for disabled or elderly plotholders.
Elderly allotment holders are often singled out as being healthier than their stick-at-home counterparts.
If smoother paths or introducing a handrail on slopes is going to enable a plotter to continue gardening, some funding can be applied for.
New plotholders sometimes need a bit of help. That phone call telling someone that a plot has become available is always exciting, but it is coupled with the need for some initial expenditure on tools and equipment.
SAGS is no stranger to recognising that a bit of help for plotholders can be very welcome.
In 1932, SAGS, then called the Scottish National Union of Allotment Holders, set up a scheme for the unemployed, providing seeds, seed potatoes, manure and tools as well as grants for materials, tools and communal huts.
Ponds for wildlife such as frogs and dragonflies are popular on some sites