GFAA has secured funding which will allow the Bothy to be re-purposed and refurbished. We submitted a bid to NHS Grampian’s Neighbourhood Health, Health Improvement Fund and have recently heard that we have been successful.
Our entirely new initiative for the Bothy is called, “The Potting Shed Plus Project” and seeks to extend our long-standing commitment to active community engagement and spread the health benefits of outdoor working beyond those who have plots and out into the wider community. The “Plus” in the title refers to the fact that the project will support both Gardening and DIY learning activities.
This new project will provide a year-long programme of structured tutorials and associated open-access workshop sessions on gardening and outdoor DIY delivered through hands-on learning-by-doing.
During the summer months, tutorials and workshop sessions will focus on gardening skills and communal growing. Over the rest of the season, activities will focus on Do It Yourself work generally and specifically on small-scale woodworking and garden equipment repair projects.
These will aim to support an appreciation of being and working out of doors in nature and associated health benefits. Examples include: building greenhouse staging, planters, storage systems, benches and tables, bird boxes, cold frames, bug hotels etc. and repairing hand tools and other equipment. These will be used on site and made available to local community organisations.
The Potting Shed Plus Project will bring all sorts of benefits:
- healthy outdoor activities for all participants
- increased opportunities for our volunteers
- an inclement-weather workspace
- inter-generational learning activities
- better and greener-growing practices
- further recruitment to our Volunteer Squad
- bringing more visitors to our site
- use by plotters outwith scheduled classes and workshops.
If you think you might be able to help with the refurbishment work or the programme please get in touch with a member the GFAA Committee.
GFAA gratefully thank NHS Grampian for their support and funding of The Potting Shed Plus Project.
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