Sounds like this definitely deserves a date in our diaries, however busy they are at this time of year.
Category: Events Page 32 of 34
Thanks to a good turnout of willing volunteers we completed the planting of the 2000 bulbs kindly donated through the City Council this weekend.
Janice and Vinnie – brains and brawn – always a good combination!
It was a crisp, if not actually cold day, and this helped spur us on to complete the task in a couple of hours or less.
Rod (new to Plot 45) and Sylvia practise their new routine for Strictly.
This week we dispensed with the specialised bulb planting tools and made much faster progress with spades and forks.
Dave and Agnes (New to their micro-plot) give Stuart a hand.
Once finished we retreated to the Bothy for a well-earned cup of tea and cake – young and old!
Thanks to all who answered the call (including Frank who I failed to get on film) and made short work of the planting. Roll on Spring and what we all hope will be a welcome burst of colour around the site to welcome in another growing season.
Stuart and I represented GFAA today at Aberdeen Council’s lunch to celebrate the award of a Gold Certificate to the city in the 50th Anniversary Year of the Britain in Bloom Competition.
Lord Provost George Adam
Lord Provost George Adam made a very good speech thanking the 26 community groups represented for their help in securing the highest possible level of award from the judges. He included a very good line about Aberdeen being a city of grey stone, but green spaces and clearly was delighted with the city’s recognition for the efforts of its diverse horticultural communities.
It was good to have GFAA’s contribution to this success noted along with all of the others.
Sandy Scott from ACC
Aberdeen was well represented at this week’s IYN event in Stirling. Fifteen city organisations won awards and Aberdeen provided two of the keynote speakers.
Sandy Scott from Aberdeen City Council gave an interesting account of his experiences as a Beautiful Scotland judge. He stressed that he and his fellow judges likes to see passion, a sense of place and history and lots of community involvement in projects and organisations – especially from youngsters.
Sandy offered lots of practical advice for those being considered for IYN or Beautiful Scotland awards:
- be prepared for visiting assessors – have some brollies to hand or water bottles on hot days
- encourage as many as possible to come along and have their say
- point up ties to local heritage and traditions
- use interpretation panels and photos
- don’t be afraid of showing some humour
- get the next generation and schools involved if possible
- show off your pride and your passion for your site
- demonstrate examples of recycling and repurposing
- provide evidence of all year round activities
- provide examples of press coverage and other publicity events
- apparently scones and pancakes often play their part in successful visits!
Wendy Gibson (Slopefield)
Wendy Gibson from the Slopefield Allotments Association gave a great account of their history and work towards achieving their outstanding award. They have worked hard at site and association improvements including:
- adding a pond and wet area.
- planting areas of wild flowers
- inviting local councillors to their community days
- developing their communal area and repurposed James Hutton Hut
- holding seed swap days and awards events – including welly-throwing!
- exploiting plotters links to business and community resources
- working with their local primary school on visits and curricular activities
- establishing bio-diversity partnerships and projects
- seeking advice from IYN assessors and representatives
- bribing Community Sunday volunteers with tea and cake after work sessions!
Michael Hart and Norman Coutts subbed for Stuart at this week’s It’s Your Neighbourhood event in Stirling. A full report of the event will follow, but we were surprised to find GFAA were to be presented with an award having achieved a thriving level assessment in our first year of participation in the scheme. Here’s what IYN had to say about our efforts:
“Working in partnership with Aberdeen City, Robert Gordon University and its Student Union, the group has established broader community involvement in the allotment. The group has established, and maintains, a community orchard and is developing a Community Garden for use by people with disabilities.”
As well as a series of very interesting presentations the event featured an exhibition area with stalls hosted by a range of commercial and charity organisations. A folder of their publicity materials has been placed in the bothy. Just the thing in case a rainy day or two interrupts your winter digging and you are looking for something to read!
Thanks go to Aberdeen City Council for laying on the mini-bus that took us to the event and Sandy Scott who did all the driving. As I say, the presentations were packed with good practical ideas for improving our plots and site and a full report will follow in a later post.
Our BBQ last Sunday was a great success. It was super to see so many generations relaxing together and enjoying themselves. As many of those present said, we are very lucky to have such a great space on site for our social gatherings.
If you could not make it on the day there are more pictures available via the Photos pages above.
My thanks to all who gave of their time and efforts behind the scenes and on the day helping make it such a relaxed and enjoyable afternoon. Here’s to next year!
Stuart