Follow this link for the new, Summer 2015 Edition of Aberdeen City Council’s, “Green Times” out now with all sorts of green and gardening stories from across the city.
GFAA has had success in two bids to Aberdeen City Council for funds to support new developments around our site. The monies will go towards improvements in the general amenities for all members in the years ahead.
As we will be participating in the Its Your Neighbourhood Programme in the coming year, ACC has agreed to contribute £400 towards the purchase of Public Liability Insurance, paving slabs, sand, greenhouse staging and hand-tools for use with the Community Garden Poly-tunnel. This will allow us to set the Poly-tunnel up to support wider use by groups and individuals for classes, workshops and communal growing activities, e.g. for pupils visiting from Kaimhill Primary School and within the RGU Community Garden and Student Plot projects.
ACC have also awarded us £400 from their Small Projects Fund to help with the purchase and construction of Larch composting bins to be used in connection with our new Dry Composting Toilet and for the purchase of associated signage and information boards.
We are obviously delighted with this continuing support from Aberdeen City Council as we try to develop our site and its amenities and widen community participation and knowledge of the health and environmental benefits of working a plot.
Thanks go to Stuart for alerting me to this good news story.
Thanks go to Bruce Taylor for alerting me to this study.
Aberdeen University has announced it has researchers taking part in a national survey of the New Zealand Flatworm‘s spread and its effects on our gardens, plots and fields.
As we know the Flatworms kill our native earthworms, but the university site contains some truly gruesome details about how they go about their murdersome business and how difficult they are to eradicate once they get established. It appears that the flatworms can reduce to 10% of their body weight for up to a year as they await another earthworm dinner. Perhaps the weight-loss industry ought to be sponsoring this survey!
More details, including how you can participate, are available via these links:
Aberdeen University Research Press Release
National Flatworm Research Project
Unwelcome Visitors to Garthdee Field
Related articles
GFAA played host to Ms Walker’s Primary 2 Class from Kaimhill School today. I think we can safely say that a good time was had by all!
The kids enjoyed a runner bean sowing and growing activity with Stuart and a visit to Gill’s plot to explore what different veggies look like when they are growing.
Two other class visits are planned, for Wednesday 17 and Thursday 25 June, between 1.30 and 2.30 in each case. If you could find the time to help with either of these visits please let Stuart or me know. Any and all offers help will be very much welcomed.
Our site has a new amenity – a compostable toilet is now in place and fully operational.
The Eco-Loo was obtained with funds kindly made available from the RGU Student Association Garden Project. GFAA contributed necessary sundries and will undertake maintenance and servicing. The Eco-Loo is kept locked: the padlock uses the usual combination used on all other communal locks. Stuart has the details if you need them.
Obviously, the Eco-Loo is a unisex facility. However, old boys will need to learn one or two new tricks to use the toilet successfully. Compostable toilets work on the principle of separating wee and solids: a special bowl-shape takes care of this naturally. Gents therefore, MUST sit to pee. Wee needs no further treatment, but solids and loo paper should be covered with a small scoop of the special sawdust provided in the large white bin. Separating liquid and solid waste, and adding sawdust, keeps the facility odour-free. It is important that sawdust is NOT added to the wee.
It is vital that no other rubbish or materials are disposed of in the toilet. Other waste materials, such as nappies, should be removed from the site by the user, but in emergency situations they may be disposed of in the small silver bin provided.
The Eco-Loo is a non-smoking facility! Naked flames and gasses are a dangerous combination and ignition might bring a whole new application for Michael Caine’s line, “You are only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!”
An automatic dispenser provides hand wash and there is a small LED light for use in the winter months or in low light.
Please leave the Eco-Loo as you would have liked to find it.
Members of the Committee have agreed to service the Eco-Loo and after some discussion at the last meeting it was agreed that Stuart would take the first stint on the rota, handing over to someone else in late 2020. However, in a late breaking bit of news, one plotter has expressed an interest in ‘harvesting’ the wee as a compost-heap activator. Perhaps we ought to sell off the franchise for GFAA funds?
Read more on compostable toilets on the Eco-Loo Site or via these links:
Related articles
You may remember Sonia Packer visiting our site to take photos for her RGU degree project. Sonia has been kind enough to invite us to her final degree show – see details below.
