Community Growth

Words by Amanda Eleftheriades Photos by Charlie Sherry

Dried teabags, crushed eggshells and three tonnes of horse manure are not often seen as essential ingredients for cultivating community involvement.

But for Cath Howard and her fellow volunteers at Bonhill Community Garden they are proving invaluable in growing both organic veg and community interest.

Inspired by the 2016 West Dunbartonshire Growfest, Cath and her daughter, Sarah-Jayne McGlashan, identified the disused red blaes playpark as a perfect spot for some raised beds and by 2018 had secured £10,000 initial funding from West Dunbartonshire Council's Your Community fund.

Since then, the group has built 20 raised beds filled them with organic veg and fruit trees, planted over 400 woodland saplings, signed a 15 year land asset transfer lease from West Dunbartonshire Council and just secured £86,000 funding from the EB Scotland Landfill Trust.

Along the way learning about growing methods which are healthy for both people and planet.

Cath explained: “We’ve looked at permaculture, no-dig growing, organic growth and composting. We want to keep it as as close to the natural habitat as possible.

“At the moment there is no toilet, shelter or running water up there, the land is contaminated and we’re not connected to the grid.

“Everything is like a barrier we’ve learned to overcome. It’s made us value the area so much more.

“At the beginning we thought, what do we do to get water and electricity; now we love being off-grid and we’re thinking let’s get this sorted so we don’t leave any carbon footprint.”

Volunteers Hard at Work

Volunteer, Rita Howard, recalled how in their first year they had to carry every drop of water on to the site by hand.

"We would fill my car with bottles of water and bring them up here to water the plants."

Now they have large water storage containers on site with the local fire service topping them up when needed.

Pre-Covid, 20 volunteers tended the raised beds and grew basic ingredients for a pot of soup plus summer favourites like peas, lettuce, strawberries and tomatoes - all organic and all free for anyone in the community.

Last year the group also planted a variety of winter crops and started their spring growing season early, thanks to buckets of donated horse manure used to heat their cold frames.

"We will make it like a wee oasis and keep the balance of growing the vegetables and making it a social space."

Future Additions

One of their planned purchases is a polytunnel to extend the growing season and provide a training space as community learning is something the group is passionate about encouraging.

Cath added: “When my kids were growing up it was a great buzzing community but now it’s very fractured and there’s not much happening. This was all about trying to bring people together and get that feeling of community back.

“Our wee slogan was ‘growing community and crops together’, that’s how we started.”

The Landfill Trust grant will assist their aim on both practical and aesthetic levels, funding an on-site amenities hall big enough for meetings, and covering the cost of a compost toilet, storage areas, more raised beds, fruit trees, shrubs, ornamental plants and foot-friendly pathways designed for people with walking difficulties.

The first accessibility paths were completed last month and for Rita it means she can fully enjoy the growing space again.

She said: "I hadn't been able to get into the garden, but now the paths are in I can get round in my wheelchair, no problem and the disabled beds are wonderful.

"When everyone is working in here, there's a quietness about the place.

"You're up here with that view of the Ben and Loch Lomond behind and it just helps your mind relax."

Gardening Benefits

Fellow volunteers John Meehan and Mark McGlashan agreed.

John said:"I have mental health and it helps me relax being in here."

And Mark added: "You just come in here and unwind - it's therapeutic.

"I've never done much gardening before.

"My grandad was doing his garden into his 90s, he would have loved this.

"I learned from my Pops and from my mum and now come and learn stuff from John and the others.

"This is like a blank canvas, we haven't used half of it so far, I've so many ideas."

For Cath this is what the garden is all about - creating a place for anyone in the community.

She added: “Our main focus has been on growing vegetables and feeding people but now we want to make it a bit more attractive while maintaining the growing standards.

“This money will allow us to make it like a wee oasis and keep the balance of growing the vegetables and making it a social space.

"It’s not everybody who loves gardening, but it’s not the whole point.

"We want to entice people in so they can share their stories and skills, learning from each other.”

Bringing the Community Together

The group has exciting plans for community cooking sessions, creative workshops and green learning with local schools and nurseries, but for now a community BBQ is also high on their ‘To Do’ list.

After a tough year, with a handful of volunteers taking solo shifts to keep the garden ticking over, they can’t wait to grow their space together again.

Cath added: “The interest increased last year because a lot more people were out walking their dogs and we forged a lot of new friendships.

"People are returning to see how the garden is doing and when we’re opening.

“Everyone is just wanting that BBQ, having that burger - there needs to be room for everything, we’re not going to save the planet on our own.”

Check the Bonhill Community Garden Facebook page for details on how to volunteer and get involved.