New Kid in the Gardening Block

Words & Photos by Harvey Smart

Dillichip Community Garden is one of the latest growing spaces to pop up in West Dunbartonshire, opening last spring with support from the council and West Dunbartonshire Greenspace.

Iain McPhie, who sits on the local community council was approached to head up the project. He explained how it all began.

“We had to form a community committee to apply for grant funding. We applied for the first lot of funding, which was from Strathleven Trust.

“That's how we’ve managed to pay for all the trees for the orchard.” Iain gestures to the young fruit trees which line the borders round the garden.

“Historically there was an orchard here before the houses were built, so we’ve done all the heritage variety types of fruit.”
But in more recent history, the land the gardens occupy was an old blaes football pitch.

To make it suitable for gardening and growing food, the council had to build the entire area up with several feet of topsoil. No small undertaking.

“The Council provided us with two sheds, the polytunnel, and we need to now start running it,” Iain says.

“But the place isn’t full, as you can see, they’ve got to work their way through the waiting list. Historically, there's been a waiting list in West Dunbartonshire for allotments for years, because there's been no new ones built.”

But Iain is keen for the gardens to be used for more than just individual allotments.

They have plans for it to be a place for the community to gather and unwind in a relaxing space and also provide food for locals.

“The goal is to produce as much food for the local community and garden users as we can.

“We could have open days here and we would maybe have people paying a nominal sum for a load of fruit and veg. Especially just now when times have been hard.

“Obviously the individual allotments are for the allotment holders but for the community garden side of things we’re going to try and get as much produce as we can.”

Nearby Bonhill Primary is also involved, with the kids tending a couple of beds, and several local community groups have already taken advantage of the gardens to get folk active.

Iain stresses the benefits gardening can have on mental health.

“It can be helpful for loneliness, for people with disabilities - we’ve had a couple of ladies that are of an age where they might have lost their husbands and they’ve come here and made new friends.”

Like most of these recent community garden projects in West Dunbartonshire, they likely wouldn’t be so successful without the support of Andy Devine of WD Greenspace, which supplies the network of local gardens with the invaluable materials and knowledge to get them up and running.

“Andy’s given us a lot of support. He provides us with a skip, he brings compost for us to use, they made the planters over there for us. He’s been really good.”

As they don't have access to mains power, future plans include aims to follow the model of Bellsmyre Community Garden and get funding for solar panels and a battery bank for charging tools and equipment.

As the garden continues to grow, both in size and ambition, it’s clear that Dillichip is more than just a place to grow fresh produce. It’s a space where community, hard work and wellbeing go hand in hand.

With a strong foundation, a clear vision, and community spirit at its roots, Dillichip Community Garden is well on its way to becoming a fine addition to the growing collection of similar projects across West Dunbartonshire.

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