The Nature of Scotland – Autumn 2011 – Issue 13

SNH Area News
Strathclyde and Ayrshire
Correspondents: Sarah Watts, Nancy Fraser, Catriona Scriven
Sweet dreams
What have making honey and a new
long distance path got in common?
Well, they’re just two of the 31 projects
that have received a grant from the
Central Scotland Green Network
Development Fund. Over £1 million
has been awarded to projects in central
Scotland this year. SNH and Forestry
Commission Scotland manage the fund
and support projects that will improve
the local environment.
Planning has already started on the
John Muir Trail, a new long distance
path that will run from Dunbar to
Balloch. It will mean you can walk or
cycle from one side of central Scotland
to the other.
Meanwhile, the Kelvin Valley Honey
Project will help local groups to set up
bee hives. This new venture will not only
sell honey but also help farmers and
gardeners by increasing bee numbers.
And a new project in Glasgow
is going to make the most of vacant
spaces. Some will have new paths
put in so people can enjoy them, while
others will be used for food growing.
These are just temporary solutions, but
will mean that even for a short while
people will have the chance to make
the most of these places.
Lunchtime walkabouts
A big push to encourage more working
folk in and around Glasgow to get
outside at lunchtime was launched in
the summer.
SNH staff handed out leaflets in the
city centre, urging people to make use
of the green places close to where they
work. The leaflets give people ideas on
where to go and what to do for a bit of
time out with nature during their lunch
break.
53,000 copies of the ‘Simple
pleasures, easily found in Glasgow’
leaflet were also delivered to city
households. It highlights four trails
across the city that are easy to get to:
Glasgow Green, the Forth & Clyde
Canal Walkway, the White Cart Water
and the River Kelvin Walkway.
For those who want to go a bit
farther afield, ‘Get out and about in
Glasgow’ gives details of over 60
places to enjoy nature in and around
the city, from Greenock in the west to
Lanark and Cumbernauld in the east.
And a new leaflet detailing places to
visit in the East End of Glasgow will
shortly be available.
If you’d like a copy of any of the
leaflets, contact SNH publications
on 01738 458 530 or at pubs@snh.
gov.uk. You can also download them at
www.snh.gov.uk/simplepleasures
Ypeople garden
For a number years, we’ve supported
a community garden programme
on the BBC’s Beechgrove Garden
programme. Each year, keen
communities identify an area that could
benefit from a makeover to improve the
site for local people and wildlife.
The site has to be peat free, organic,
sustainable and wildlife-friendly, and
there’s always a high number of entries.
This year we selected a site in Glasgow
for Ypeople. This is a supported
accommodation residence for young
people made up of asylum seekers
and individuals who have been made
homeless.
Most of the residents of Branston
Court in Maryhill are from backgrounds
where it’s been difficult for them to
be engaged with gardening or the
environment. So this project presented
an opportunity for them to be ‘hands on’
in setting up and maintaining the site.
The design aimed to create an area
that would allow residents to meet and
sit out, a barbecue area for socialising,
flower beds, raised beds for growing
vegetables and a sensory garden.
The aim is to improve the site so
the residents can use the vegetables
in cooking, as a way of developing
healthier eating. The project will be
maintained by the residents with
supervision from the staff.
44 The Nature of Scotland