A West Lothian village has marked the anniversaries of two eco-friendly local groups.
The Winchburgh Community Growing Group is celebrating its fifth anniversary while the Winchburgh Wombles, which help keep the area litter-free, is turning three.
The milestones were marked with a party in the one-and-a-half-acre community growing garden in Auldcathie Park, Scotland’s largest new district park. The growing area is within the repurposed landfill site and was handed over to the group by Winchburgh Developments Limited (WDL) in September 2021 to provide space for the community to come together over a love of growing.
More than 50 local people attended the celebration, where they enjoyed fruit punch made from produce from the garden and a cake inspired by Auldcathie Park, as well as a DJ and live music from a piper. Guests were given a first look at the park’s new sensory garden which features a rainbow archway and has been designed to stimulate and engage all five senses and sponsored by Taylor Wimpey, one of the housebuilders in the village.
The growing group was founded in 2018 after two residents came forward through the consultation for the Auldcathie Park design and wanted to help build a new growing community in the village. The group was initially gifted 10 planters by WDL, which were placed throughout the community. Since then, volunteers have dedicated more than 25,000 hours to the group and it has become a key part of the community, with more than 50 planters located around the village with a mix of fresh vegetables, herbs and flowers.
It has since run planting projects with local schools, distributed free seeds during the pandemic, led a mass tree planting event in new community woodland, hosted seasonal events, and provided locals with the chance to engage with nature and enjoy the mental and physical benefits that collective gardening can bring. The efforts have been rewarded by achieving two silver Scotland In Bloom awards.
The Winchburgh Wombles, inspired by the dedication shown by local litter-pickers, was formally established in June 2020 as the country came out of lockdown. Funded by WDL, the initiative encourages residents to pick up litter from the area and keep it looking beautiful. Wombles are rewarded for their work with tokens that can be redeemed at local businesses. The money raised by the Wombles through their work is reinvested into future growing projects.
Penny Lochhead, community, sports and greenspace manager for Winchburgh Developments Limited, said, “We’d like to congratulate The Winchburgh Community Growing Group and the Winchburgh Wombles on reaching their milestone anniversaries. Both groups do incredible work and bring so much to the local community – whether it be through providing opportunities for school pupils to learn about gardening and sustainability, helping create green spaces for everyone to enjoy, sharing produce and seeds, or helping keep the area beautiful through litter picking.
“It has been a huge pleasure to work alongside the host of amazing volunteers and John and Aileen bring the community together in ways which everyone admires – real community heroes. The two groups are both amazing examples of what can happen when communities and developers collaborate to make exciting visions come to life.”
