ST Andrews Timber & Building Supplies has teamed up with charity Upward Mobility (UpMo) to help establish a new community garden in the south of Edinburgh.
UpMo provides opportunities for adults with learning disabilities and autism and its UpMo Grow and UpMo Eat programmes work hand-in-hand to offer workshops for students centred around growing and providing produce for its cafes.
The UpMo gardens also provide an environment for students to learn about gardening and to experience the benefits of being outdoors and surrounded by nature.
With two established community gardens at Gorebridge and Prestonpans, the charity has recently expanded its reach to The Inch, with the support of Inch Nursery. When St Andrews Timber & Building Supplies, whose HQ is based at nearby Prestonfield, heard about the new venture, the company was keen to help and donated eight tonnes of soil which will help with the construction of raised beds used for growing fruit and vegetables.
An UpMo spokesperson said, “UpMo is very grateful to the team at St Andrews Timber & Building Supplies, who have supported our students and the greater community with their donation of soil for our raised garden beds. The fruit and vegetables which are grown will not only supply produce to our UpMo cafes but also local food banks. The Inch garden is in its early stages and it is with the generosity of organisations including St Andrew’s Timber and Building Supplies that we have been able to progress our work.”
St Andrews Timber & Building Supplies has been expanding its own landscaping side of the business over the last 12 months. Prestonfield branch manager Richard Harley added, “Community gardening has been shown to have a wide range of social, economic and environmental benefits. The work that UpMo has been doing over the years is fantastic. When they had plans to expand their community garden to the Inch recently, we were delighted to help out with the donation of the soil for the outdoor learning project and look forward to seeing the facility go from strength to strength.”
