Building knowledge and inspiring others into action around community gardening and food growing in South Kintyre was the aim last Wednesday as a fledgling campaign invited the public on a tour of its sites.
The event was hosted by Hannah Jones from Kintyre Climate Action – part of the South Kintyre Development Trust (SKDT) – and Ed Tyler, its community garden adviser, who is leading the volunteering aspect of the campaign.
Those gathered at the SKDT Hall in the town’s Kirk Street visited the herb and fruit garden at Kilkerran, as well as the Gateway Garden on Kinloch Road, with more sites to be seen in future meetings.
Potential volunteers and organisers enjoyed some homemade spicy pumpkin soup, made by Ed, and created from farmer Hannah’s Bellochantuy Farm Stall pumpkins.
Ed said: “I like the term ‘food citizens’ rather than volunteers, with everybody bringing something to the table, in as collaborative an approach as possible.
“Hannah has been active with various school-age groups in inviting them to learn more about plants, including to her farm stall to see how pumpkins are grown.
“Everything for the soup was made from locally-sourced ingredients.”
Explaining the community growing aspect, Ed said: “The idea behind our own ‘incredible edibles’ idea, for multiple sites across Campbeltown, means there will be a site that is really local, right on your doorstep.
“This was trialled successfully in the former industrial town of Todmorden in England, with a population of 15,000, so the parallels are there for it to be a success here, with the community behind it.”
The recipe for the pumpkin soup – and how to get involved in community gardening – can be found on Facebook at Kintyre Climate Action.