Huntly Toon Gardener Launch

Town gardeners Maria and Katrina were delighted to welcome people on a walk around Huntly, rediscovering elements of the Edible Trail which was planted as part of a project called a Bite on the Side (by artist Norma Hunter). A HOP ON & HOP OFF system allowed people to join parts of the journey that started at the lovely Brander Garden at the back of the Huntly Square. The Brander Caretakers' Garden has been under the care of Deveron Projects and their dedicated volunteers who care for the garden under the expertise of Lindy. Over the years, the garden has hosted a range of projects such as the building of a outdoor shelter with children, the codesign and planting of a food forest, and - way back -the planting and training of espalier fruit. Some were even planted by the brother of one of greener Huntly's Directors a few decades ago. "We could have spent the entire time just exploring what is growing in this garden. There is a range of edibles from fruit trees and shrubs, to perennial and annual herbs." Katrina explains. "The way the have been planted, blended in a naturalistic way that mimics how plants naturally like to grow, means these plants support each other leaving us with a lot less work to do once the plants have established."

After smelling different herbs and tasting some ground elder - not necessarily a hit amongst the brave foragers - the group made their way down to the train station. Here it became crystal clear what the issue is of many greenspace projects that rely on volunteers and funding. Alison from Scotrail pointed at a rusty and broken vegetable cage on a raised bed in the middle of the lawn. Great projects start, but then stop again, leaving behind unsightly features, hard to maintain areas, and even fruit trees that can't be accessed legally by the public. "This clearly raised the question of how to achieve continuity. While volunteering is extremely rewarding, helps boost confidence, builds relationships, and encourages skill sharing, the volunteer should not be the ones ultimately responsible to keep things going or to close things down properly. This is one element that greener Huntly can take on. While fully supporting project ideas of volunteers, greener Huntly can align things, ensure long term planning, and follow up on projects when volunteers move on." says Katrina. The hope is that greener Huntly, through being able to trade like a normal enterprise, can start to generate profit that will be used for its greenspace projects. Funding like the Communities Health and Wellbeing fund by AVA that pays for the town gardeners helps with testing and kickstarting of projects. Successful ones can then become part of the core services that greener Huntly can support through the profit from their social enterprise.

After exploring further, passed the Gordon Schools and down the Lime tree avenue to the Deveron, where the first sweet cicely fonds are welcoming spring, the group sat down with a hot drink from the Huntly Nordic and Outdoor Centre cafe. While the children from Cairnie school were demonstrating first hand how lovely it is to build skills outdoors, getting lessons in archery and roller skying, the conversation flowed to accessibility, choosing the right words, and learning about foraging in practice, safely. "Would it not be great to have the photographic ID of a plant on a sign, right next to the plant?" "What is link to a website with more info." "And what about pictures of the plant in its different stages throughout the year". This is exactly the type of low threshold, natural co design that greener Huntly wants to facilitate. Maria ended the session looking ahead of what is to come this year. "We will be listening, so we can grow our program of events together with everyone" She explained to the group. Greener Huntly is the community, developing a greener future with, not for, the people of Huntly.