Article from Simon Watson, Lecturer – Health, Care Supported Programmes & Sport
Students on the second year of the Skills for Learning and Work course were delighted to be able to make a cash donation to Greener Peebles, a thriving intergenerational community garden in Peebles.
The community garden welcomes volunteers of all ages and abilities, offering a variety of seasonal tasks to suit the ability levels and interests of its volunteers.
In addition, they offer monthly skill share sessions from their garden shelter - The Barn. These are informal sessions, often featuring practical demonstrations that allow people to learn a variety of skills, including gardening activities, art and crafts, animal care, mindfulness, digital skills, and more.
They also host regular community meals throughout the year and are committed to promoting climate action, empowering local people to make realistic changes that support Scotland’s goal of becoming a net-zero nation.
Having researched the organisation to learn more about the work they do as part of their Volunteering Award, the students enjoyed several mornings supporting the volunteers at the garden, assisting with tasks such as mulching, pruning, weeding, and other jobs.
The students fundraised by organising a coffee morning at the Scottish Borders Campus, raising £50, and visited the team at the garden to hand over the cheque.
Staff member Joy Black, who initially introduced the student group to the community garden, said,
“The Community Garden offers a fantastic range of activities for members of the community to get involved in, and the students were really enthusiastic about researching the organisation and doing some voluntary work with them.
“It seemed only reasonable to thank them in some way, and fundraising by holding a coffee morning was an idea that all the students were happy to do”
To find out more information about the work of Greener Peebles, visit https://greenerpeebles.org.
- Pictured are students (L to R) Lucy Stirling, Siobhan Hynds, Hazel Christie, Aidan Smith, Kataryna Boiko, Ebony Bay, Archie Bates and Leona Lyall. Missing from the picture are Logan Carlin and Aidan Whitson.