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We intuitively know how great it feels to be part of our garden. What could be better than good company, working and chatting together on a shared task? Our stunning community garden setting is the ideal place to make new friends and feel like you are giving back to the community. Don’t forget the free veggies fresh from the ground all our volunteers take home with them!
There is a huge host of evidence showcasing the benefits of community growing:
http://www.edibleestates.co.uk/benefits-of-community-growing/
Our partners come to us for the great range of activities we can offer local people:
Peebles High School:
“The garden in Peebles is a wonderful resource for some of the young people from the local high school. Several small groups regularly attend sessions in the garden and work on various individual or group projects.
On occasions, the focus of this work relates to volunteering and employability skills. However, more often than not, the main focus is on the health and wellbeing of the young people. The garden provides them with a safe and tranquil environment, in which they can experience both nature and nurture in a friendly outdoor learning environment.”
Outside the Box:
https://otbds.org/garden-buddies/
Interest Link
“Interest Link has recently started a new outdoors group. Some of the group sessions will take place at the Community Garden, in partnership with Greener Peebles, with gardening sessions being led by Community Garden Worker Helen Copley. Group members are enjoying growing vegetables for their two raised beds and helping out with other jobs in the garden. It’s a great opportunity for everyone to be out in the fresh air, to learn more about the benefits of growing their own food, whilst having lots of fun with their friends in the garden.”
“I have been involved with the community garden for 5 years now.
I began as a volunteer as I had just moved to Peebles and had no connections here, I love growing but don’t know much about it so the volunteer sessions were great hands on learning. It’s a fab place for volunteering because you can chat away with folk on a group task or equally work away on your own.
There is no pressure to perform, some folk know a lot about gardening and others are absolute beginners. There is a real mixture of ages and abilities and that’s what makes it work. It’s a beautiful space and I also love popping along in the evenings with my daughter, sometimes we have a mini-picnic from our raised bed there or sometimes we just sit and read or potter about. It’s our favourite place in Peebles!
My daughter recently did some volunteering there are part of her D of E, that was a great experience. It feels really lovely to be involved with such a community project. The community garden is a lovely space for anyone to volunteer in and be part of… and it’s about so much more than the gardening. I would urge anyone thinking about it to just pop in for a nosey and check it out for yourself.. it’s lovely and peaceful. Hope to see you there!”
“Living 6 miles west of Peebles and having only moved into the area just before ‘lockdown’ it has been hard to get to know people and become part of the community, but the ‘Peebles CAN’ garden has offered me the perfect opportunity to do this.
The warm welcome from both staff and volunteers made me quickly feel at home and I really enjoy my time at the garden. It is a very relaxed atmosphere with lots of smiles and help for those who need advice and encouragement. There is always a choice of activities to get involved in and, being a novice gardener, I have already learned so much.
It’s always inspiring and confidence-building helping in the garden with lots of great ideas and tips. One of the first ideas I took away with me was building a net cover to protect my veg at home, as we have a lot of crows and jackdaws where we live. There is always a lovely atmosphere in the garden with plenty of cheerful chatter and a cup of something hot to warm us up on a cold winter’s day.
It’s great trying all the herbal infusions and finding out about things we can forage. The monthly meetings are very informative, and everyone is welcome to share their thoughts and ideas. As a retired teacher I have been delighted to get involved in delivering one of the ’skill shares’ which are a great initiative, as well as leading some gentle warm-up exercises in the garden.
I particularly like the fact that you don’t have to commit to volunteering on a regular basis and can just turn up when you have time. It has been a busy year for me, and I am really looking forward to spending more time in the garden in the coming months and getting involved in all the great projects with the wonderful team and volunteers. Thank you to everyone for caring for the environment and encouraging us all to do our bit to help nature thrive. “
“I really benefit from having a routine appointment with gentle gardening out of doors and the relaxed companionship of the other volunteers ”