Growing Alternatives

Exploring themes of people, land, resources, the climate emergency and the impacts of the Covid pandemic.
This is an action workshop to explore the challenges and opportunities faced by communities who are working to improve their urban and rural environments. It will have two case studies:

(i) Woodlands Community Development Trust is a Glasgow-based charity whose Community Garden is this year celebrating its 10 year anniversary. The organic community garden supports local people to grow their own food and tackles social isolation through volunteering, partnership working and outdoor learning opportunities. It also provides a space for local people to collaborate on environmental issues and improve their health and well-being by reconnecting to nature. Woodlands Community Café has served over 20,000 meals since it opened 5 years ago. This free weekly café has been cited as an example of best practice by the Scottish Government.

(ii) West Stormont Woodland Group in Perthshire which is looking to bring two local woodlands – Taymount Wood and Five Mile Wood – into community ownership. The group is making an application to buy the woodlands under the Community Asset Transfer Scheme and will aim to manage the woodlands for wider biodiversity benefit, carbon sequestration, landscape, access, life-long learning, community wellbeing and green enterprise as well as for a timber crop.

All events will take place on Zoom and we will email through the relevant links beforehand when you register. You can get help installing zoom here.

Language & Accessibility
Coming soon…!

Contributors
Catriona Gall (West Stormont Woodland Group), Elspeth Coutts (West Stormont Woodland Group)
Organised in collaboration with:
Woodlands Community Development Trust, West Stormont Woodland Group
Part of From the Ground Up: Global Gathering for Climate Justice – a space for our movements to come together, strategise, and build power for systemic change.