Addition of planters on the walking route between Eglinton and Almswall Parks in Kilwinning to boost biodiveristy and growing space, encouraging people to engage with the seasons and connect to where their food comes from.
Description
Kilwinning Biodiversity Volunteers are a group of local people representing a range of nature-based projects across the town, coming together to look at how we can boost community interaction with nature and encourage more people to get growing in their local area.
We've mapped the walking route between Almswall Park and Eglinton Park in Kiwlinning, including pedestrian surveys over the course of the summar months, and have estimated that around 2,500 people trips would be made along the route each week. This is a brilliant opportunity for us to reach a wide cross-section of the population, as the route passes not only housing, but bus stops, community growing space and a care home, presenting us the opportunity to work in partnership with other groups and find interesting ways to encourage people to get involved.
We are looking at a variety of planters, including hanging baskets, troughs, flower pots, upcycled containers and fence-hung planters to contain a range of seasonal produce, meaning there will be something available along the route from around April (salad leaves and early strawberries) to October (squash and potatoes). The Climate Fund's investment will enable us to grow the plants from seed, and cover the start up costs (compost, seed, feed and some of the planters), as well as QR code signage that will let people know what's available in each location every month, with a harvest available at honesty boxes throughout the route. We also plan to mix in native wildflower mixes and look at companion planting in the larger containers to encourage pollinators and bring colour and vibrancy to the project. Plants that go to seed through sudden changes in the weather will be allowed to do so, and we'll collect the seeds to donate to local growing projects and the North Ayrshire Seed Library.
Volunteers from our network will maintain the planters and harvest the produce on a daily basis, as we live along the route and can easily walk along it to check progress daily. We're really excited about the potential of a small project to create increased community cohesion in Kilwinning, and if successful, hope to link in with others across North Ayrshire to develop future projects elsewhere.
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