<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">We want to extend the paved area in Cumbrae Community Garden to make a number of raised beds more accessible to users of wheelchairs, mobility scooters and walking aids. </span></span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>A group of volunteers took over the care of flower beds, signage, upkeep of paths, upgrading of fencing, the creation&nbsp;of fairy paths, bug hotel at Douglas Park in Largs.In May 2020&nbsp;no flowers or plants were visible in the park. Within a few weeks all previous flowerbeds were opened and new bulbs, plants installed. An &#39;adopt a flower bed scheme&#39; was launched and individuals, local businesses, local groups like the Foccrs, Largs Youth Theatre, Largs Flower Club and the Nazarene Church had adopted and taken over the care of the beds along with the support of&nbsp;&nbsp;a group of committee members and friends. The gardens at Douglas Park have been transformed and paving work upgraded, the firechip to all the paths was renewed and painting of fencing, benches and metal surrounds also took place. However we need to continue our upgrading and maintenance to ensure the park continues to bloom.</p>

<p>SHED is part of Community Roots in West Kilbride which also runs the Village Larder, a subsidised food with dignity project. We have a community garden in the center of West Kilbride and host a drop-in social gardening day once a week there. We have been developing this garden for fruit and vegetable growing so that we can learn how to grow food whilst recognising the mental and physical health benefits of gardening together. Most of what we produce goes to our Village Larder to be accessed for free by our customers there, and some of it is a healthy reward for our hard working volunteers. Our aims are to make healthy food more accessible and create a buzz in the area about the benefits to our health and environment by growing our own food.&nbsp; In the upcoming year we want to further develop our Community Garden and facilitate food growing in people&#39;s own gardens by providing materials, plants and practical support. We trialed offering some plants to our Village Larder customers this summer with great success and think that we can advertise and distribute well from there, with additional advertising of the project on our social media platforms and contacts. We think this will build our connections with people in WK and be the start of a rolling project over the seasons with continual support and materials offered. People will be asked when signing up f they prefer large trugs, 15litre potted veg gardens, or pop up fabric planters and what plants they want to grow from a list. We will have cards to give out with info on growing each plant, fertiliser for the season, canes and ties etc. They will be invited to sow the seeds in our polytunnel on drop in days to see where it all begins and this will introduce people to our growing community. This project will be especially useful for people who aspire to grow but don&#39;t know where to start, people who can&#39;t afford things like soil and fertiliser to sustain crops once established (which is expensive, expanding education on food and its origins, and people who are not able to access the drop in sessions that are keen to connect and grow.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Enhance existing Community Garden&nbsp;on entry to Largs, create new focal point for Seasonal Displays and signage advising of what&#39;s happening in Largs&nbsp;</p> <p>Community garden located at corner of Irvine Road and Googoside Road is a highly visual prominent&nbsp;focal point on the way into central Largs viewed by locals and visitors&nbsp;</p> <p>Garden is looked after and maintained by Community Council and brings a great deal of happyiness and wellbeing to those driving or walking past</p> <p>In recent years Seasonal Displays have significantly added to the visual impact : Chistmas tree &amp; snowman, Easter bunny &amp; chick, Halloween witch,cats &amp; bats,&nbsp;Rememberance poppy and Viking warriers&nbsp;&nbsp;- Intent is to provide an enhanced display area by moving existing hanging basket frame and installing new metal frame to secure displays onto as well as installing ducting for lighting cables and slabs for easy access to display&nbsp;area</p> <p>In addition install signage to promote Largs Community Council and notify public of &quot;What&#39;s Going On&quot; in Largs thoughout the year (sign to have changeable notice board section)</p>

<p>We would like to continue to offer Tai-Chi classes to people living with Dementia in our local Community. Funding a qualified Tai-Chi Instructor and hiring an appropriate Hall, to undertake the classes for the local Community. Research Studies showed that in people with mild cognitive impairment Tai-Chi slowed the progression to Dementia more than other types of exercise and improved cognitive function in a comparable fashion to other types of exercise or cognitive training. Tai-chi is a safe effective activity that improves physical balance and emotional wellbeing in older adults.</p>