Our story
In July of 2018 we were approached by Caithness Biodiversity Group as their lease was coming to an end in September of the Bee Bubble Garden on the edge of the Ormlie Housing Estate (an area that falls into the top 20% SIMD). The group had failed to recruit volunteers and engage the community and the 1000m2 Garden was now dormant, overgrown and very unloved. Their offer was take the Garden now before the lease expires and you can keep the shed and the tools, or leave it, see if you can secure funding but in that case we take the shed and the tools away. We immediately saw potential in the site, potential to expand, potential to fulfil the community need for a community growing project and potential to start helping the community to address locally the impending Climate Emergency.
We took the lease in Summer 2018 and applied for a CCF Development Grant to help us to do the work needed for an application. This was a meaningful process for us. We were able to visit Moo Food in Muir of Ord and held community consultation sessions using ‘Shifting Normal’ to inform the development of the project. Within our consultation work we discussed plans with the community, held volunteer sessions including a very well attended Garden Open Day complete with local food being served and gained a core group of 23 people who were prepared to set about work in the Garden tidying and planning. Community consultation was the key for us in determining the project.
We worked with other community groups and statutory agencies in forming our plans. Food Waste eventually being the area of which we felt we could have most impact as there are no food waste collections by Highland Council in our area. Being able to work with a body of interested groups and the community was key to forming plans.
Our advice
Research - In March 2018, ran community consultation using the Place Standard Tool to identify priority needs in Thurso. In 1,180 responses (19% of the Thurso population) identified a need to improve natural spaces, take care of our environment, develop community capacity and become a more resilient town with localism at its heart. Approached by Caithness Biodiversity Group who had previously ran a 'Bee Bubble Garden' which had fallen into abeyance. TCDT saw the potential in the site and a project aimed at local food growing, minimising food waste, building community capacity, taking care of our environment and becoming a more resilient town. TCDT wanted to delve deeper into a community consultation exercise to ensure our community supported the project and it was a good fit to meeting these needs before making a full CCF application. Awarded an £800 CCF Development Grant in Aug 2018 to enable Thurso Community Development Trust to utilise Shifting Normal workshops and project planning workshops (using the Shifting Normal template) to run community consultation (online survey/155 respondents), held an open day at the existing community garden site (50 attendees) and completed a community learning exchange with a visit to a similar CCF funded project (MOO Food). Support from our community for the project via the survey data was 98%.
Along the way - Gained membership of Development Trust Association Scotland. Work regularly with Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Highland Council and other community organisations throughout Caithness such as Caithness Voluntary Group and Thurso Community Council. In Oct 2018 awarded funding from Highland LEADER (£28,000) and the Caithness & North Sutherland Fund (£5,000) to run a tourism development project/fund a Tourism Development Officer. We were a partner organisation in a consortium application to the Scottish Government Aspiring Communities Fund with Caithness Voluntary Group (CVG) for £180,000. TCDT were instrumental in this award of funding and it was used to employ development officers across Caithness, including Thurso identifying inequalities and developing facilities and services to reduce these.
Unexpected Surprises - Covid-19 - Disappointingly we may not have achieved the numbers in the garden nor met through survey data the numbers of people we had anticipated or had the same opportunity to evidence carbon reductions but we increased engagement across the community by more than we could have anticipated from the project.
Climate Change does not get people through the doors - A controversial lesson for a Climate Challenge Fund Project yet it was our experience. Activities/events which were marketing more widely as being community events, food workshops or learning how to grow attracted a more varied and unique audience each time. Once we then had people at the event/activity we were able to engage in conversations about climate, but those which were billed as climate events performed poorly.
