Forres Transition Town-based Green Shoots project seeks alternative venue

A successful project which teaches local children how to grow food sustainably may have to find an alternative venue to continue.

The Green Shoots project, currently based at Transition Town Forres (TTF) on Bogton Road, has been running since April 2022, inspiring attendees from Dyke, Kinloss, Logie, Dallas and Anderson’s Primary Schools, Forres Academy, Pilmuir Nursery and The Paddock, Broom of Moy.

However, Green Shoots may have to find another headquarters after the recent resignation of TTF’s entire board.

Project coordinator, Barney Thompson said: “We’re keen to work more with schools and other groups like the Scouts and Guides - book us while there’s still space in our diary! Part of the project is to upskill staff to continue the good work into the future.”

Green Shoots sessions supported by knowledgeable volunteers are run weekly in term-time. However, a highly successful 'Kickstart Your Growing Season' attended by ages mid-teens to mid-fifties was held on a Saturday afternoon last month. Attendees shared tips and ideas inside and outside TTF’s Sustainable Living Centre.

Barney explained its success: “We take time to understand the level of experience or particular areas of interest of the attendees - our flexibility allows us to accommodate specific requests. In this session, we had a very wide range of experiences.

“Participants particularly liked sowing peppers and tomatoes to grow at home as well as sowing peas to be planted in school gardens.”

Young growers from Dyke, Kinloss Primary Schools and Kinloss Nursery have also been enjoying Green Shoots sessions. The budding gardeners made biodegradable bird feeders, tidied and sowed raised growing beds and planted flowers for the Spring.

“The Pilmuir kids sowed seeds in their wee greenhouse,” added Barney. “They fed and tended their wormery - wiggly worms are always a hit!”

Senior Early Years practitioner at Pilmuir Nursery, Hazel Dingwall, said: “It's wonderful to see the shared enthusiasm and knowledge. Parents have engaged, too, by viewing news and photos of seedlings their children take home.”

In addition, the project has supported S1 pupils at Forres Academy completing The John Muir Award, which encourages young people to connect with, enjoy and care for wild places.

“We've been running sessions with groups of students from the Nurture Group,” added Barney. “They visit our garden at Bogton Road each week. Particular favourites are carpentry, sowing different kinds of seeds to use later in other schools and having a good old workout on the rotating composter.”

Academy teacher Mrs Anna Deregowska added: “Greenshoots allows pupils the chance to experience a range of activities, gain skills and see their potential.”

The group also built a raised flower and vegetable bed for Pilmuir Nursery.

“They help us make flowers and it’s fun to have them” said attendee, Daisy Matthew, 4.

“We’re delighted and very grateful,” added her teacher, Mrs Dingwall. “It’s perfect for the children's vegetables. It’s been made so that they can move around it freely and tend to them at a lower level.”

Green Shoots has a packed programme planned for Dyke, Kinloss, Dallas and Alves Primaries as well as Pilmuir Nursery, The Paddock at Broom-of-Moy and Dyke Pre-school. The team is also planning more skills-building and resilience workshops for young people and adults from April to June.

However, TTF’s problems mean the project’s future is uncertain.

“We’ll need to site our tools and materials elsewhere from April,” said Barney. “This is a challenge as we have carefully built-up lovely soil and have used these beds for workshops and community gardening sessions. We will need to find another venue for our workshops, ideally with some garden space.”

For more information email ttfgreenshoots@gmail.com or visit https://ttforres.scot/2023/10/24/new-green-shoots-workshops/