Harvest and Hollowe'en event

Date: Friday 6 October

News Release October 2023

New community garden to host spook-tacular event this month!

The new Rattray Community Garden is to host a free Harvest and Hallowe’en festival later this month.

Open to everyone, the event will take place at the new facility off Balmoral Road in Rattray on Saturday, October 28th, from 3pm to 5pm.

The afternoon’s entertainment will include a Hallowe’en fancy dress competition with prizes available for various age categories – including adults – and for the best family group.

There will also be prizes for the best use of apples and blueberries and the best homegrown vegetables and flowers.

As well as the competitions, there will be apple pressing, arts activities for youngsters, spooky goings on with the Blairgowrie Players, refreshments and a home baking stall.

The event is one of a number of activities lined up by those behind the new facility that aim to raise awareness of the community garden, encourage people to get involved in its development and raise funds to support its maintenance.

Rattray Community Garden is based in what used to be a walled garden for Mount Ericht House and has been home to award-winning environmental group Blairgowrie and Rattray in Bloom for a number of years.

The purchase and redevelopment of the community garden was highlighted as something local people wanted as part of the community action plan consultation exercise carried out in 2020 and when the opportunity arose to buy the land, the site was secured as a community asset for the town and purchased by Blairgowrie and Rattray Development Trust (BRDT) thanks to support from the Scottish Land Fund.

The aim for the garden is to create a welcoming, relaxing area for people of all ages where local groups can meet, supporting health and wellbeing, reducing social isolation, developing gardening skills, and observing wildlife.

The garden will also help facilitate intergenerational activity and educational sessions, reduce food poverty by developing and maintaining an area - including raised beds - to grow fruit and vegetables for those in need, and increase biodiversity with careful management and planting.

Since purchasing the site, a small committee has been working on the redevelopment of the community garden, installing utilities and other facilities such as paths to ensure it is accessible for all, greenhouses and raised beds. Work on developing a planting plan for the garden is also ongoing.

And while a significant amount of work has already been carried out to get the garden to the point where it can open its gates to the wider local community, the committee has said that more still needs to be done in order to allow the community to benefit fully from the garden’s potential.

This includes the demolition of a derelict building on the site which cannot be saved or made safe on the site and work to convert a single-story building to create a general purpose room, toilets and a small kitchen for volunteers and visitors to the garden, and a new storage shed.

Lesley McDonald from Blairgowrie and Rattray Development Trust now looks after the Trust’s core projects and has recently become involved with the committee tasked with looking after the community garden.

She said: “We’re very excited to now be at a stage where we can begin to welcome lots of people to Rattray Community Garden and are looking forward to our Harvest and Hallowe’en festival for what looks set to be a fun afternoon with a competitive edge!

“This event is part of a wider programme of sessions we are organising to raise awareness of the garden and encourage more people to get involved in its development.

“Since we purchased the land, a small team of volunteers has been working really hard to ensure that the site is safe and accessible for the wider community and deserve our thanks for all their efforts, good planning and patience!

“Thanks to them we now have water and electricity, refurbished polytunnels, a new greenhouse and the relevant permissions required to start work on the buildings.

“Work on developing a planting plan for the garden is ongoing and we are delighted to be working with Paul Hodge from Nature’s Delights Walled Garden and Blair in Bloom volunteers on that.

“Paul, who is a passionate advocate of the ‘no dig’ approach to growing has visited the garden a few times now to share his experience and advice with us, which has been interesting, informative and inspirational. Paul will be joining us on a regular basis, which is fantastic news.

“Other upcoming events and activities at the community garden include a Christmas bulb planting workshop in November, a tool swap in January and a fundraising quiz on February 2nd. Keep an eye on our Facebook page and the Blairgowrie Advertiser for further details and updates.

“And in the meantime, dust off your best Hallowe’en costumes, and dig out those eerie-sistable recipes for apple crumble and blueberry muffins, and come and join us in the garden on Saturday, October 28th for a fab-boo-lous afternoon!”

To find out more about Rattray Community Garden, including how you can get involved in supporting the work it is doing or how you can benefit from the new facilities, follow the Facebook page by searching for ‘Rattray Community Garden’.

Alternatively see the new website at www.rattraycommunitygarden.org.uk or email info@rattraycommunitygarden.org.uk

ENDS For further information or media enquiries, please contact Clare McMicking on 07514 343 042 or clare@craicncommunications.scot

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