{"id":797,"date":"2024-12-17T13:41:58","date_gmt":"2024-12-17T13:41:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/connectedaberdeen.org\/woodside\/?p=797"},"modified":"2024-12-17T13:53:28","modified_gmt":"2024-12-17T13:53:28","slug":"off-the-rails-on-the-right-track","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/connectedaberdeen.org\/woodside\/2024\/12\/17\/off-the-rails-on-the-right-track\/","title":{"rendered":"Off the Rails on the right track"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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They might be off the rails but they\u2019re on the right track!<\/p>

The Off the Rails Community Garden have just celebrated their second birthday and couldn\u2019t be prouder.<\/p>

The small group have been going full steam ahead, achieving an incredible amount in such a short space of time and showing no signs of breaking any time soon.<\/p>

The Woodside Free Press spoke with Liz and Alicia, who reflected on the last two years and shared some plans for the future.<\/p>

Alicia volunteers helping in the garden and as part of the committee too. She has been involved, from the early stages of the garden, despite having never previously been interested in gardening. \u201cI just saw Liz starting to put planters in one day and I was being nosey, so I came down to ask what she was doing. She explained it\u2019s a community garden and asked if I wanted to get involved, so I said, \u2018why not\u2019 and here I am two years later.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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It\u2019s massively helped my mental health; I\u2019ve made so many more new friends. I\u2019ve only lived here for four years and for the first two, I didn\u2019t know anyone. Since starting the garden, I know pretty much everyone.<\/p><\/blockquote>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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A sentiment Liz agrees with.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Yesterday I was having a bad day and just needed some time to myself. I came down here, took out one of the chairs and I just sat and picked berries off the bush, plucked the occasional weed and smelled the flowers. In those moments, it just feels like all the stress melts away.<\/p><\/blockquote>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u00a0Alicia\u2019s favourite part of the whole experience has been watching the space transform.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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I\u2019ve watched it go from an empty space to what it is now. It\u2019s amazing to open my blinds in the morning and look out to something beautiful, whereas before there was absolutely nothing, just a big grassy field full of dog poop. Now there\u2019s always lots of people down here, enjoying it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The garden certainly does make for a good view, from the thriving crop in the planters, the range of fruit trees and the picturesque mural proudly displaying the name.<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\u00a0The brand-new archway that the ladies were delighted to show off is also a nice touch, giving it a homey feel. You\u2019d have no idea that the volunteers behind it didn\u2019t have gardening experience prior to beginning the community garden.<\/p>

That\u2019s right, Liz, a founding member and chairperson wasn\u2019t a gardener before deciding the create the garden.<\/p>

This hasn\u2019t hindered the group at all as they have ploughed ahead, planting a huge variety of food which the community can help themselves to. They are growing pretty much anything you can think of, such as tatties, lettuce, onions, peas, cucumbers, tomatoes, a herb garden and more. It doesn\u2019t stop there with plenty more fruit such as rhubarb, strawberries black current, red current bushes and ten fruit trees growing, apples, plums, pears and cherries.<\/p>

Liz envisions this as a space \u201ckids can walk through and pick themselves fruit off a tree and pop it in their mouth as they go\u201d within a couple of years. \u201cI grew up in the country and I absolutely loved doing that when I was a kid, going hunting for raspberries, so I wanted to provide that for kids in the city.\u201d Not only will people be able to grab an apple on the way past but hopefully it will be able to save people some money on their food shops, and they can cut down on the imported fruit and veg available in the shops, with the alternative being right on their very doorstep.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The garden will also be a good educational tool for kids in the community.\n<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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There are a few plans coming up for the garden including a mental health corner and installing a polytunnel. The mental health corner, which the group are open to name suggestions, will be a quiet, secluded corner of the garden for anyone looking for a bit of peace can take themselves off to.<\/p>

But to see these projects through and continue to maintain the garden, the group need help. They are on the lookout for volunteers, so if you have some time to spare to help them out, why not pop along and see what you can do. They are looking for volunteers to help with the gardening and some heavy lifting if you can. Don\u2019t worry if you\u2019re not already a keen gardener, that\u2019s not a problem here.<\/p>

If the thought of getting your hands dirty doesn\u2019t suit you at all, they are also looking for some volunteer committee members too. If funding applications if your thing or if you\u2019d like to help as financial secretary, Off the Rails would be grateful for your help.<\/p>

You can get in Touch through the \u2018Off the Rails Community Garden\u2019 Facebook page or by emailing Offtherails.communitygarden@yahoo.com to arrange a time to chat.<\/p>

So, who knows what the garden will look like in another two years\u2019 time, but, judging by what has been achieved by their 2nd birthday, it\u2019s sure to be brilliant.<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

They might be off the rails but they\u2019re on the right track! The Off the Rails<\/p>\n