COMMUNITY GARDENING
In West Lothian, one woman has decided to build a garden for her own community, starting one planter at a time.
Haleh Nather is a former call centre trainer with a lifelong love of nature that she’s keen to share. Now a dog walker, it was during one of her regular outings that she spotted an underused corner of the local park – and an idea began to blossom.
“Community gardens start in very different ways,” she explains. “Here in Livingston, there’s Murieston Community Garden, which was born out of Murieston Community Council. They have a development officer and they are quite active but not every community has this option.” Haleh lives a couple of miles from Murieston and wanted to see something similar for her immediate neighbourhood.
“I first began thinking about community gardens after a visit to Edinburgh, where I saw the Meadows Community Garden. It had raised circular planters and a little sign that said ‘Community Garden’, and I thought, that’s so simple. That was my inspiration.”
Back home, out dog walking one day, she came across a quiet corner of the local park. “It was in a corner, and there’s a stream going by the side of it. It’s a triangular spot, almost before the tree line starts but it’s a sun catcher.
“I thought, if people want to come and just be themselves and not be overlooked by others, this would be the perfect place.”
The space was five minutes from the village centre, meaning people wouldn’t have far to come to find it. Haleh’s dream of getting more people involved with nature had just got a little closer.
She wrote to the council and asked what would be involved in setting up a community garden. One of the staff came out to see her proposed site, and after a few back and forths, they agreed that she could take it on.
One of the main hurdles, says Haleh, was that she had to be part of a constituted group. She allied with Almond Valley Nature Action Group (AVNA), who already ran wildlife walks and events in the area, and they were able to provide the organisational backing. She now acts as their garden officer.
The only stipulation from the council, she explains, was that she had to have 2 metre distance between the planters so that their lawnmower could get through.
For now, the garden at Livingston Village consists of four half-barrel planters, sourced on Facebook Marketplace, for which Haleh and her friends have provided slabs, liners, soil, and gravel – but there are big plans to come.
“When I had finished putting the planters out, there were people walking around, and they were curious,” says Haleh.
“It was late spring, and there were flowers – it added some variety to the park. Everybody who passed by gave me compliments.
“I’ve had visitors from the after-school clubs and the local primary school, and recently a wee boy of nine years old came with his classmate and we painted rings on the barrels. I just told them what to do and they sprayed and painted them. I’d planted some purple curly kale, and they picked a bit and tasted it. That’s why I do this: I want to find ways to get young people enthusiastic about nature too.”
Haleh hopes the garden will eventually become a hub for the community, just as the Murieston Garden has done down the road. “I think having the garden will help the community come together. AVNA is a member of the West Lothian Climate Action Group, and together we hope to raise funds to extend the garden.”
Haleh hopes to lease the land from the council, and to get a local secondary school involved through their horticultural department. “I’ll be adding six more raised circular planters, and I’d like to add a gazebo,” Haleh adds. “If the garden is bigger then people will come and, I hope, get really inspired.”
Would she recommend starting a community garden to others? “Yes,’” she says with enthusiasm. “Just go for it.”
See how the garden is developing on its Instagram or Facebook page.
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