The team behind a gardening project which has bloomed into a vibrant community hub has been named as the Scotland Loves Local High Street Hero for West Scotland.
Awards judges heard how Dalry Community Garden is creating new opportunities for people, as well as a supply of fruit and vegetables to residents of the North Ayrshire town.
Using land gifted by a local businessman, it was initially launched by Dalry Community Development Hub in 2021 to create a safe and supportive outdoor space following the coronavirus pandemic and has flourished since.
Its Scotland Loves Local Awards nomination stated: “The garden has become a real hub of the community. Volunteers utilise their skills to make the garden a unique place to venture. Crafts, artwork, planting, bonsai, cooking, bird watching, photography and learning all take place in our garden room and outside space.”
Events held there include a Santa’s grotto, numeracy and literacy through games sessions, schools garden visits and a winter soup kitchen using produce grown there.
Sheena Woodside, chair of Dalry Community Development Hub, said of the award: “This is quite unbelievable. We’re delighted. For a small group like ours to achieve this is great.
“What we do is about much more than gardening, it’s about supporting people with their wellbeing and we’re really proud to have created this space which is accessible to everyone.”
Scotland Loves Local High Street Hero Awards have been presented in each of the country’s eight Scottish Parliamentary electoral regions.
Elsewhere, Dalry Community Development Hub was named as a runner-up in the Scotland Loves Local Awards’ Most Enterprising Community category for its wider work to improve life in Dalry.
This includes the Bypass Art Group, the Skirt the Skeith road run, the Lynn Glen trail and the Balmore and Pennyland Bees, as well as the community garden and its work with other organisations.
Read more about the Scotland Loves Local Awards here.
