Bute In Bloom Portfolio

Transcription

1 Bute In Bloom Portfolio Reeni Kennedy Boyle supported by Bute in Bloom Volunteers 2017 This portfolio has been put together to assist Scotland in Bloom judges as a useful reference to Bute In Bloom entry It outlines the activities and achievements of our community over the last year.

2 Introduction Bute in Bloom is an umbrella group for individuals and organisations on Isle of Bute to work collaboratively towards common goals that fit with the overall aspirations of our community. The groups meetings provide a space for ideas, debate and action planning. The purposes of the group are to promote Isle of Bute as a community that excels in horticultural achievement, takes environmental responsibility serious and is highly active. Bute in Bloom seeks to facilitate shared actions and best practise; co-ordinate voluntary effort; and seeks to preserve, restore and improve the environment in and around Rothesay. Our community takes a many flowers approach to achieve the greatest sustainable impact with limited resources. We have recognised the need for stronger collaboration. In the past year, Bute Island Alliance SCIO has been formally constituted to develop a more resilient economy. Bute in Bloom has fed into this to ensure the amenity of our townscape maintains a high profile within other developments. We have faced challenges to our amenity with the introduction of 3-weekly general refuse collection. We have lobbied successfully to retain Rothesay Esplanade as a showcase public space. There has been good progress on projects with longer timelines such as Chapelhill Rockery. Focus has been given to maintaining infrastructure such as benches, fencing and paths in good order. Our facebook group, created last year to improve communication, has 107 members. This has proven an easy way for people to organise planned activity, schedule group meetings, and share their activities and achievements. 1

3 Horticultural Achievement Impact Our tour begins with Rothesay Esplanade. Rothesay Townscape is blessed with a bright colourful esplanade of formal gardens and amenity space comprised of traditional rose beds, seasonal flower beds, neat lawns and three key focal points: War Memorial maintained by local Royal British Legion volunteers, planted in yellow and blue which represents Legion colours; Fountain seating area which is well maintained and provides a lovely meeting place for residents and visitors; and Ladies Garden which is an enclosed space bordered by box hedging containing seasonal flower beds which pick up the hot colours from Rothesay Town crest badge. The Ladies Garden is a wonderful space for photographs and a quiet stroll. There is also a floral clock, which was created following donations from our business community. The Esplanade Gardens are maintained by Argyll & Bute Council with support from local volunteers. Our tour ends at Ardencraig Gardens. Ardencraig Gardens is an historic walled garden, owned and maintained by Argyll & Bute Council with support from local volunteers, and frequented by residents and visitors alike. The garden is comprised of Victorian glasshouses; formal beds; aviary; and small water folly. The Gardens are an exemplar of horticultural excellence with plants grown from seed and heritage varieties sustained from one year to another. Ardencraig is the nursery for Rothesay Esplanade and Dunoon, as well as providing plants to local groups working across Isle of Bute. Autumn harvest Residential and community gardening Our community has two allotment societies within Rothesay, a community orchard at Kilchattan bay, and a community market garden, Bute produce. Moreover, Appletree Nursery, Rothesay Nursery, North Bute Primary School, St Andrew s Primary School and Rothesay Primary School, all have growing spaces. There is regular knowledge exchange between the gardens with events and activities over the year to maintain a high level of community engagement. The flourishing Rothesay Horticultural Society has over 100 members who share their knowledge and inspire us with their endeavours. St Andrew s Allotments is a wonderful asset that has strong links with St Andrew s Primary School, supporting local food production and creating bio-diverse space in one of the town s highest zones for multiple deprivations. The Allotment growers have worked to continually improve the biodiversity of the site which has many features such as small pond, wild planting and this year they 2

4 have added birch saplings donated by Bute Produce. Each feature is designed to attract garden birds and support pollinators over an extended season. Bute Produce is a community market garden and horticultural training centre managed by local social enterprise Fyne Futures. The garden provides skills development opportunities for people with a range of barriers to employment. Bute Produce has over 30 raised beds which are openly available to members of our community without access to green space. A useful addition this year is accessible raised beds and veg trugs. Bute Produce grows seasonal fruit and vegetables using permaculture principles. New features in the garden include working wood, wild life pond, use of green manures, growing for seed area, fruit cage, and have recently installed a bee hive. There are plans to re-activate Rothesay Beekeepers Association. Winter - planning Business area and Premises Bute in Bloom has been cultivating closer relationships with local businesses around our main retail areas. The townscape has a variety of planters and hanging baskets that bring colour to our Victorian facades. These are maintained by local businesses with the support of Bute in Bloom volunteers. Argyll & Bute Council provide and maintain a number of planters which add structure and colour from Rothesay Pier through to Guildford Square. Whilst there is no overall colour scheme, this is an element which we are looking to progress for next year. In recent years Bute in Bloom volunteers has taken on vacant and derelict sites around the townscape: Guildford Square birds and bees hidden garden; Montague Street social garden; and King Street rabbit garden. Each space has been transformed and provides habitat for birds, bees and a variety of pollinators, as well as an opportunity for our community to pause awhile. Green Spaces Rothesay Town is unique in having two broadleaf woods - Skeoch and Skipper. These woods provide wonderful amenity for walkers and horse riders. Bute Conservation Trust volunteers have a programme of path maintenance which ensures accessibility throughout the year. 3

5 The Meadows area sits behind the main commercial area of Rothesay. The Meadows is used by many local sports organisations with events throughout the year for: shinty, football, cricket, and gymkhana along with children s play areas. These clubs take an active role in ensuring the area is kept litter free, particularly following matches and events. More recently The Meadows has been host to a new festival Bute Fest. The Meadows is increasingly seen as a place for improving the bio-diversity of our open spaces. Future plans include extending the areas containing wildflower meadow and natural planting. Spring - colours Summer fruits of labour 4

6 Environmental Responsibility Rothesay is Scotland s 2 nd largest conservation zone however declining economic conditions have meant the townscape succumbed to neglect and decay. In more recent times, there has been significant investment and a great deal of progress made to restore the built heritage. Two key projects have been led by Argyll & Bute Council with community support. Rothesay Townscape Heritage which is entering a new development phase, with financial investment from Heritage Lottery Fund, and support from Bute Island Alliance. Rothesay Pavilion Restoration is underway; this will bring new live to this iconic building Rothesay Mansion House is a Mount Stuart Trust project which began last year. The buildings have now been restored externally. Plans to complete the project with internal refurbishment and new garden lay out in the courtyard behind, reinterpreting the original plans. Winter Garden Restoration will be a future project; Visit Scotland have undertaken a full structural survey during Autumn There have been early discussions on how this wonderfully engineered building can become a fully utilised centre for seafront activity. Bute in Bloom volunteers Alan and Gina Denholm are leading a long term project which will see full restoration of Chapelhill Rockery which was laid down in the 19 th century. The promontory is a distinct feature as the ferry comes into Rothesay Bay. It is a difficult and challenging site that had fallen into decay and disrepair. Work has been completed on hard landscaping to make the site safe for public use again. Maintenance is an ongoing struggle. A very early planting decision was to introduce a wild flower area which continues to provide a feast for the eyes, as well as making it attractive to garden birds and pollinators. This has been beneficial for the current planting programme which included a full range of heathers. A fuller report is appended. Isle of Bute has become Scotland first Zero Waste Island, led by Fyne Futures and supported across the community. A full programme of awareness raising project and activities was delivered along with new installation of resource management infrastructure to ensure that prevention of waste, reuse of resources and recycling of waste materials reached new heights. The last project Recycling on the Go was designed to encourage environmental responsibility when people are out and about in their daily activities. Other initiatives have included raising awareness of the bounty of nature with educational activities such as Grow Your Own vegetables at community garden Bute Produce and forest foraging hosted by Mount Stuart Trust 1. There have been many individual acts of environmental responsibility including litter picking, beach cleaning and restoration of fences and benches. Children have developed and delivered projects such as Guildford Square bus clean up. 1 Mount Stuart sponsored Root Camp - 5

7 Autumn Winter Spring Summer 6

8 Community Engagement Whilst the group have not formally constituted as planned this year, strong links have been maintained with Fyne Futures and For Bute who provide additional capacity needed for the group to run successfully. In addition, new links have been established with Bute Island Alliance SCIO. Bute Island Alliance SCIO have an objective to undertake Rothesay Town Master Planning which will include future planning of public open spaces, meadows and the peripheral woods. Bute in Bloom will continue to feed into this process, and help co-ordinate volunteer activity. With limited resources to call on for communication and education, Bute in Bloom have made good use of social media this year to raise awareness, promote planned activities, recruit volunteers and manage meetings. Meetings are held every month, with all welcome to attend. There is a core group of 6 members who attend regularly, with volunteers coming along depending on agenda items. Local media such as The Buteman and Bute Island Radio have continued to support us with coverage, for which we are grateful. Our community is highly active across a wide range areas from beach cleans to educational activities. Bute in Bloom volunteers help inspire others to get involved by example, and we have seen more children take the initiative and get involved in clean up projects. 7

9 We are delighted to continue to receive support from Argyll & Bute Council, local businesses and individual community members. This support takes the form of monetary donations and benefits in kind. Many hours of work are gifted to our community, much of it unsung. Bute in Bloom would like to highlight the fundraising efforts of For Bute. The money raised supports many different types of organisation with small grants however there is a particular focus on organisations and voluntary effort that support Bute in Bloom aims of environmental and amenity improvement. 8

10 Finance For Bute, local charity, manages donations and expenditure on behalf of the Bute in Bloom Summary Statement 29 th June 2017 Total Income Total Expenditure Cash at hand Monetary donations Community Local resident donation of 200 for Rothesay Townscape Planters Local residents small donations amounting to 150 Businesses Co-operative Retail donation of 333 for use as group sees fit Bute Pets discount on goods supplied 30% discount on plants and 10% on other materials Bute Tools discount on materials supplied 20% on fence preservative and paint Other Partners Argyll & Bute Council paid for Scotland in Bloom competition entry Benefits in kind Community Fyne Futures support Bute in Bloom with administrative support such as secretarial work and management of social media 107 members who actively engage with promoting Bute in Bloom, and getting involved in group activities. Businesses Bute Pets donated 6 bags of compost Bute Tools donated 6 bags of compost; 4 bags of bark and supplies transport for moving planters for maintenance at end of season and placement at start of season 30 businesses who give time and space to maintain townscape planters Bute Signs provided signs free of charge for Rabbit Garden project Other Partners Argyll & Bute Council donated 5 bags of compost, and support the group with logistics and unbudgeted resource. 9

11 Plans for the Future With resources coming under increasing pressure, the core steering group feel that 2018 will be a year of support for a small number of specific projects, consolidation of sites currently managed and new engagement activity is the 100 th anniversary of end of The Great War, Bute in Bloom volunteers will be encouraged to engage with celebrations and events which are in development stage. A specific project will be the renovation of Rothesay War Memorial on the Esplanade, with improved planting display. Bute in Bloom volunteers will continue to take a many flowers approach to their own patches of Bute. The group programme of activity will be consolidated to focus on Bridgend Garden, Montague Street Garden, Montague Street performance space, Watergate Hidden Garden, King Street Rabbit Garden and townscape planters. The planting theme and colour scheme will be co-designed with young people is also the Year of Young People which aims to inspire Scotland through its young people, celebrating their achievements, valuing their contribution to communities and creating new opportunities for them to shin locally, nationally and globally. With this in mind Bute in Bloom would like to engage closer with schools, Bute Youth Forum and HELP Ltd to empower young people play an active role in providing solutions to amenity challenges and in designing our open and green spaces. 10

12 Appendix 1. Rockery Project Progress To Date Report 2. News 3. Bute in Bloom Year in Photographs Acknowledgements We would like to acknowledge the efforts of every individual who takes time to keep our public spaces blooming. There are too many to name individually and many more who are anonymous. However, there are a few who have kindly donated their photographs, time and energy in pulling together this portfolio, and these are recognised below. Bute in Bloom is supported by and collaborates with many local businesses and organisations, those who given a specific contribution to our entry for 2017 are listed below. John Lyle Photography Jude Dallas Volunteer Jessica Heriot Volunteer Kirsty Wallace - Volunteer Doreen Mathieson Volunteer Elaine Garman Volunteer Allan Shearing Volunteer Alan and Gina Denholm Volunteers Iain and Gordon Gillespie - Volunteers North Bute Parents Council St Andrew s Primary School Rothesay Joint Campus Rothesay Horticultural Society Bute Conservation Trust Fyne Futures Mount Stuart Trust Wood Watch Bute The Port Gala Group Bute Island Alliance Argyll & Bute Council For Bute 11