TES supports Gracemount Community Garden which grows fruit and vegetables in the walled garden in the grounds of Gracemount Mansion house, EH16 6FD. Our part-time gardener works with local volunteers using organic regenerative horticulture. All who are involved are welcome to harvest the produce and much of it goes home with local school children. Gracemount Community Garden was originally set up by a project called Gilmerton, Gracemount & Moredun Grow Stronger funded from November 2013 to March 2015 through the Climate Challenge Fund. The aim is to help tackle climate change by providing access to locally produced, low-carbon food for local people, while creating a pleasant outdoor space and a friendly project for all who want to join in.
Richard is happy to introduce new people to the project during the day on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays throughout the year and runs occasional weekend and evening workshops on gardening and composting, mainly in the summer months. He can be contacted here.
When funding and facilities permit, TES works with Edinburgh Food Social to provide a free community lunch, run workshops on cooking using our seasonal local food, helping people gain food hygiene certificates and giving tips about reducing food waste.
We rely on fundraising and have had support from Awards from All, the Mushroom Trust, the Robertson Trust, Dunedin Canmore and the local schools as well as the Climate Challenge Fund. At the moment we are trying to raise funds for a portacabin to give us access to a kitchen and toilets which we lost when the Mansion House, the local Youth and Community Centre, was closed by the City of Edinburgh Council and condemned as uneconomic to repair.
TES is pleased to work with local people and community groups including Gracemount Primary and Nursery School, St Catherine’s Primary and Nursery, Gracemount High School, residents’ association of 21st Century Housing, Dunedin Canmore Youth Group, the local churches, and organisations promoting nature, the environment, mental health, welfare and wellbeing in the local area.