Waste not want not

The Cumbernauld Living Landscape team recently joined up with an early learning group to build some raised beds.  The event brought together several families that all took part in different activities throughout the morning.

We re-purposed two old pallets and some scrap wood to bring together three fantastic raised beds. People pulled apart the pallets, hammered out the rusted nails, sanded down the boards, cut them down to size, and pieced them altogether to create the beds. Everyone was spread out across the stations, prepped with disinfected tools out in the open air with the sun shining down.

During the day we also planted around 20 trees, including hazel and hawthorn that will be great for wildlife in years to come. We also had a willow station! Willow trees like to be coppiced (cut back hard) once in a while as this encourages new growth. Lots of things can be crafted from willow, but our families were having fun making woven crowns, necklaces and bracelets.

Using pallets is a cheap way to start off your garden and helps to reduce waste. Other waste products can also be used to start or add to your garden, like fashioning milk bottles into hanging baskets and making old boots into plant pots.

Connecting kids to plants helps them feel empathy for the environment and a sense of responsibility. Gardening also helps to reduce stress, improve movement, and can reduce behavioural problems.

Overall, it’s a nice way to get creative with people close to you, and in our case bring members of the community together!