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Opportunities Project Updates

Grow Your Own Event

Grants for up to £500 Available Unexpected Garden – Stranraer

Dandelion is a national community food growing initiative that is coming to Stranraer. It is part of the UK wide UnBoxed Festival; a UK wide celebration of creativity taking place in 2022. The project will see a new Unexpected Garden and event space created on the harbour front with the local community that brings together food, culture, ideas, music and technology, driven by the concept of sow, grow, share.

Our ‘Grow Your Own Event’ grants have been created to give the local community the chance to host their own events in Stranraer’s Unexpected Garden. We will offer groups and individuals up to £500 to programme their own event which should meet at least one of the following criteria:

  • Improving wellbeing (physical and mental)
  • Enabling community participation in the arts
  • Promoting equality
  • Enabling participation in physical activity
  • Responding to the climate emergency and promoting sustainability
  • Increasing community access to the garden
  • Promoting the regeneration of Stranraer

Please note that we cannot accept applications promoting a specific religious faith or political party

Please consider the following when thinking about your event:

About the Garden

The Unexpected Garden in Stranraer can be found on the waterfront in Stranraer situated between Burns House and Ulsterbus. It is a community space where people can come together to grow food, take part in workshops, relax or attend one of our many events leading up to Harvest Festival in September.

  • The garden has a 6.5m x 6.5m stretch tent that can provide shelter for events and workshops.
  • We can provide folding tables and chairs as well as a battery powered PA and AMP system for live music and background music
  • We do not have any power supply to the garden so any power requirements will need to be brought in externally.
  • The garden and performance space is on the ground level with no stair access.
  • There is an accessible toilet on site for those who need it
  • Events must take place by 31 August 2022.

How to Apply:

Please complete our short application form to apply:

TO APPLY NOW, CLICK HERE

Deadline for applications: 30 June 2022

Alternatively, you can ask for a copy of the questions and submit a video, voice note or word document. Please email [email protected] for more information.

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Opportunities

Garden Consultant

About the Role

We’re on the hunt for a resident gardening expert to join our team. This is a fantastic opportunity to work with the Unexpected Garden – Stranraer production team to deliver a new community garden in the heart of historic town of Stranraer in the Southwest Scotland.

The Unexpected Garden – Stranraer is part of Dandelion, a national community food growing initiative that is taking place across Scotland. It is part of the UK wide UnBoxed Festival; a celebration of in 2022.

Find out more about Dandelion here.

Title: The Unexpected Gardener – Garden Consultant

Location: Stranraer, Harbour Street, DG9 7RD. What3Words code: armrests.farms.lilac

Client: Stranraer Development Trust

Hourly Rate: £25 (freelance)

(We are looking for a commitment of approximately 3 hours per week, which will extend to 6 hours per week as we approach the Harvest Festival in September 2022)

Type: Hybrid – working from home and support on site in the Unexpected Garden – Stranraer. 

Start: 4th July – or nearest possible date

Ends: 31st October

About You

Providing specialist support and advice for the team working on the garden, you’ll be knowledgeable about plants and growing (mostly edible plants). The garden is situated on the waterfront of Stranraer’s famous harbour and as a coastal garden is prone to strong winds from all directions so we’re looking for someone who can oversee the planting of the Unexpected Garden with knowledge of coastal gardening.

You will join us with an already established broad and deep knowledge of horticulture, gardens, and plants, gained by proven and extensive experience as a Head Gardener, Garden Manager or Horticultural specialist or from previous work on community gardens.

You will be up to date with the latest trends and developments in sustainability, which will help us achieve our ambitious sustainability policy.

What You’ll be Doing

You’ll work with our team of volunteers to ensure they are equipped to care for the garden to ensure it can be enjoyed by many people. You will be working as part of a team and have a passion for sharing your knowledge and enthusing those who you meet.

You’ll work collaboratively with the production team to plan a schedule of work to be carried out, based on the needs of the garden.

The garden will be a place for members of the community to come and have a go at gardening, we will be looking to attract people who are new to gardening as well as experienced gardeners and so making sure the space is inclusive and accessible is one of our main aims.

How to Apply

If you would like to discuss this role further, please get in touch with a letter or video expressing your interest in the role we can have a chat

Please send your application to [email protected]

It’s important that our people reflect and represent the diversity of the communities and audiences we serve. We welcome and value difference, so when we say we’re for everyone, we want everyone to be welcome in our teams too. Wherever you’re from, and whatever your background, we want to hear from you.

We will accept applications from anyone and everyone who feels they have the skills required to fulfil this role.

OPTIONAL EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FORM
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News Project Updates

What is Dandelion All About?

By Beth Piggitt

Beth Piggott – Emerging Creative Producer

Dandelion is a national creative community food growing initiative that is coming to Stranraer.  It is part of the UK wide UnBoxed Festival; a UK wide celebration of creativity taking place in 2022.  A new community garden, known as an Unexpected Garden, will be created on the harbour that brings together food, culture, ideas, and technology driven by the concept of sow, grow and share.  There will be 12 unexpected gardens across Scotland including floating gardens in Falkirk and touring garden on the back of an HGV lorry in Caithness. At the heart of the project, we want to reconnect people with the food they eat, how it’s grown and show them that in the unlikeliest of places food can be grown. There will be a summer events programme which will culminate in a harvest festival in September – with the aim of re-establishing it as a cultural festival for the town.

Why we’re doing it?

Dandelion is committed to empowering young people, inspiring the creative sector and offers new opportunities for the Stranraer community – which is why we’re taking part. Working in partnership, Stranraer Development Trust and The Stove Network are proud to be part of this new initiative that’s going to get hundreds of people growing their own food across Scotland, with over 400 schools taking part and a new archive or stories about growing, gardening and the unique history and memories of the town and local traditions.

What have we planned?

Our Unexpected Garden will be a hive of activity over the summer with a range of volunteer opportunities, events, workshops, and our take on the Harvest Festival. The garden will be a fantastic opportunity for people to come and learn the basics of food growing, try their hand at gardening and become part of a vibrant community; we are looking forward to welcoming new and experienced gardeners (I include myself in the latter).

People will be able to attend our free events and workshop programme over the summer which will encompass talks, music, crafting, music, and art, as well as veggie and herb plug giveaways and vertical farms on tour. Find out more about our programme of events on our Facebook Page.

Process up until now?

Over the course of the past few months, I’ve enjoyed having the opportunity to chat with members of the community to hear what they want to get from the garden and the types of activities they’d like to see there. The garden will be a community project that will continue to evolve over the summer, and I am looking forward to watching it grow as more people visit the garden and leave their mark on it.

Part of my own personal process has involved moving up to Scotland from a small town in Leicestershire and coordinating the build of a new community garden; two things I never imagined happening in my wildest dreams; a comforting reminder that you never know what’s around the corner. I’m sure the garden will continue to remind me of that.

We’ve been lucky to have the support of Northern Lighthouse Board and CalMac who are donating old nautical items including a 27ft lifeboat and 2 big colourful ocean buoys to the garden to help us create a garden fit for a seafarer. Burns Real Ale and Dumfries & Galloway Council have kindly allowed us the space to bring the project to Stranraer and Ulsterbus, who will be providing access to water for the garden have also kindly housed 25 tonnes of soil & mulch.

Find out more about Unboxed & Dandelion

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