Roslin Guerrilla Gardeners & Cambridge Bioscience
Roslin is a village in Midlothian. Midlothian has the fastest-growing population in Scotland; however, funding for services has not grown at the same rate. Midlothian is a great place to live and work, and many community groups work tirelessly to plug the gaps in services and make it a happy and thriving community. They do this with limited funds.
Roslin Guerrilla Gardeners look after community spaces in the village, partly inspired by other guerrilla gardening groups in Midlothian and partly because the council has no spare money for this sort of activity.
Each Local Authority Area in Scotland has a Third Sector Interface (TSI), which provides the third sector with a single access point for support and advice. Kate Goodall, a Development Worker at Midlothian TSI, has worked to proactively explain the ESES Communities Portal to their members in Midlothian.
Roslin Gorilla Gardiners is one of these members. When they started their project at Roslin Medical Practice, they submitted a request on the Portal.
'The Request'
The gardeners explained that they had installed a planter and three apple trees in the grounds of the medical practice so far, and the feedback about this was extremely positive but also sad. They heard the staff are under so much pressure (the number of patients has doubled, but the number of staff is unchanged) and that just the sight of a bit of colour as they go into work gives them a little boost.
They wanted to do more. The practice stands in a large green space, but there is nowhere for anyone to sit and relax outside. They wanted to install a picnic table to help lift the mood of staff and patients.
'The Match'
Cambridge Bioscience is a UK-based distributor of life science research and diagnostic products. The University of Edinburgh is one of its customers and is keen to ensure that its suppliers invest in Edinburgh and South East Scotland.
They asked Cambridge Bioscience to review the ‘asks’ on the ESES Communities Portal and they were keen to engage, approaching the ESES Communities Team with three offers.
The gardeners recommended purchasing the bench from LLP Plastic, a local company that creates its products from 100% recycled plastic.
LL Plastic offers solutions that contribute to a healthier environment, providing a sustainable alternative that prioritises our planet's and future generations' well-being.
This purchase provides a good example of how community wealth building promotes the progressive procurement of goods and services: spending power can achieve greater economic, social, and environmental benefits.
This picnic table will be an excellent place for the staff at Roslin Medical Practice to take a break. They all work so hard - we hope this will make a difference for them. Thank you, Cambridge Bioscience, for this generous donation and for making all the arrangements!
In line with our agreement with the University of Edinburgh, we were pleased to contribute to three projects to support the local community. We had the picnic bench delivered to the Roslin Medical Practice as part of this. We are based in Cambridge, and it was very helpful to have an opportunity to engage directly with the local community.