Free tree training courses!

Field Studies Council on the ‘Trees for Climate Action’ project they are running across the Glasgow Region.

As part of this project they will be running free tree training courses and distributing free tree guides for residents of Glasgow, to register and learn more about these opportunities, see the links in the forwarded email below. 


Can you tell the difference between an Ash and an Oak? Do you want to expand your knowledge of Glasgow’s trees and share this with others?  

Field Studies Council are working with Trees for Cities to deliver intergenerational, tree-related activities and resources for young people in Glasgow (12-30) through the ‘Trees for Climate Action’ project. 

They are now taking registrations for free tree training and tree guides, exclusive for our community. We are supporting the charity to increase tree knowledge and engagement in Glasgow.

Aged 18-30 and want to get to know your local trees better? Registerfor free spring tree training by the 3rd of April  

Aged 12-30* or work with this group? Register by the 10th of April to receive two free tree guides tailored to our city in 2023.  

*Please note those aged 12-15 must have parental consent 

These are limited opportunities, so get in there fast! 

For more information, please visit: https://www.field-studies-council.org/about-us/projects/trees-for-climate-action/ 

Funding opportunities update

silver and brown round coins

Glasgow City Council’s food growing team occasionally issue summaries of funding opportunities available to the public. The following is the latest list:

UK Government: Community Ownership Fund – apply by 14th December

Capital grants of up to £250,000 and revenue grants up to £50,000 are available for UK community organisations to take on the sustainable ownership of community assets that are at risk of being lost to a local area.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/community-ownership-fund-prospectus


Glasgow City Council: Area Partnership Grants – from 6th January

Grants up to £10,000 are available for community and voluntary organisations for locally identified needs and investment priorities within each Partnership boundary. Amounts and application deadlines vary. 

Research your own area from 6 January


National Lottery Community Fund: Young Start – apply any time

Grants up to £100,000 are available for community groups and voluntary organisations to help children and young people become more confident and realise their potential.

https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/programmes/young-start


Bank of Scotland Foundation Reach programme – apply by 10th January

Charities which can demonstrate they address disadvantage or social exclusion and will reach the most vulnerable people across Scotland, to provide them with opportunity and equality and making positive, sustainable change can apply. For disadvantage, examples include charities addressing primary disadvantage such as homelessness, abuse, mental health or poverty, or secondary disadvantage such as debt issues, learning disabilities, illiteracy, lack of employability skills or health issues. For social exclusion, examples include charities addressing exclusionary challenges for minorities, people with disabilities, LGBT people, drug users, institutional care leavers, the elderly or the young.

https://bankofscotlandfoundation.org/funding-programmes/reach


7stars Foundation – apply by 31st December

Grants of up to £2,500 are available to charitable organisations supporting challenged and vulnerable young people under the age of 16 in the UK. The 7stars Foundation will provide funding for projects which support young living in areas of deprivation and socioeconomic disadvantage who are challenged by abuse or addiction, who are young carers, or who are homeless. Projects should address a lack of provision and provide immediate support.

https://the7starsfoundation.co.uk/apply/project-funding-application


Greenpeace Take Action Bad Taste – apply by 15th January

Grants of up to £10,000 are available to UK-based artists & activists to use art and creative actions to highlight the role of the UK’s industrial food system in the climate crisis and to create change within places of public, political and corporate power. In recognition of inequities built into the industrial food system, the project will prioritise the perspectives of those who self-identify as Black, Indigenous, people of colour and/or working class.

https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/take-action/bad-taste/


Naturesave Trust – opens on 1st January until 28th February

The theme for this funding round will be tackling pollution and single-use plastic. The Trust will be looking for community projects who are running initiatives to tackle these issues. In previous funding rounds the Trust has awarded grants of between £500 to £2,500.

https://www.naturesave.co.uk/naturesave-trust/

COP26 Events


Glasgow Community Food Network

Our friends over at the Glasgow Community Food Network (GCFN) are organising around COP26, and would like to invite you to join them for a variety of interesting events led by their Food & Climate Action project team – some for you to listen to, others to learn from and others to support you to take action. There is also a consultation workshop where they want to hear YOUR views on local food that is accessible for everyone. 

All are on Eventbrite – please do go along and encourage others to join in. GFCN will also be promoting these in the coming weeks on social media so look out there and give them a follow, like or retweet.


The People’s Summit for Climate Justice

The COP26 Coalition is a UK-based civil society coalition of groups and individuals mobilising around climate justice during COP26. Coalition members include environment and development NGOs, trade unions, grassroots community campaigns, faith groups, youth groups, migrant and racial justice networks – to name a few.

The People’s Summit is their answer to the official talks between heads of state attending COP26. Between the 7th and the 10th of November, they’ll be bringing together the climate justice movement to discuss, learn and strategise for system change. Join in online from anywhere in the world, or in-person in Glasgow.


Climate Fringe

Organised by Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, the Climate Fringe has been built to share events, join together all the activities, and connect around Climate Change and COP26.


Recipes for Resilience

With a mix of online events and physical sessions on Houldsworth Street in the West End (G3), Nourish are running a 12-day event dedicated to food and climate during COP26.



The GAF events calendar

We hold monthly GAF events ourselves. These include presentations from knowledgeable people about topics related to growing, as well as open forum discussions where you can hear from, and share ideas with, fellow growers in Glasgow.

Stay up-to-date

Our monthly newsletter has reminders for upcoming events, tips for your allotment, and recipes to help you deal with all your produce!

Potato Day 2022 – Early Plans

It might still be early days, but the wheels have started turning on plans for next year’s Potato Day!

We’ll again be taking bulk orders from whole allotment sites at a reduced cost – details below.

We’ll then open our online shop for personal orders for individual buyers in mid-January update: open now!

We hope to move back to a physical event as soon as we’re sure it’s safe and manageable, but for this year at least, we’ll keep it simple and go through our website.



While you’re here…

Action for New Allotments Meeting – Tue 27 October at 19:30 (online)

“I would like an allotment space where I can learn with other people how to grow food. I’ve been added to “the waiting list for the waiting list”. How long will I have to wait?”

In view of the long-standing shortage of plots in Glasgow and the large increase in demand for that most of us have experienced as a result of the Covid pandemic, we believe we need the City Council to take action by making more land available for food growing.

The best hope we have of doing this is to help those who want a plot to get together to campaign for change.

You’re welcome to join in, particularly if you don’t already have an allotment, or if your allotment life would be more convenient if a new site were set up closer to home.

To register for the meeting, to put forward any questions for discussion, or just to find out more, email GAFForum@gmail.com.

Councillor Martha Wardrop (Green Party Councillor for Hillhead) and Rachel Smith (Glasgow City Council Landscape Design and Development Manager) have agreed to attend an online meeting to discuss:

  • the opportunities for new sites in Glasgow
  • the Community Empowerment Act 2015
    • which includes a duty on local authorities to provide allotments, and to act if the waiting list exceeds 50% of the total number of allotment spaces owned by the council – see Section 112
  • Glasgow City Council’s Draft Food Growing Strategy
    • which the Council were required to write as a result of the Act above, and which includes a plan to develop new allotment sites over the next 5 years – see page 28

You may also be interested to read about:

  • the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019
    • which includes a duty on local authorities to provide an Open Space Strategy ‘to set out a strategic framework of the planning authority’s policies and proposals as to the development, maintenance and use of green infrastructure in their district‘ – see Section 3
  • Glasgow City Council’s Open Space Strategy, adopted in Feb 2020
    • which has overlap with the plans for new allotment spaces mentioned in the draft Food Growing Strategy, mentioned above
TimeContentSpeaker
19:30Welcome
Introduction to panel members
Jenny Reeves
(Chair, Glasgow Allotments Forum)
19:35The Community Empowerment Act 2015
What it says about allotments and food growing
Jenny Reeves
19:45Glasgow’s Response
The Food Growing Strategy and proposed action regarding new allotments
Rachel Smith
(Landscape Design and Development Manager, Glasgow City Council)
19:55Discussion
Participants’ questions about the meaning and implementation of the new legislation in Glasgow
Panel chaired by Scott Ramsay
(Member, Glasgow Allotments Forum)
20:15Taking Action
How you can make your voice heard
Strategies / approaches for effectively demanding land / space for growing
Councillor Martha Wardrop
(Green Party Councillor for Hillhead)
20:25Discussion
Participants’ questions about taking action for the provision of new growing spaces
Panel chaired by Scott Ramsay
20:40Summary and Next StepsJenny Reeves,
Rachel Smith, and
Councillor Martha Wardrop
21:00Close

If you can’t make the meeting, you’re still very welcome to join the campaign. Get in touch so we can keep you up-to-date with developments and other activities in the future.