For the gardeners

We will share knowledge and expertise on how to encourage biodiversity in our gardens. This covers

Growing

what we can grow: plants, bushes and trees
constructing and maintaining wildflower meadows
herbicides and insecticides: promoting good practice and looking at safe disposal
dealing safely with invasive species, e.g. Japanese knotweed

We agreed that we should produce list of the recommended plants that would support wildlife and be appropriate for our location.

We agreed that it would be useful to look at having an ‘amnesty’ for unwanted chemicals in our garden sheds and arranging to get them disposed of safely.

Design and Resource Management

landscape guidance on best use of space for wildlife, as well as soil types and appropriate habitats
impact on general look and feel and aware of building and infrastructure needs — planting for the future
composting techniques
water management, drainage, ponds

Getting hold of plants

We discussed:

seed saving and seed swapping
shared use of greenhouses for growing from seed
sharing information about good sources of seeds and plants

The LT streetscape

Since we were talking about our local environment, the streetscape of Leamington Terrace was a popular topic. We discussed:

the benefits of hedges and trees in front gardens for improving air quality
possibility of adding trees or planters to the street
future availability of EV charging points
potential uses of the policebox at the foot of LT
pavement width and the importance of keeping enough space for pedestrians, wheelchair users and buggies; routes to school
bike storage facilities

Inventory of spaces, resources, expertise

LT has a range of properties in the locale; e.g. west or east of the street, ranging from longer narrow gardens to small plots, and including single-household gardens and shared ‘drying greens’. It would be useful to develop an overview of these spaces and any interesting features.

Members of this action group have useful experience and good network links, both personal and work-based. We agreed to build an inventory of people who are willing to be consulted on specific topics of interest to the group.

It was pointed out that there are gardens and spaces along the street that seem to be neglected or under-used. There may also be owners of LT gardens who would be happy to share them with other residents on the street. (The Garden Partners scheme runs along these lines.)

We agreed to investigate ways of engaging all our community (all ages, busy families, professionals, students) in growing and protecting our environment.

An ecosystem perspective

It would be valuable to develop a more holistic perspective over the greenspace in our area. For example, can we help some wildlife, such as hedgehogs and birds, by building green corridors that provide better routes across the different spaces.

To explore this properly we would probably want to join forces with residents of the streets that bound the larger spaces to the east and west of LT.

There aren’t any obvious spaces that could be nudged towards communal use, though it was suggested that there might potential to set up a group composting area for people who don’t use the CEC’s brown bin service.

A small corner of the fenced area on Bruntsfield Links (opposite the Black Ivy pub) has been given over to a wild flower meadow. However, the section of this area that runs along the fence is not very diverse (mainly nettles and thistles) and might be somewhere that would benefit from a hedgerow planting. We agreed that it would be useful to investigate whether LTA residents could contribute more to maintaining this area.

City Planning and Development

There was concern about poor provision for greenspace in local planning initiatives in nearby areas such as India Quay/Fountainbridge and the canalside, Gillespie Crescent.

We agreed that it would be useful for some members of the group to keep an eye on this issue, in collaboration with relevant people in Tollcross and Merchiston Community Councils.

Actions

Compile list of ‘top 20’ plants for encouraging biodiversity

Audit of LTA gardening skills and resources

Explore idea of local ‘garden partners’ scheme

Research which gardens are owner-occupied or part of rental property

Plan a stall for the indoor ‘street party’ event scheduled for spring 2022 in BEC

Set up Gardens and the Environment group on WhatsApp