Work is progressing well at the Ardrishaig Community Garden site, as volunteers prepare to welcome the public to an open day next month.
Boggy ground at the King George V Park in Ardrishaig has been drained with the help of MacKenzie Construction, which is currently working at the canal.
The site has been cleared and landscaping has begun, with wood chippings from the pruned trees being saved to create a paths network.
All this will eventually create an area of ground where members of the community can come together to socialise and grow food.
This initial work paves the way for the poly tunnels, raised beds, composting toilet and meeting place to be created.
The open day will take place on Sunday March 17 at Ardrishaig Public Hall from 2-4pm.
It will be an opportunity to see what has been achieved so far, with (weather permitting) tours up to the site.
Options for the raised beds, poly tunnels, wildlife areas and fruit growing will be explored.
There will also be information about compost, wildlife gardening and growing organic.
Lix Armstrong, chairman of the community garden project, said: “MacKenzie Construction came in as part of their community fund. They have been helping various community projects. They came and sorted out the drainage issue on the site. With the digger they were able to do some landscaping and smooth the site out a bit and remove some roots from the ground.
“That was an amazing job for us to get done at this stage in the project and this time of year. It gives time for the ground to recover, so we can start constructing raised beds this year.”
Fyne Tree Surgery has also carried out work at the garden, removing some weak and diseased trees, as well as doing a bit of pruning.
Lix added: “They gave us a really good price for that because we are a community project.
“We are really delighted that we were able to keep the chippings from all the branches that we can use for pathways and for compost. This keeps everything on site, which fits in with our core ecological principles to reuse everything.”
He continued: “The primary thing about a community garden is about growing food and education. It is about teaching people how to grow food. Keeping it local, reducing food miles.
“This is a holistic approach. We want to encourage wildlife to help with the garden, grow plants and flowers to encourage birds and bees to come in.
“There’s also an aesthetic side to it. We are having seating areas, a place to meet. People can come and watch, enjoy gardening, socialise with other people. The bonus is people can take food away with them. They can grow it together and cook it together.
“The whole process is developing organically. The committee has taken ideas from other people in the community.”
And, he added: “The open day is about garnering more ideas from people who come along. They will be able to see our plan for the site, and for the polytunnel beds.
“Weather dependant we will be able to take people up and show them what’s happening.”
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