We want to improve health, reduce food miles and packaging and build community resilience by increasing the production and consumption of locally grown fruit and vegetables.
We have community growing sites at Gairloch High School and The GALE Centre in Gairloch made up of a total of 20 raised beds. Volunteers and school pupils tend the sites producing an array of produce while learning and sharing growing tips and skills.
Produce is available for local residents at pick your own sessions, school pupils use it in lessons and to take home to their families and it supplements the emergency food boxes distributed by the Highland Food Bank to local residents in financial crisis.
Each spring we host a seed and plant swap to encourage local people to share their surplus and grow their own produce at home.
We need to raise funds each year to pay for tools, seeds and compost along with gloves and protective clothing for our volunteers. We also want to create more community growing sites across the Gairloch and Loch Ewe area to increase production and enable more local people to learn how to grow their own produce.
A donation of £5 would cover the cost of seeds for a year for one raised bed while a donation of £50 would support one volunteer for a year, covering their protective clothing, hand tools and travel costs.
Any donations over and above these annual running costs will allow us to create new community growing sites and planters at community sites in the Gairloch and Loch Ewe area. Each planter costs around £500 to set up.
Gairloch & Loch Ewe Action Forum (Charity No SC032184), operating as GALE and registered with OSCR.