Wednesday December 17th 2025
Primary school children on a visit to Craigshill's Growing Together Project (photo by Almond Housing Association).
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Stuart Sommerville
Craigshill’s Community Garden has provided not only fresh fruit and veg for the community but also sown seeds of training and jobs for young people in the area.
It is a unique and fully funded collaborative stand alone project led by what the people of the Livingston neighbourhood want from their environment and the places they live and work.
Councillors heard the Growing Together project had produced a thriving garden feeding the community.
The community garden is supported by local charity SPARK, Almond Housing and West Lothian’s Youth Action Project.
Jane Deary from Almond Housing told members of the East Livingston and East Calder Local Area Committee that all schools fed into the project.
She said: “In September local schools come to community garden celebrate the harvest. We had apple pressing and we had a walk around the garden to show the children the fruits of the labours of those who have contributed to what’s grown .
“What was really joyful was the noise that children were making, the fun that they were having. The teachers commented that they hadn’t seen such participation in a school strip than they had seen in the community garden.
“There was a comment: ‘We have taken children to Dynamic Earth but on their doorstep in Craigshill they had a great time and a time of learning.’ They enjoyed it so much they asked if another class could come back the following week.”
The Growing Together project has produced fresh food for local people and the food grown has been shared with the local community fridge.
It has also provided a base to deliver learning for local schools including children with additional support needs and there’s been an expansion of mental health and well-being support through workshops and accredited training that has been offered in the spaces.
Jane added: “Strong youth engagement has offered pathways into employment, training and further education. That’s why we are so keen to be able to continue the funding with the programme.
Councillor Veronica Smith asked: “You say the community gardens offers pathways to training can you expand a bit on that?”
Jane replied: “The lead partner is the Youth Action Project. Not only are local schools involved but the YAP are feeding in to use the space for practical activities linked to various qualifications.
“It provides an opportunity for young people to discover interests and passions that they perhaps didn’t know that they had and then think about potential careers and look at what college courses that could take up.
“Young people have been very much involved in the landscaping of a pond area in the garden. These are opportunities that the space provides that are sparking interest among young people.”
Tweet Share on Facebook
