St Andrews Timber & Buildings Supplies’ soil donation helps charity grow garden facility

St Andrews Timber & Building Supplies has joined forces with Edinburgh charity Upward Mobility (UpMo) to help establish a new community garden in the south of the city.

UpMo supports and provides opportunities for adults with learning disabilities and autism. Its UpMo Grow and UpMo Eat programmes work hand in hand to provide workshops for students, which focus on growing and providing produce for its cafes.

The UpMo gardens also provide an environment for students to learn about gardening and to experience the benefits of being outdoors and surrounded by nature.  

Having established a community garden at Gorebridge and in Prestonpans, the charity is now expanding its gardening reach, to The Inch, with the support of Inch Nursery.

When St Andrews Timber & Building Supplies, whose headquarters is based at nearby Prestonfield, heard about the new venture, it was keen to help. The firm donated eight tonnes of soil, which will help with the construction of raised beds used for growing fruit and vegetables.

An UpMo spokesperson said: “UpMo is very grateful to the team at St Andrews Timber & Building Supplies, who have supported our students and the community with their donation of soil for our raised garden beds.

“The fruit and vegetables grown will not only supply produce to our UpMo cafes but also local food banks. The Inch garden is in its early stages, and the generosity of organisations including St Andrews Timber & Building Supplies has enabled us to progress our work.”

St Andrews Timber & Building Supplies has been expanding the landscaping side of its business over the last 12 months. Prestonfield branch manager Richard Harley said: “Community gardening has been shown to have a wide range of social, economic and environmental benefits.

“The work that UpMo has been doing over the years is fantastic. When they had plans to expand their community garden to the Inch recently, we were delighted to help out with the donation of the soil for the outdoor learning project and look forward to seeing the facility go from strength to strength.”

www.standrewstimbersupplies.co.uk

www.upmo.org

Image: UpMo