Forth Valley Food Links

The group is a small subgroup of the Blane Valley Carbon Neutral Group, who used the pages of the local community newspaper, The Blane, to see if there was any interest from people to have allotments in the village. An enthusiastic response was received, with 10 of the 15 interested in having an allotment themselves.  The others support the idea and are willing to help it develop.

At the first meeting, people expressed many reasons for their interest: space to grow their own fruit and vegetables cheaply instead of buying it from the supermarket; sharing a site with other people for company and shared knowledge; cutting ‘food miles; avoiding food grown with unknown fertilisers and pesticides.

The group has met three times since it started, and a visit to an existing allotment site in Glasgow has also been made.  Discussions with local landowners to identify possible sites are on-going. The intention at present is to remain as an informal group without any formal constitutional status, possibly under the umbrella of the village’s community development trust, and there may be scope for involvement from the school and other community groups.

The group are keen to keep the village informed about their plans as they develop, and are in touch with Stirling Council Community Services, Land Services, the local development planers, local councillors, the local gardening club and other village organisations. Information will also be posted on the village website http://www.strathblanefield.org.uk/carbonneutral/carbonneutral.html and updates in The Blane.

(Source: Mary Brailey, Blane Valley Carbon Neutral, 26 November 2009).