Transition Edinburgh South
We are a small community-led organisation with a voluntary management committee and charitable objectives that aims to tackle issues of Climate Change and sustainability – such as reducing food miles and food waste, alleviating food insecurity and fuel poverty, as well as promoting and demonstrating sustainable living in our neighbourhoods. TES was established as a voluntary association in 2009 and became a Community Interest Company in 2016. We are inclusive and work in collaboration and partnerships and hope to engage with all local stakeholder organisations. Since 2013 TES has been supporting local people in the relatively deprived communities around Gracemount on the southern periphery of Edinburgh. We have been working in Gracemount Walled Garden and teaching local residents, schools and young people how to grow their own food. We have partnered with Edinburgh Food Social and they provide the skills to run our Wednesday and Thursday Community Meals and teach how to cook the food from the garden from scratch. In the long-term, we hope to increase production to a sufficient level to more radically improve access to local vegetables with a high nutritional content. We know that historically the nutritional value of fruit and vegetables has radically declined over the last fifty years through soil degradation. We are using as much as possible no dig and no bare earth, and worms and insects are much more prevalent. The impact of our work with the schools as one teacher outlined have been: • Pupil groups have engaged in gardening and outdoor learning on a regular basis across the whole year • Children are learning to spend time productively outdoors and starting to understand their own impact on the environment • Pupils have experienced the success of growing a wide variety of plants, many of which they have gone on to use in cooking activities at school and home • Pupils are developing a sense of themselves being part of a wider community and have a growing sense of respect and responsibility to contribute to this in a positive way • As a teacher I have been supported in developing my knowledge and skills in teaching growing and sustainability