Latitude: 55.93 | Longitude: -3.21
110 metres above the Firth of Forth
The gardens are organic – no pesticides or NPK are utilised.
Courtyard garden
In this space, adjacent to the university library we’re developing the following: a living-geodesic-digital chamber, performance space, social space, an outdoor classroom, bespoke seating and tables, a three-bin composting system, a food forest, a pond, spaces for contemplation.
The site includes two water taps, power and data feeds.
Allotment laboratory
The engine room and laboratory of the project.
Here we’ve built raised beds and composters, assembled a poly-tunnel, seating, a table, a small pond, and a shed with water harvesting. The site has a water tap, power and data feeds. We’ve seeded and planted a small re-wilding area, with indigenous seed packs from Scotia Seeds and trees from the Woodland Trust. Over the past few years we’ve grown all manner of herbs, flowers, shrubs, trees, fruit and vegetables – kale, cabbage, potatoes, parsnip, garlic, onions, zucchini, squash, spinach, beans, tomatoes, beetroot, carrots, radish, salad leaves, leeks, turnip, apples, pears, peaches, strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrant, tayberry, blackberries, all in a built-up, often shaded, urban space. Most of our herbs and vegetables have been grown from seed originally purchased from Seedaholic. The allotment is only 50 feet from the canteen.
Our intention is to develop the polytunnel into a smart bio-dome.
We’ve also planted an orchard at our Craiglockhart campus, and in partnership with ENSA, through a successful Community Climate Asset Fund application, implemented raised beds at Craiglockhart and purchased herbaceous plants for our Sighthill campus.
