Glasgow

Parkhouse Community Biodiversity Garden – awarded £5,000

The garden is situated on a quarter of a hectare of land neighbouring the Parkhouse Estate in Glasgow. The estate was built over 20 years ago and the piece of land, known locally as The Bumpy, was also an informal recreation area but had never fulfilled its potential as a local resource.

The immediate surrounding area contains some of Glasgow’s most valuable biodiversity sites including a proposed nature reserve and a site of special scientific interest. Since most local residents were unaware of the local and national significance of their area in conservation terms, it was decided to create a biodiversity garden to highlight these issues. The garden would also be an attractive landscape feature where visitors could stop and enjoy the surroundings.

After BTCV Scotland consulted local residents it became clear that whilst there was enthusiasm for developing a biodiversity garden, residents also felt that the garden should stand out rather than be ‘a collection of plants in boxes’. The design was finalised as a large circular garden (approx 14m across) comprising three raised beds in the shape of a triskele – a celtic design. The beds were constructed from sandstone rubble recovered from a local demolished building. Each bed was planted to attract insects, birds or mammals. In the centre stands a 1.8m recycled sandstone sculpture was erected depicting animals surrounding a human hand. Work was carried out by volunteers of all ages.

Many local residents had wanted to see The Bumpy developed as a local amenity for years and the creation of this garden proved to be both a catalyst for further development of the area and a good example of what can be achieved with effective community involvement.