We are a community based growing association in Leith.  Our work in Leith dates back to 2004-8 when Edinburgh Community Backgreens Association (ECBA) worked with tenement dwellers to set up, three ‘community backgreens’, ‘Strawberry Field’, ‘Sunshine on Leith Gardens’ and ‘Foxfield’. Unfortunately, ECBA had to be wound down in 2012 due to lack of funding.  We are keen to restart ECBA’s work in Leith and elsewhere.

Leith Community Growers was created to develop community growing opportunities in Leith.  It is constituted as an association, and has a steering group of local residents.  They are developing a Manifesto for the association and would love new members to help us shape ideas and projects and will be hosting community meetings (online at the moment) to get organised.

Leith Community Growers Manifesto

We believe everybody should have access to the resources needed to grow their own food for their families and community if they choose to and we aim to support and enable community-based projects to make locally grown produce available to all.

We aim to create a food growing community in Leith which is inclusive of all sections of the community regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, disability or any other identifying factors, and in particular those who may feel under-represented in such community groups, such as people of Black and ethnic minority backgrounds and those for whom English is an additional language.

We seek to remove the barriers to participation by providing free access to materials where possible and encouraging mutual support such as seed swapping and resource sharing

Here are some of the projects we are already working on, and ideas for the future: 

• Home Grown – Support local residents to build and fill planters and window boxes for food and herbs.
• Lets Grow a Garden Here – From unused and underused public spaces, plots and corners in residential streets we want to create edible infrastructure and public planting for residents and the local community. 
• Leith Wheat
• #100Planters
• Leith Walk Police Box Garden
• Lets Grow a Garment Here
• Community Backgreens – Support tenement communities to renovate back greens for recreation and growing.
• Community Orchard & Adopt A Tree – Support the planting of a community orchard in the public realm and protecting our local trees.
• Local Food Themed Workshops and Community Meals – From seed sowing to bread making and community meals with locally grown produce.
• Volunteer Blitz Team – Provide volunteer teams to support local initiatives to plant, tidy and develop local green space.
• In addition to the above aims we aspire to support initiatives in Leith that work towards:
• Community Market Gardens – Turning over small and large areas of green spaces on the corners of streets and elsewhere to community growing, producing food for local people.
• Community Smallholding – A community growing space outside of city with overnight accommodation in a WOOFer model.
• Library of local things, Community Shop and Cafe Selling Local Produce – Supporting local producers, makers and growers in our community.

We would also like to hear from you about the green spaces and growing opportunities you would like to see in Leith, and across Edinburgh. So get in touch!

Contact us growingleith@gmail.com.  You can join our Facebook Group here