An innovative community project has created more than 40 job opportunities since it launched a service offering gardening and soft landscaping work and creating an ‘oasis of greenery’.
The Knowe Garden Centre, in Auchinleck, has evolved into a commercial gardening operation after being developed from a derelict site eight years ago.
As well as growing and selling plants and providing a public garden area for the community, The Knowe sells its services to local residents – offering garden tidy-ups, grass cutting and general soft landscaping.
The project is aiming to continue to add to the 40 staff it has already hired on minimum six-month paid contracts – with 28 of them going in to find full time work.
One person who has benefited by gaining employment is Scott Caddis
He is assistant gardener at The Knowe and said: “Not only have I now had really valuable work and experience out of the centre, but I’ve also found a lot more appreciation for my community. I’m excited to continue my career path in the world of gardening.”
ACDI Development Manager, Stephen McCarron, is positive about the future job opportunities The Knowe can provide.
He explained: “Myself and all the team at ACDI are really pleased about the roles we have created. We have turned the old land into a multi-purpose hub which has benefitted local community as well as the environment.
“We’ve gone from strength to strength since we started here at The Knowe. Schools and residents of the area are now heavily involved in the project. I can only see us continuing to make more of a positive difference going forward.”
The Knowe Garden Centre is one of a number of new projects to be showcased on https://myland.scot/ which highlight groups who have changed the land around them to improve their communities.
The website is designed to increase the Scottish public’s participation in land reform through a series of case studies, information pages and a brand new podcast, The Lay of the Land.
Hamish Trench, Chief Executive of the Scottish Land Commission, said: “The Knowe Garden Centre is an excellent example of how areas of derelict land can be used to transform people’s careers and lives – and all in a sustainable, self-sufficient way.
“It is great to see how the project continues to positively impact people’s lives."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here