Youth Climate Strike at the Scottish Parliament

These two young people were involved in clearing and planting our community gardens 8 years ago and the stars of our three community garden videos. Now they have taken part in the most amazing global climate movement,the Youth Climate Strike, at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. Standing side by side with young people from across Scotland to remind the adults and politicians that it is their furure we are ruining and a call for immediate action! Taking a day of school to take action.They will be catching the 8:24 from Falkirk Grahamston to Edinburgh Waverley this coming Friday 22nd March.If any young people want to join them!

We are so proud of these two and all the young people across Scotland and the globe who are making the adults aware that this is the generation who are not prepared to accept the current shortsighted policies on climate change.
Another example that the community gardens have been growing environmental activists at the same time as local food.

Uprooted in Falkirk ​

We have now been made aware that the solicitors who allowed us to use the Bean Row Garden to grow vegetables for the past eight years have handed over their keys to a property developer and our gardens, both Bean Row and Kings Court, will be fenced off and turned into a building site. 

The Bean Row Garden was an essential element of Friends of the Earth Falkirk putting down roots in Falkirk. Both literally, we grow food for annual celebration Soup and Stovies Community Meal, and metaphorically, we were a group who were prepared to get our hands dirty and show a long term commitment to out area.

The efforts we have all put into Bean Row, and the other four gardens around the town centre, have resulted in recognition from RHS It's Your Neighbourhood Award with at least 4 Outstanding Awards over the years including 2018.

Over the past 8 years we have had a number of volunteers who give their labour and a number of members who have donate plants.  There has been  two amazing woman who have kept us right in the growing front, Corrie and Jean,  With Corrie moving down south Jean has been the growing guru who has kept the gardening team right.

Right from the start the harvest has always been the main ingredients of our Soup and Stovie community meal. Early own rhubarb was planted and rhubarb crumble has been the dessert for the majority of meals. Soup and Stovies has always been vegetarian and for the past 3 years have been totally vegan. The first crop to be planted was Broad Beans, what else could it have been on Bean Row. One memorable year we had a abundance of beans and broad bean homous was on the menu that year. 

We will have a soup and stovies this year. Hopefully, if not on Bean Row- as near as possible, to celebrate local food and volunteering. At the last meeting we looked at what options we have. The gardens all started off as part of a litter campaign so we will ensure that we do some Litter Picks in Spring to keep up the tradition. We may look at another pocket of land either for growing food or for guerrilla gardening- who knows were the next stage of the journey will lead.

Still Rooted in Falkirk

Friends of the Earth Falkirk is a local group of Friends of the Earth Scotland. Local volunteers campaign on international issues such as climate change and environmental justice, national issues such as waste, energy and transport and local issues such as food, litter and transport