Silver Birch Scotland are pleased to announce that we have won £6000 in the RBS Community Force Fund. Thank You to everyone who voted for us.
RBS Community Force Nominations - September 2011
Silver Birch Scotland Ltd has been shortlisted for the RBS Community Force Awards 2011. This consists of three awards of £6,000 for each community force area. Voting commences between 26th September to 23rd October. To place your vote click here or phone 0800 210 0245. Voting takes a few minutes of your time which we appreciate.
If we are fortunate enough to win this fantastic award we want to invest the funds into developing a small outbuilding into a self service tea/coffee area. Feedback from members of the local community has indicated that people would be more likely to spend time at our site if we had refreshments available. An award from RBS would allow us to complete the following -Repair and redecorate the interior and exterior - Install seating internally -Purchase tea/coffee maker - Erect a canopy between the building and Japanese garden and also create and outdoor seating area. We also plane to install a full electricity supply to the building.
Due to positive feedback from customers regarding the trial of multi-purpose compost, we are now committed to selling the compost on a permanent basis. This general purpose, peat based compost is ideal for sowing seeds, taking cuttings, potting on and planting hanging baskets & containers. Mixing this product with our mushroom compost will help add nutrients to your beds.
New funding for small workshop - June 2011
We have been successfull in securing funding to refurbish an old derelict outbuilding to house activities undertaken by our site maintenance team, including woodwork activities and tool maintenance. This will also provide a warm and sheltered environment for our clients during adverse weather. Awards for All Scotland and Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland have pledged £15,377 towards the cost of replacing the roof and installing a new roller door. Our clients and staff will also be undertaking repairs to windows, painting the walls and installing a rainwater collection system to help water our orchard. We hope to have the project finished by September, in time for the winter weather. Sponsored Walk - May 2011
On Thursday 26 May, our clients and staff completed a six mile sponsored walk on along the canal from Kirkintilloch Marina to Auchinstarry Marina. 24 clients and 9 staff took part to raise money for our Community, Sensory and Japanese gardens. We will keep everyone posted as to how much we raised and how we will use the funds.Click here to see a picture of us at the end of the day!
RIAHA - January 2010
During 2009-2010 Silver Birch clients were given the opportunity from the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society to participate in the Recognition of Individual Achievement in Horticulture Award The award is overseen by the Horticultural Society, although Silver Birch is resonsible for the development of all recording documents, teaching aids, implementing work activities, assessing clients and creating client portfolios. The course lasts for approximately 12 months and provides clients with the opportunity to produce evidence of their practical work and knowledge, assist them to achieve at least 3 personal goals, develop current skills and learn new skills in Horticulture, whilst helping to improve their concentration, self esteem, confidence, communication etc. 12 clients took up this opportunity and in November 2010, 11 of them gained the full award and 1 client offered an interim award. The certificates were presented at our annual Christmas party in the Kirkintilloch Miners on the 16th Dec. Margaret Teale from The Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society was on hand at the party to present the certificates to our clients along with their completed portfolios and a small gift from Silver Birch.
This was a fantastic achievement for all clients who participated in the course and Silver Birch would like to thank them all for the hard work and effort they all put in throughout the last 12 months.
Over the next month we will be offering the award to other clients at Silver Birch and hope to have them enrolled to start in February 2011.
New Community Garden is Complete – October 2010
Central Scotland Forest Trust has completed our new wildlife and community garden, stretching over 2 acres of disused land on our site at Lochmill. The garden has been made up of a new native hedge, young woodland areas, wildflower meadows, a sensory garden and naturally fed pond. This is all accessed by a winding pathway and viewing platform over looking the pond. Our clients will undertake the development and planting within the sensory garden area over the winter months and will be responsible for maintaining the area in the future. We would like to thank Central Scotland Forest Trust for all the time and effort they put in to developing this garden on our behalf. We hope it will be enjoyed by our clients and the local community for many years to come. For further information, visit www.csft.org.uk/news/494_silver-birch-project-completed Click here to download our latest newsletter