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Copyright Miranda Geelhoed

Campy Growers, Dundee

inclusive board structures, lease/licences

The Campy Growers is Dundee’s largest community growing space, established on a derelict site owned by Dundee City Council. Run as a partnership between the community and the Council, the community group is now taking on a formal lease on the land to further develop the site and create new opportunities for accessing finance.

Background: from a derelict nursery to a community growing project

From the 1960s until the early 2000s, Dundee Council owned and operated a flourishing nursery facility in Camperdown Park, for growing largely potted plants and trees. Over the decades that followed, many funding cuts were made.  By 2015, the site was in a run-down state and the Council started exploring the possibility of handing over management of the area to the community to allow for more productive use of the land. In anticipation of recommendations by the Dundee Fairness Commission, the Council appointed a Community Allotment Officer tasked with supporting new community growing projects. It had also received funding to conduct a feasibility study for community growing in Camperdown which was finalised in 2019.

Governance: a partnership approach formalised by a long-term lease

The participatory process of the feasibility study brought together members of the community and some organisations. This provided the foundations for a community group that could manage the land, which would remain in ownership by the Council. Having a community group in place also allowed the Council to apply for the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund, to develop a building and put polytunnels in place.

The community group known as the Campy Growers is set up as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO). It is led by an elected Committee of ten members, which brings together diverse interests and experience. The committee includes the Council’s Community Allotment Officer who is also based on site. The committee also includes an NHS Tayside nutritionist who is able to dedicate one day a week to the project, and the secretariat is held by the manager of the MAXwell Centre – a large, well-established community garden in Dundee’s Hilltown – allowing for sharing of expertise. So far, it has been possible to make decisions through consensus building. The Committee benefits from the input of staff and volunteers. The Campy Growers employ three members of staff, totalling 2 FTE, including a gardener and project development worker. Funding is being sought to prolong contracts and increase staffing. It also includes approximately forty volunteers who are invited to share new ideas.

“We take a collaborative approach to our activities, giving volunteers opportunities to provide input on what they would like to see in our garden. This does mean that some activities and decisions take a bit longer to progress, but it is important that everyone, in a way, feels ownership of the project” – Nadège Depiesse-Borgeal, Project Development Worker

Staff costs are currently covered by the Dundee Climate Fund. Putting in place a 25-year lease, for a peppercorn rent, allows the Campy Growers to pursue more long-term funding for staffing costs, thereby securing the future of the project.

Public and community value: local fresh vegetables and community outreach

Through cultivation of less than 2 acres of land, the Campy Growers are able to provide communities in Dundee with fresh vegetables, including in more deprived areas. The project includes a small veg box scheme, it shares an electric van with four other organisations to deliver produce to community larders and cafés and during the summer the project runs a market stall with free vegetables in the Camperdown play park. Wider community outreach happens through workshops at local schools, in collaboration with NHS Tayside, open volunteering sessions and open days, and other fun activities such as cooking and craft workshops and movie nights.

“I feel that is important to have solid decision-making structures in place to deal with challenges and potential problems. I personally have always felt very involved in decision making. And as for the benefits of the Campy Growers – for mental, emotional and physical health, it has all been brilliant” – Leslie Martin, volunteer and Committee member

Sources

  • Copyright Miranda Geelhoed
  • Copyright Miranda Geelhoed
  • Copyright Miranda Geelhoed