Tree-mendous effort by Winchburgh group up for Beautiful Scotland award

Winchburgh residents, who saved and nurtured saplings during the pandemic, have now planted their trees, creating an area of community woodland as part of the new 85 acre Auldcathie Park.
Winchburgh Community Grower Lynne Sutherland hard at work planting trees at Auldcathie Park.Winchburgh Community Grower Lynne Sutherland hard at work planting trees at Auldcathie Park.
Winchburgh Community Grower Lynne Sutherland hard at work planting trees at Auldcathie Park.

Due to changes in the construction schedule due to Covid, the trees had to be adopted and cared for by green-fingered locals until the ground was ready for them at the new park.

The trees were planted by the Winchburgh Community Growing Group volunteers and are part of their wider community growing which has seen them this year enter Beautiful Scotland, part of Keep Scotland Beautiful, for the first time. Judging occurred last week and the community all have their green-fingers crossed for news in the coming weeks.

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John West, co-founder of the Winchburgh Community Growing Group said: “We’re delighted to be involved in this year’s awards as we have worked hard with the community planters over the last three years. The awards are a testament to the support of Winchburgh locals making the Auldcathie Park a special place with the community at heart.

Locals planting the saplings at Auldcathie Park.Locals planting the saplings at Auldcathie Park.
Locals planting the saplings at Auldcathie Park.

“Adopting the trees over lockdown has linked the community to the park forever and the tagged trees can be revisited for many years.

"Everyone is excited to see how the new park is taking shape and with all the developments that are still to come it’s going to be a great asset for the whole village.”

Over 15,000 trees and shrubs will be planted in the park as part of phase 1, due to open early September. A further 15,000 will be planted in phase 2 next year.

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Ian Logan, associate at Optimised Environments, the landscape designers of the park said: “The contribution from the Winchburgh community to this project has been fantastic.

"Adding the community woodland to the plan brings a great added dimension to the park and we are excited to see the community growers start to work on their acres of the park in the coming months.“

Penny Lochhead, community, sports and greenspace manager for Winchburgh Developments Ltd, said:"The passion and commitment shown by the growers is a tribute to the spirit in the village, something which makes it stand out as a much more than just another regeneration project.”

Auldcathie Park will initially extend to 40 acres and feature over two kilometres of paths and fitness trails, a one-acre community garden, an enclosed dog park and over eleven acres of grassed playing areas with walkways linking to the Union Canal. Further expansion and amenities are planned with the park finally being completed in 2022.

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Spanning 352 hectares, Winchburgh is one of the largest placemaking projects currently underway in the UK delivering at least 3,800 homes, improved transport links, employment opportunities, schools and outdoor spaces.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​