Project::Community Orchard & Checking In::The First Week

This past spring the Environmental Group was responsible for planting out a community orchard on land donated to the community. This piece of land is actually a large, rolling meadow behind the football pitch (soccer field); part of the central greenbelt in the village, a circuitous strip of meadows and trees which follow the route of the West Kilbride burn (creek). This orchard has been planted out with the help of the local primary school. Also a grant was given in order to promote nutrition and sustainable living amongst Scottish youth. (It turns out Irn-Bru & deep-fried pizza  are not on the food pyramid.) The orchard is planted around the outside of the meadow, along a little footpath. The 50 odd trees are in their first season, and need a lot of support; physical support, from the wind, as well as protection from the pervasive blackberry and meadow grasses that are quietly choking them to death. Enter the California gardeners! We spent 2 good days out there in the orchard, forking out brambles, digging up the thick thatch of grasses, talking to people, waving away the midges and horseflies that wanted to land inside our nose, ears and eyes. The EG wants to keep as much of the meadow as wild as they can in order to protect the integrity of the meadow's ecosystem, but their secondary reason is more interesting, they want the trees to blend in to the hedgerows behind them in order to keep them under the radar of the rampant vandalism that plagues this community. We see it everywhere, litter, benches upturned, things broken, newly planted gardens trampled, plants nicked (stolen). 
The first day working there ended spectacularly with a rainstorm (the second storm of the day) that included a large, grey funnel cloud. That's right, a funnel cloud! Ed, Julie, Celicia, Joanna and Colleen all grabbed their tools and beat a retreat slogging home (on foot) back to the Seamill Centre to dry off, and drink some tea. We worked with Fiona Mackintosh from the Environmental Group, which was a real treat.


The second day in the orchard we met Elaine, another EG member and professional landscaper. She brought her two boys, Liam (7) and Ryan (6) , who romped around with our wee Gracie, and generally added to the fun of the day. Elaine also brought her considerable plant knowledge and even more considerable accent, which many of us found quite hard to understand. According to Julie, when Elaine was weeding next to her she had to resort to nodding and smiling, not understanding a word! We probably sound just as strange......
The last little look-in we'll have in the orchard is helping with a plant survey of the different things growing in the orchard and meadow. Which sounds like great fun.

Checking In After the First Week

We've done SO much gardening this week, in so many different locations and situations. Including: container gardening (herbs & heathers), construction (a stairway railing and the posts for a new gate-all done
by Ed), wild flower plant surveying in a local meadow, weeding and planting in a garden right on the high street (the lady at the chemists across the street brought us tea!), ripping out monster-size brambles (blackberries), nettles & weedy rhododendrons (Rhododendron ponticum AKA 'The Plant that Ate Western Scotland'). We even made a trip to a local nursery as well as to the B&Q, which looks eerily like another big orange box store at home....

How We're Holding Up
Ron & Linda have been keeping our spirits up with their boundless enthusiasm, jokes (Ron), superior sweeping (Linda,who raises sweeping to a level of art) and determination. Celicia, Joanna & Katie are always present, willing & able, and Ed & Julie are all about getting the job done! Brad, Colleen & CJ have been getting out there in the garden as well, in between childcare sessions and project management. Gracie and Henry are loving life in Scotland! Gracie has made some friends here and has been practicing her accent, and a photo session of Henry in a kilt is upcoming.
A Word of Advice

Probably the biggest mishap in the garden so far was not the funnel cloud or the accents, but something that happened to our own Celicia.....word to the wise-if you are going to jam your spading fork (short pitchfork-type tool) into the ground next to you, make sure your foot is nowhere in the vicinity! She is okay, and thanks be to God the fork went right between two toes! So first blood goes to Celicia, and we are all thankful she is okay.
R & R
Today we were scheduled to work all morning in the Marsh Garden, and what with the spitting down rain, the sore backs and beginnings of head colds, we decided to take the morning OFF! We all rested and got caught up on the rest of  life.This afternoon we  felt much better and so we split up between three different sites, working at the Seamill Centre, doing a wildflower survey in the newly planted community orchard & meadow, and planting buddlias in a garden made from a disused quarry. We are encouraged and inspired by all that we've gotten accomplished, the good conversations, prayers (Katie got to pray over a local woman for healing,) and seeds sown. This weekend we look forward to: Saturday-a day off! Some of us are bound for Edinburgh, and others for a wedding in Belfast!! The Franklins are driving up north with the kids to visit the bonny banks of Loch Lomond and to moo at the Highland cows (pronounced coos.) Thanks for all your prayers, we love you all!!!

A Gardening We Go

We're well underway over here in Scotland-we've officially gotten our hands into the dirt, transforming what Colleen referred to as a 'dank hole' into a nice little garden at the YWAM base. We're splitting our time between two sites-the Seamill Centre, YWAM's missionary training school, and the village of West Kilbride, which is just down the road a piece, turn right at the pub and you can't miss it.
 Midgies & Rain
As far as the weather goes, it's been not too bad, considering where we are. Over all, Scotland's west coast is an interesting place for gardening. If the weather is agreeable (which it usually isn't), you race outside and start to work, only to discover that your presence has been anticipated by a swarm of tiny, ravenous gnats called 'midges', or 'midgies' which have a painful & itchy bite that turns into a red welt. Since the midges like to come out either before or after a rain, you can avoid them by heading out to work as soon as the skies open, and water buckets down. So which do you choose? I think we'll opt for midgie weather, with lots of chemical/clothing options for deterring them. I'm partial to the bandanna worn bank robber-style over the nose and mouth, and long-sleeves.
It's going to be an amazing week, and we're gearing up for a lot of projects, both in the village and at the YWAM base. Some of the things we're looking forward to are: working in the community orchard, building an insect hotel, helping conduct a wild flower survey of a meadow, putting on a compost workshop for the YWAM base, preparing the landings for a new bridge and buying cultivated heathers for the Seamill Centre's entryway. Also on the list are things like ditch-digging, bramble removal (blackberries, in California vernacular), and cleaning up an area that is often used for unsavory activities by the local NEDs (Non-Educated Delinquents). Not as pretty as the above list, but helpful to the Environmental Group, which is our goal. Another goal has been to be a link between the local village and the YWAM base. This is already happening, and we all feel quite good about that.

The Team

At the smallest cathedral in Britain. We have actually worked since arrival. More posts to follow. Just thought we'd put in a group shot (sans CJ and G) to let you know we'd all arrived safely!