Greener Leith is pleased to invite everyone to a launch event at the Persevere Community Garden where volunteers will gather to plant 'old variety' fruit trees to mark the opening of the garden. The launch event will take place in the garden, adjacent to the Persevere Court Multi-Storey Block, at 11am on Wednesday the 5th of March.

Alastair Tibbitt, Chair of Greener Leith said ‘Just as we hope that the apple trees we’re planting will bear loads of fruit in the future, we hope that the garden itself will grow from the neglected green desert it was a year ago, into a fun, productive and welcoming place that will benefit the whole community.’

Already separate plots have been allocated to local residents through the Persevere Community Flat, the Leith Open Space group, and Upward Mobility, a Leith based group that works with adults with learning disabilities. An area will also be developed as a wildlife garden. All the groups involved in the garden plan to get together to organise a series of events in order to bring the space to life.  

Fay Young, co-ordinator of Leith Open Space says, "We are really looking forward to getting involved, gardening is such a great way of bringing different communities together."

Sara Ansell, from Upward Mobility said, " Transforming this blank canvas into a vibrant and exciting community space is a great thing to be a part of. "

Gordon Munro, Labour Councillor for Leith and Chair of the Neighbourhood Partnership said. 'I welcome this opportunity to make Leith greener as well as making Leither's fitter & healthier. Turning this abandoned space into a community garden is a great idea and I look forward to seeing it in full bloom ."

You can find out more about this project, by reading the recent article in Evening News.  

Friends of Dalmeny Street Park are offering a fantastic opportunity for local people to get involved in building planters that will go in the park. Volunteers will be offered the chance to work with Greame Murray, a local sculptor and teacher as well as other professional woodworkers from the Woodschool, near Jedburgh. 

Looks like a great way to pick up some wood working skills from the experts. Places are limited, so if you're interested you should download the flyer here.

Whatever you think of Jack Johnson, one of our volunteers has positive anecdotal evidence of teenagers singing this song in public without coercion. Environmental Educators of the world take note...

 For the young at heart - details of a new round of potential funding:

Save the Children and British Gas are pleased to announce the next funding round of the Help Yourselves Awards . You tell us what would change the lives of children and young people in your community and apply for a Help Yourselves Award of £1,000 . Higher-level Awards of up to £5,000 and £10,000 will be available in future funding rounds - so keep an eye on our website at www.helpyouselves.org.uk for updates.

The £1,000 Help Yourselves Awards will fund projects that have a positive impact on the circumstances and experiences of children and young people:

· through the improvement of life chances

· that are strongly young-person led

· that benefit vulnerable and disadvantaged groups

The next deadline for completed applications is FRIDAY 28 MARCH 2008 - with £1,000 funded projects expected to take place between June and the end of August 200 8 . The website at www.helpyourselves.org.uk, has full details of the Help Yourselves Awards - where you can find a set of guidance notes, an online application process, or the option to download a hard-copy of the application form.

All enquiries about the Help Yourselves Awards can be e-mailed to : helpyourselves@savethechildren.org.uk

Love it or loathe it - facebook is a communcation tool that is used by loads of people these days, including all the committee members of Greener Leith. Facebook also seemed to do a good job of helping us to promote the Leith-Porty Cycle ride last September. Therefore, it seemed like time to set up a Greener Leith group on the social networking site. Come and join us! The url of the group is http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10298811540

It's an open group, and it's great to see we've already got 18 members, even though it was only set up last week. Feel free to join and of course, invite your friends too. You will need a Facebook account to join though.