The Scotwood Natural Community Garden was initiate in 1994 by Ed Tyler, a recently graduated agricultural student from Newcastle University. Originally called the ‘Drift Permaculture Project’, due to the fact that it was located on the site of a former drift mine, the Garden was sited on a derelict piece of land next to the John Marley Centre in the West End of Newcastle. The Garden was founded as a ‘permaculture’ project – this meant that it was designed to use natural ecology to create a productive and self fertile garden that would be capable of supporting a wide range of insects, animals and plants.

The Garden started as an entirely volunteer run project – Ed Tyler managed a rolling programme of funding bids to develop the site. Early developments included an extensive planting for fruit trees and bushes (including apple and pear trees, Worcester berries, red and white currents, blackberries, gooseberries and Tay berries.) ‘Living willow’ was also used to create a boundary around the Garden – this planting material being tough enough to withstand wear, with the ability to ‘self repair and being architiculturally, a graceful design feature. A sensory Garden was also created with raised beds designed in the naturalistic Mandala design. During this time the Garden also ran various free training events including Permaculture Garden Design courses and City Gardening Courses.

 In 1996, the Scotswood Waterways Project was started, this project used ‘grey’ water from the John Marley Centre roof and car park and recycled it using a ‘reed bed’ filtration system. With funding from NWET and the Civic Trust, and help from BTCV and CEED, the pond system at the Garden was further extended in 1998 and 1999, to create two further ponds and a stream system. The larger of these two ponds, a ‘water meadow’ has become a vital education resource for the Garden and supports a wide range of aquatic animal, insect and plant life, including, newts (great crested), dragonfly, water boatmen, water snails and frogs. Plants include yellow flag irises, lesser spearwort, snake’s head fritillary and Water Forget Me Nots

The pump that enables water to flow around the Garden has recently been repaired with funding from Eaga, a local company.

Scotswood Garden: Ten Years On

by Chris Brown ( Garden Volunteer 1999 - 2001)

The summer of 2009 marks the tenth birthday of the main water system at the Scotswood garden. To celebrate this anniversary, I thought I would share a few memories of those days.

  I started volunteering at the garden in the spring of 1999, and continued to come gardening evry Friday until 2001. I heard about the garden through Ed Tyler, who was one of its original founders. My main passion was growing organic vegetables, but there were an awful lot of other jobs that needed doing too.

  When I first came to the garden quite a lot had already been built in the lower half of the garden; the raised beds, wheelchair paths and one large pond. However, money had been secured from the Northumbrian Water Environmental Trust (NWET) for a much bigger project; the installation of a large pond and series of small pools and streams flowing right across the upper half of the site. This scheme was masterminded by Ian Cameron, who practically lived in the garden. One morning in the spring I arrived to find a huge digger making massive holes in the grass (the garden had originally been the school playing field). These holes would eventually become the stream system. Ian was very stressed about the heavy plant on site, but managed to direct it with unerring accuracy! By the time the digger had finished, a new habitat was already taking shape. however, months of work was needed to install the water pump and flow system, pack the stream and pond beds with clay (which kept leaking), line the sides of streams with dry stone walling, plant the whole area up with hundreds of wild flowers and (eventually) to turn the water on...

  At that time the garden only had one paid member of staff, Ken Bradshaw, so much of the work was done by volunteers; Ian, Ed, Mary Reay, who ran the children's nature club, and myself. We also had many visits from local schools to help with planting, and various other volunteers who popped in to do all sorts of jobs. The managemnt committee, led by Eileen MacKinnon and Councillor Rob Higgins, provided invaluable help. The most important work came from a group of international volunteers from Swizerland, Poland, Spain, Scotland, France and Sunderland(!!) for two weeks in August. I led this group as we worked for eight hours a day to get the stream system ready for opening. We stayed at St. Margaret's church hall just down the hill, and managed to find enough time off to visit Bamburgh, Hadrian's Wall, go clubbing in Newcastle (remember the Mayfair?), visit various pubs and learn a lot of Geordie folk songs. We seemed to eat an awful lot as well...

On the last day of the work camp Dave McClelland MP came to officially turn the water on, watched by a host of local dignatories and residents. ten years on, the streams are still flowing, and have been enjoyed by thousands of visitors to the garden, both human and animal. But the thriving community which once surrounded the site has largely been swept away, and Ian Cameron, a truly wonderful man, died of motor neurone disease in 2007. So my happy memories of that sunny summer will always be tinged with sadness for all that has been lost. Thank you Ian for all you did for us, and for the garden that we love.

...and thanks to Chris for sharing his memories.

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During 1999, the Garden’s Nature Club started involving over 52 children aged between 8 to 12 years old and a vegetable growing project was initiated. These activities are now both core parts of the Garden’s work.

In 2000, The Garden was awarded a grant of £125,000 from the National Lottery to fund the Project for 4 years, paying for a coordinator and an administrator. This development heralded a new era for the Garden as it formally registered as a charity. Ken Bradshaw, the new project coordinator,

led new projects to increase the Garden’s users to include disabled people, those from ethnic minorities and single parents. Paths were made ‘wheelchair friendly’, a willow nursery was planted to provide shoots for repairs, and hazel, buddleias and medlar trees, donated by Lord Ridley, were bedded in. With the help of the Co-Op dry stone walls were formed and, a local food expert, Nigel Wild built a wood fired oven in the Garden. During this time, links with Newcastle College, with whom the Garden shares the John Marley site, improved and several horticulture and design courses were run.

In 2001 Ian Cameron, a longstanding and extremely knowledgeable volunteer at the Garden established ‘Cameron’s Kingdom'. Planting on the top meadow included plants such as common bird’s foot trefoil to attract butterflies. During this year the first of many community events were held including a ‘Mad hatters Day’ and an Apple Day. First Step, a local project, working with women from the black and minority ethnic community, developed parts of the Garden to produce herbs such as fenugreek, mustard and garlic. Also Didier Cauchy, a French sculptor, carved the Matrika Murti (Mother Earth) totem (see Gallery.)

In 2002 funding was received from the Children’s Fund to run regular activities for children, particularly to run the increasingly popular Nature Club at weekends. Also during this year Kate Dickinson was taken on as a trainee gardener with help from the Wise Group; an Intermediate Labour Market.

In 2003, further adornments to the Garden included an ironwork fountain designed by William Pym, depicting a bud about to open; the fountain powered by solar cells was named the Green Crown. Also, the Garden graced the Internet for the first time with its website. Further links were made with local groups such as the Cornerstone Project, the Community Food Initiative and an International Activity Day was held with the support of ESOL.

To be continued...