Welcome to the Winter edition of Green Times showcasing the latest environmental news, events, projects, and volunteering opportunities in Aberdeen. This edition will look back on highlights from winter and the last few months.
We would love to hear about your projects and events and anything you have going on. To submit an article contact greentimes@aberdeencity.gov.uk
Climate Week North East events in Aberdeen
Climate Week North East (CWNE) is ten days packed full of fun, inspiring and interesting events, designed to raise awareness of climate change but, more importantly, show what we can all do to make a difference and reduce our carbon footprint, live sustainably and increase biodiversity in a fun way. This year's CWNE takes place between Friday 24 March and Sunday 2 April, with events on throughout Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire.
The public are invited to join the Aberdeen City Council Project Team on guided tours of Aberdeen’s Hydrogen Refuelling Station (ACHES), to learn all about how green hydrogen is produced and dispensed onsite here in Aberdeen. The Council will also be leading visits to the NESS Energy from Waste (EfW) facility on 28 and 30 March. EfW visits are now fully booked, but those that attend will be given an overview of the EfW process from start to finish.
The Council’s Energy team will provide advice on how to keep your home warmer, helping the planet and your pocket, in a webinar on Friday 24 March. In Aberdeen, a large percentage of carbon emissions come from energy to heat buildings, including homes. Making small changes at home can contribute to Aberdeen City’s 2045 Net Zero target, helping the planet, and your pocket.
There will be open days at Hazlehead Park and Duthie Park during CWNE. On 25 March, at Hazlehead, there will be a day of green family fun, featuring pets corner, stalls with hands on activities and information about nature, conservation projects, recycling and how to save energy at home. On 29 March The Duthie Park Rangers Service will host tours around the David Welch Winter Gardens, providing information on composting and their Biomass Heating system. There will also be drop in workshops on Tropical Rainforests and a Climate Change workshop led by staff from Robert Gordons University.
For more information on these events, and more, as well as links to make a booking visit the event page on the Council website.
COMPASS: Navigating healthy, sustainable living in your local community
Local medical charity, Camphill Wellbeing Trust (CWT), launched COMPASS in September 2020 to transform the former Waldorf School site on Craigton Road into a centre demonstrating practical solutions for healthy and sustainable lifestyles.
The site on Craigton Road, Cults is owned by the local charity, Camphill Estates and had been unoccupied since the closure of the Waldorf School in 2014. Keen not to lose the potential of this naturally beautiful and historic site, CWT took it on to host a new community-based project, COMPASS to create inclusive spaces that serve and engage the local and wider community of Aberdeen City and Shire.
COMPASS aims to showcase:
- Sustainable building practices with conservation of the main listed building and sensitive repurposing of others.
- An integrated, creative health and education approach, supported by the natural and built environments.
- Sustainable social enterprise projects serving the local community and involving those with learning disabilities.
- Organic land use with nutritious food production, demonstration no-dig beds, beehives, wildflower meadow and woodland.
- Repair, reuse and recycle practices minimising waste and encouraging sustainability.
Now, three years on, thanks to the support of our local community and over 4,763 hours donated by 445 volunteers, our project continues to grow.
In October 2022 we opened our Volunteer Hub – kitted out by re-using items from around the site. This base for volunteers and school / corporate volunteering groups will also provide space for workshops, such as our wreath-making session in December.
Looking forward to 2023
There’s plenty to do onsite each week to prepare our garden and grounds for the spring. The public are invited to come along to our volunteering sessions and get involved in a wide range of activities from gardening to DIY tasks, building compost bins to harvesting produce:
- Weekdays: Wednesday (1.30pm – 4pm) or Thursday (9.30am – 12noon)
- Saturdays: join us on the first Saturday each month for our weekend volunteer day (9.30am – 4pm)
Free drystone walling sessions: Saturday 11th February and Thursday 9th March 2023
Join us to help restore the COMPASS site whilst learning a valuable heritage skill. Contact us to book a place.
To find out more visit the COMPASS Aberdeen Website or email: COMPASS@cwt.scot.
About Camphill Wellbeing Trust
CWT is a medical charity providing an extended and integrative approach to health and wellbeing. It aims to address illness, build resilience and maintain wellbeing.
Red squirrels return to Aberdeen city parks and gardens
Red squirrels are returning to Aberdeen’s city parks and gardens, following successful grey squirrel control efforts by Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels (SSRS), a partnership project hosted by the Scottish Wildlife Trust.
Grey squirrels are an invasive non-native species to the UK and were introduced to Aberdeen via the escape of a small number from a zoo in the 1970s. They soon replaced native red squirrels across the city, outcompeting them for both habitat and food.
SSRS has been working in the North East since 2009 and happily in 2022 recorded a record low number of grey squirrels, thanks to the incredible sustained efforts of a network of staff and volunteers carrying out intensive monitoring and rapid response control work in the city and its suburbs. Red squirrels are now being spotted regularly in Aberdeen back gardens and city parks such as Hazlehead Park, Seaton Park, and have very recently returned to Westburn and Victoria Parks.
The grey squirrels of Aberdeen are an island population and as such they are isolated both geographically, and genetically, from populations further south. Staff at SSRS aim to achieve complete eradication from the area, which will improve the long-term prospects of native red squirrels in both the Grampian and Highland regions. Two major grey squirrel hotspots remain in Bridge of Don and the West End, and the organisation is calling on anybody living in Aberdeen to submit their grey squirrel sightings on their website. This just takes a few minutes, but can make a huge difference to red squirrel conservation efforts in the region.
To find out more, including information on how to get involved, please visit SSRS’s website.
Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels is a partnership project led by the Scottish Wildlife Trust and supported by the Scottish Government and The National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players, along with other partners.
Global Fascination of Plants Day at Duthie Park
In May 2022, the Duthie Park Ranger Service took part in a global event, Fascination of Plants Day. The event aimed to get as many people as possible around the world fascinated by plants and enthused about plant science. A total of 56 countries took part, including events in Kenya, Mexico, Lebanon and China.
Below is an extract from a newsletter on the success stories of the events, which was circulated to all participating organisations. The article describes the event that took place in Aberdeen.
A collaborative week of events from 14 – 21 May, celebrated Aberdeen’s FoPD 2022. Organisations running events included Aberdeen Science Centre, Cruickshank Botanic Gardens (University of Aberdeen), Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen City Council Duthie Park Ranger Service, Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), The James Hutton Institute and Scotland’s Garden Scheme. Events included the importance of plants to mental health and everyday life, hands-on workshops investigated the requirements for agricultural crop growing and the impact of climate change more widely. This included walks & talks investigating the interactions between fungi and plants.
Plant sales and self-guided tours at the Cruikshank Gardens investigated the diverse ways people have used plants throughout the ages. At the David Welch Winter Gardens, Duthie Park there were tours of the garden and the opportunity to plant your own seedling to take home in handmade paper pot.
The Duthie Park Ranger Service will again be involved the event this year, which will run 15th – 21st May.
Generations Growing Together
As part of the Keep Growing Aberdeen intergenerational project in Torry delivered by CFINE and Cultivate Aberdeen we had a fantastic bulb planting day with the Tullos Primary School p6 class. We walked with the class and their teachers to the St Fitticks Edible Garden in Torry, where we invited the class to decorate their plant pots, and then plant spring flowering bulbs (muscari and crocus).
They will look after the plants in their classroom, and the idea is that the flowers will be coming out around Mother’s Day, so the children can give them as a gift. It’s up to the children what they decide to do with their plant – some decorated them for Mother’s Day, and one child decorated a pot for her dad.
We have activities coming up for people aged 55 and up in Torry. Get in touch with us for details of events you can get involved in as part of the project in the weeks to come!
Visit the CFINE website or contact us to find out more! Ask for Rebecca or Lucy at info@cfine.org or call: 07588 471390. Join the growing conversation on the Keep Growing Aberdeen Facebook group.
St Machar Community Biodiversity Project awarded 2nd place in NatureScot ‘Pollinator Friendly’ Award
St Machar Community Biodiversity Project want kirkyards to embrace nature friendly management after being awarded 2nd place in National ‘Pollinator Friendly’ Award.
On Friday morning Steven Shaw, Environmental Manager for Aberdeen City Council represented Keep Scotland Beautiful by awarding the NatureScot prize to the community project based in Old Aberdeen.
This project started in 2020, alongside the £1.8million conservation works of the roof, stained-glass and 500 year old Heraldic Ceiling at St Machar’s Cathedral.
St Machars Cathedral Education Officer, Katherine Williams explained that she and her colleague Phoenix Archer, Outreach Officer, started offering gardening sessions to the local community when indoor activities were restricted. The project gathered momentum with people wanting to be out in the fresh air, feel more connected with others and help the natural world.
A steering group of local people representing the Cathedral, Seaton Park and the Old Aberdeen Community Association work with the City Council’s maintenance team to devise a grass cutting scheme, reviewed annually, that would be both sustainable and beneficial to increase the biodiversity in the kirkyard. This means that some areas are still cut short and other areas are left longer, cut only once or twice a year, to create different habitats for different plants and creatures.
The group have also boosted the food supply available by planting low growing Thyme and early flowering bulbs such as crocus to help nourish pollinators. In the longer areas of grass, wildflowers such as Red Campion, Ox-Eye Daisy and Bird’s Foot Trefoil, grown from local seed by John and Kate Malster from Curam Fyvie, were planted. A BioBlitz was led by North East Scotland Biological Records Society and over a hundred varieties of plants recorded. This year the group aims to plant more wildflowers, put up nesting boxes and run educational workshops for all ages in the grounds.
The group hopes to encourage other kirkyards in the city and shire and inspire them to work with nature too. It can be just starting with a corner of grass left to grow longer or planting some native flowers. It all helps.
The gardening group meet monthly during the growing season and anyone wanting to join in is very welcome. No gardening knowledge is necessary just enthusiasm. Keep a look out on social media and the cathedral website for details of the next session.
For more information please contact Katherine Williams, Education Officer education@stmachar.com
Winter workshops well received
There were a quieter few months in the garden for Cultivate Aberdeen with the arrival of the winter weather, apart from a few stubborn pansies and hardy kale the garden became dormant. Albeit behind the scenes, we were busy with evaluating and planning for the warmer months.
The Festive Floristry and Spring Pot workshops with Tullos Primary and CFINE resulted in some beautiful artwork, while the Fat Ball making was timed for RSBP’s Big Garden Birdwach, to encourage children to observe their environment. In our next sessions we are trialling intergenerational activities with the involvement of the elderly generation with the aim of overcoming stereotypes and bringing different generations together.
The mild weather in February brought out the snowdrops, crocuses and daffodils in the garden along with the flowering gorse, bringing the promise of the spring and indicating we are better geared up for the new season!
Why don’t you come along to one of our gardening sessions 11-1pm on Sundays or to our season opening day on the 2nd of April 12-2pm? Please see our website or our social media for up to date information.
Scotstown Moor Volunteering
Scotstown Moor is one of four local nature reserves located within Aberdeen. The area is an incredibly popular spot for residents and tourists alike, with its wide-open landscapes and variety of habitats also sustaining a huge array of unique species.
The moor is home to a healthy community of large mammals, supporting populations of roe deer and badgers. The skies above the grasslands are patrolled by hunting buzzards, as well as the elusive short-eared owl. The moor is also a refuge for rarer species, with its wildflowers supporting Aberdeen’s only known population of small pearl-bordered fritillaries.
The southern end of the reserve is particularly special, as it is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). This is due to the wonderful wetland habitats that shape this part of the reserve. The Countryside Ranger Service works tirelessly every year to maintain this wetland, as like in many places, gorse and broom plants threaten to dry-up and overtake the wetland. Despite these efforts, the wetland has been getting increasingly drier every summer, threatening the unique flora and fauna that are reliant on this wetland habitat to survive.
In 2022, an ecologist was called in to carry out a full ecological assessment of Scotstown Moor. Their specialised insight highlighted key issues, which has allowed us to devise some new plans and ideas that aim to protect and conserve this unique wetland landscape. These plans include installing dams throughout the SSSI wetland in order to retain water.
This year, the Countryside Rangers have been joined by fantastic, hardworking volunteers who have helped us cut more gorse than ever before. We have also begun to install dams through the wetland, helping store water to keep the wetland wet. The Rangers have been particularly delighted to be joined by fellow Council staff members from different services that we would never normally meet. It has been fantastic to share knowledge and learn more about the work carried out across the Council.
It has also been wonderful to work alongside such a committed and dedicated group of regular volunteers. Their input is truly invaluable and we are incredibly grateful for their efforts in helping conserve Aberdeen’s wild spaces.
Check out the full Rangers event programme or follow them on Facebook.
CFINE engaging growing communities as part of Climate Week North East 2023
CFINE is thrilled to be facilitating a series of events for Climate Week North East 2023, coordinated by NESCAN Hub. Across the 10 day festival, CFINE will be hosting two events, both of which offer different perspectives of the climate and nature emergency, the circular economy, and sustainable living.
The first event, on Sunday 26 March, will offer community growers an opportunity to connect and network in green space, and to vision for the future over a cup of tea and a chat. In addition to networking and the opportunity to hear from guest speakers, attendees will also be able to swap seeds, enjoy a free lunch, and discover all that Earth n’ Worms Community Garden has to offer! “Gardening for Wellbeing! Sharing ideas and support across the country” will take place at Earth and Worms Community Garden, and is delivered in partnership with Trellis.
On Friday 31 March, CFINE’s community kitchen – “Cook at the Nook” – will play host to an exciting zero-waste cooking challenge. Attendees will have the opportunity to explore CFINE’s zero-waste activity, cook great food without creating waste, and take part in discussion over climate and sustainable food. Delivered in partnership with Granite City Good Food, why not give zero waste cooking a try book via Eventbrite.
Food and climate are inextricably linked, and CFINE’s Climate Week North East events will be an exciting opportunity to discover this further.
For more information on these activities, feel free to get in touch with Martin Carle or Rebecca Dunn via Email: info@cfine.org or telephone: 01224 59625
Sustainable Wreath Making
December brought the holiday spirit to the David Welch Winter Gardens, with the Duthie Park Rangers organising and delivering their natural wreath making workshops. More than 85 people attended the popular sessions that were aimed at adults and children over 14 years old. Attendees learned how to weave willow into hoops and decorated them with winter foliage and other ornaments to make their wreaths. The willow used was locally sourced from all over Aberdeen City and the greenery came from Duthie Park and Hazlehead Park, providing people with a sustainable alternative to buying plastic wreaths.
Excess willow was made into hoops and sold as make-at-home kits for people to make their own natural wreaths at home, while some of the leftover greenery found its way to other local groups to be used elsewhere. Everyone was delighted with their wreaths and lots of lovely feedback was received. One person wrote: “I thought it was a great workshop and the rangers were extremely friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. I loved the fact it was all locally grown cuttings to be used.”
For more information about the Duthie Park Ranger Service or to organise an educational visit for your group, please email DuthieParkRangerService@aberdeencity.gov.uk or call 01224 580165.
Rare native flower found in nursery green space
After a wonderful visit (7th June 2022) from John and Kate Malster, who started the North East Native plant seed-sharing group on Facebook, John was admiring the surrounding green space of the nursery, where he spotted what he believed to be crosswort growing in the long grass out with the perimeter fence. Crosswort is a native wildflower that’s rare in the North of Scotland and beneficial for bees/pollinators, the leaves are edible and can be used as a typical salad leaf.
This area has been left to grow long and wild, to allow the local deer to find a way through our area, which, fortunately for the children and staff, we get to see often.
John took some wonderful pictures and contacted a local botanist David Elston who confirmed the identity of the crosswort. It has now been registered on the BSBI distribution map. (Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland) David estimated the patch as being some 16 metres long and a maximum of 3 metres across.
Although there's plenty of this species further south, it's a scarce plant in these parts, see the BSBI distribution map.
The nursery are really happy to have this in their local area and will make sure the area is well looked after. We are looking at improving the area around the fence as a strong green pathway for native flowers to seed. Allowing a green corridor for the local wildlife.
Duthie and Seaton Park BioBlitz
Come along to Duthie and Seaton Park BioBlitz – fun events for all the family!
Become a nature detective and discover the different types of creatures that live in the park and improve your biodiversity knowledge.
With interactive activities for kids, grown-ups, beginners and experts alike, there is something for everyone at our Aberdeen Flagship Parks for Pollinators BioBlitzes!
FREE EVENT - No requirement to book, just come along! Children MUST be accompanied by a responsible adult at all times.
Seaton Park: Saturday 27th May 2023 11am-3pm
Duthie Park: Saturday 17th June 2023 11am-3pm
To find out more contact the Aberdeen City Council Park Rangers DuthieParkRangerService@aberdeencity.gov.uk
Sorting your recycling and avoiding contamination
Much has hit the headlines in the last year regarding how our waste and recycling is processed. In summer 2022 the Council’s mixed recycling sorting facility at Altens was taken out of action following a fire, which led to temporary arrangements being put in place. Later in 2023 our general waste will be processed differently when the NESS energy from waste facility opens.
It's understandable that as these changes are reported, some residents may wonder if there will be an impact on how they should sort their waste and recycling. The first thing to note is that the materials that go in each of your bins hasn’t changed, and residents with wheelie bins, and those using communal street bins, should continue to sort their waste between their mixed recycling, general waste and food and garden waste bins as normal.
In areas with shared street bins, this remains particularly important, and residents are encouraged to refresh themselves on which bin to use for the things they throw away. When too much of the wrong type of waste is put into a shared mixed recycling bin it can lead to the whole bin being rejected due to contamination, causing some correct materials not to be recycled. To help ensure yours and your communities recyclables are sorted properly, you can check what materials are accepted in all bin types in Aberdeen using the Zero Waste Scotland recycle sorter tool.
Some common incorrect items that are found in mixed recycling bins in Aberdeen include electricals, wood, textiles from clothing and items made of a mixture of plastics, metals and other materials such as toys and baby equipment. Good quality items are suitable for reuse and residents are encouraged to visit our reuse facilities map for information on locations of charity shops, clothes banks, and other schemes. This page is also intended to highlight upcycling and repair schemes you could use to help breathe new life into your old items and reduce the need to buy new. Items unsuitable for reuse can be taken to Household Waste and Recycling Centres for disposal as recycling or general waste.
Safe battery disposal has also been highlighted in recent times. It’s very important that batteries are never thrown in the bin as they can combust and lead to fires. To find your nearest battery recycling point you can visit the recycle your electricals website.
There’s lots more information on the bins, waste and recycling pages should you wish to find out more.
News Updates and Events
- Public asked for views on new planning guidance documents
- Check out the latest Aberdeen Countryside Rangers Volunteering Events
- New report outlines latest achievements in Local Improvement Plan
- Paths for All What’s on Training and Events guide
- Fund your project in the latest Conservation Volunteers Scotland Funding Bulletin
- Flooding protection property grants now extended to include businesses
- Find your local social Health Walk - short, safe, social, fun and accessible low level walks led by trained volunteers
- The Nature of Scotland Awards 2023 - Open for entries
- Submit your Biological Records through NESBReC
