1.2 Improve wellbeing and support post COVID-19 recovery with programs which target health, economic growth, and strengthen communities
1.3 Encourage active citizenship through access to trusted, accurate information which empowers communities to make informed decisions
1.5 Reflect the rich and diverse communities in both library resources and programming to make them accessible to all
2.2 Design library services which reach the heart of communities and engage with new audiences
3.1 Develop partnerships which support more resilient, fairer, healthier communities
3.3 Collaborate with partners to contribute towards the sustainable development agenda for 2030
The aim of the project was to establish a tool library within Fintry Library and establish a selection of borrowable resources and tools that could be used in the local community garden.
The garden would then be used to grow sustainable food and teach children and adults alike about the physical and mental health benefits of gardening.
Having borrowable resources would make the garden accessible to all regardless of their circumstances and promote the development of a community led experience.
The project has opened up new avenues for Fintry Library to engage with the local community. With the lending library now established, there are plans to raise further awareness in nearby neighbourhoods so that others can also benefit from the resources. Activities for children and families, in a particular will continue to be developed ensuring the sustainability of the project beyond the original funding.
Outcomes
- Worked with several local families to generate a renewed interest in gardening and sustainable food with children, resulting in positive feedback and requests for more activities involving gardening.
- Created a new gardening collection in Fintry Library to help support our Gardening Tool Library initiative.
- Used connections with other local organisations to advertise the new service. A user survey will determine how people would like the service to evolve.
- Through collaborations, the library reached families that hadn’t previously engaged with which led to an increase in borrower registrations.
- Created a network of contacts within the local community that will pay dividends in future works.
- Worked with the local gardening group in the community garden as well as with Discovering Families from Dundee Volunteer & Voluntary Action. They helped to organise several events which were well received and will inform future planning.
