More than 100 people from across the community braved the cold conditions to plant trees at a new park in Winchburgh.
The first of 1000 new trees were planted by families in the sprawling 85-acre Auldcathie District Park.
More than 150 families gathered in the area of community woodland to celebrate Winchburgh’s residents, old and new.
The trees, gifted to the Winchburgh Community Growers by I Dig Trees, were planted along with the remaining saplings, saved and nurtured by the community throughout the pandemic.
Locals and Community Growers were joined by John Hamilton, CEO of Winchburgh Developments Ltd, and the Winchburgh Wombles who recently received the Clean Up Scotland Hero Award for local resident Aileen Murdoch’s weekly litter-picking.
John West, Co-Founder of the Winchburgh Community Growing Group, said: ”It’s been a real community effort and, with the help of QR codes for each planted tree, we hope everyone can revisit their trees and watch them grow for years to come.”
Aileen Murdoch of the Winchburgh Wombles was encouraged with the project and said: “The event has been such a nice opportunity to come together and celebrate everyone’s hard work.
“Receiving the Clean Up Scotland award was a great early Christmas present, and it shows just how much pride the locals have in their community.”
Almost half of the 85-acre park is now open, allowing locals and visitors to enjoy the equivalent of 13 football pitches’ worth of green space which they can now access via additional routes from the B9080. Auldcathie District Park also offers grassed playing areas, new walking and running routes, an enclosed dog park and community garden.
John Hamilton, CEO, Winchburgh Developments Ltd, hailed the news and said: “I’m pleased more of Auldcathie Park is open just in time for Christmas.
“It’s great to celebrate all the hard work of the community, the Growers, and the Wombles.”
The final park, to be completed in 2023, will be more than twice the size of Edinburgh’s Princes Street Gardens. It will see a further 15,000 trees planted and include a variety of different open spaces including a dedicated bike park, additional paths and fitness trails, extensive wildlife areas and a community orchard. The viewing areas on higher ground will afford long-range views across Winchburgh and to the Forth bridges beyond. On completion, a café with public toilets will be located in the centre of the park.
Auldcathie District Park will be situated adjacent to the new schools’ campus area on the south-east boundary of the park site. With good connections between the park and schools’ campus, these ‘schools in the park’ will feature playing fields and synthetic sports pitches, providing a quality learning environment for future pupils.
Don't miss the latest news from the West Lothian Courier. Sign up to our free newsletter here.
