Workstart students from Forth Valley College have transformed a neglected and run down community garden area in the Bog area of Falkirk as part of their course.
A total of 12 students - Lewis Brawley, Neeruta Bhandari, Chris Cook, Peter Davidson, Keir Forsyth, Antonio Knox-Johnstone, Ryan Livingstone, Amy Paterson, Lewis Potter, Brandy Reid, Chris Scott and Lewis Thompson - had to complete at least 20 hours of volunteering and demonstrate good communication, teamwork and interpersonal skills, as well as skills with a paintbrush and spade and really started to ‘dig’ refreshing the area outside the Westfield Park Community Centre.
With the help of a couple of placements students – including one from the University of the West of Scotland who managed to source donations of plants and materials from Tesco, Asda, Travis Perkins and Falkirk Council – Business and Communities Lecturers Ruth Davis and Moira Weir proudly watched as their enthusiastic students started work on the project in February.
Ruth said: “Myself and my colleague, Moira Weir, have been leading a renovation project with our Workstart students and we have been so proud of what they have achieved. We've also been nominated for a Community Engagement Staff Award, which is really nice.
“The students have just about completed the project which helped them finish a course unit called Community Involvement – where they have been working since February planning and carrying out work improving the run-down area outside the Westfield Park Community Centre over in the Bog. They have done an absolutely fantastic job.”
