Looking back this last 12 months of being in a pandemic and its fair to say its been a very busy time for us on the land. Throughout the period the land been used alot as people are often staying at home during the day for various reasons and want to get out for some fresh air and exercise – which is where we come in.

To begin with we had hoped the land would get a much needed breather from all the attention its had this last few years and it did get that back in late March 2020 but then that changed after a few weeks. However it was great to see so many local people use the land and get benefit from it. So many said how happy they were to have this nearby.

Nursery groups that used to come for part of the day started to come for the entire day so as to separate the kids in two parts – one lot staying in the nursery all week while the other half came to the land and then they would swap over the next week.

All this has contributed to wear and tear on the land which in turn we have tried our best to rectify and in so doing that has used up alot of our funds.

As always a big thanks to our Dog Walkers that have cleared up after anti social behaviour and just kept a look out for things going a drift. Because we are open 24*7 they really help as there is nearly alway a dog walker on the land.

There are too many volunteers to thank here individually but a special mention goes to Paul Dallas who lives locally and has done alot of woodworking for us. He’s got a talent with wood and you’ll see that when walking round the land. For example the two wooden deer he made that so many young kids adore, plus the 8 bat boxes he made that have been put up high on the metal structures (thanks to Tristan for that) and the work he has done making the brick shed more useable by putting hooks up on the walls and making a work bench.

Although its been busy people wise, we still have had successes with our wildlife, we now have two hedge hog homes and camera footage of them using the land. Foxes too have been spotted late evenings. We have tried our best to keep parts of the land with deep undergrowth to help with providing an eco system that is good for nature. We intend to keep up our re-wilding activities in the years ahead.

We’ve put up 10 new bird boxes so fingers crossed for some new residents this spring. Thanks to Tsanko and Lucy for keeping many of the bird feeders topped up throughout the last 12 months.

We’ve tried to keep the adjacent streets clean from all the leaves etc that come from our land. If we do’t we know the street drains will block which then becomes a bit of a nightmare. The land also leeches soil each time it rains heavily. Big thanks to Ell and Flo plus Charlotte and Lottie and of course Tristan for this and many other tasks. These volunteers are how we will endeavour to keep the land a wild natural greenspace.

All the volunteers have done their tasks on their own or with members of their household, and as part of their daily exercise close to where they live.

The 4 wheelbarrows were really in need of a full renovation which is what they got. New wheels and bearings plus a full coat of metal based paint and new handles. Most of them had flat tyres which had been like that for years so the difference moving stuff around now is so much better.

We installed a litter picker on Kelbourne street which has been a great success. Its a street thats always had a fair bit of litter what with the nearby scout hut, special need school, college and of course our land. Perhaps its just the sign with the litter picker that stopping people littering in the first place or maybe people are using it – whatever the reason its working. As far as we know its the first litter picker to be put on a public street in Glasgow for people to use (happy to be corrected on that one). We have another 4 on the land.

Lastly it wouldn’t be a summary without mentioning all the work we do in keeping our nearby street bins operating effectively. We now have a key to open them up which means we can help with them if they start to overflow. We clean them regularly as a clean bin is one that is more likely to be used, and even gave two of them a full coat of paint last year (inc the gold paint trimmings the Council uses!). It was needed as they had fire damage. Managing the litter is very important to us, as if we don’t it would change the whole vibe to the land and that in turn would have a detromental affect on the very young kids that benefit from the land – and we simple can’t allow that.