National Lottery win for Cairngorms hospital garden project
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Badenoch and Strathspey Therapy Gardens has hit the jackpot twice.
The group has won National Lottery funding of £8000 from the Awards for All cashpot – and this will be matched by the RS Macdonald Trust.
The £16,000 will allow the therapy gardens to continue their successful horticultural activities in the Growing Spaces within the Am Fasgadh allotments in Kingussie for another year.
Treasurer Mary Stewart told the Strathy: “It’s wonderful news not just for the great outdoors but the indoors too. Many can’t actually go gardening any more, but they are all keen to get involved in our ‘table-top’ gardening sessions.
“These are held at the Glen Centre in Aviemore, the Wade Centre in Kingussie and Lynemore Care Home in Grantown.
“It allows them all to get involved and it’s a big success, allowing everyone to engage in a series of activities which go to help the gardens, such as selecting seeds, creating beautiful collages and so on.
“It’s a real boost for a lot of older people, even to assist in transplanting some smaller plants grown from cuttings.
“This money will be a great help, too, in financing our vital project manager as we move towards occupying the special space which has been allocated us in the new community hospital in Aviemore.
“It couldn’t come at a better time.”
The therapy gardens are among those benefiting from a lottery cash boost of £1,551,849 across the country.
Awards for All Scotland provides lottery grants of between £500 and £10,000.
The RS Macdonald Trust provides £3 million in awards every year to Scottish charities.
More details can be found at www.rsmacdonald.com
