- Winds of Change
Cyrenians' Garden Open Day
Updated: Aug 20, 2019
Today, the homelessness charity Cyrenians invited us to attend the garden open day at the Midlothian Community Hospital Garden, in Bonnyrigg. It was great to see the garden in action, with all the volunteers buzzing about, showing off the wonderful work Cyrenians does for the patients and the community as a whole.
As poor mental health is both a cause and a consequence of homelessness, Cyrenians deliver therapeutic greenspaces in Edinburgh and Midlothian – places to escape to, practical activities to improve wellbeing, and outreach work on patient wards for those unable to attend the garden. Alongside the benefits of the open air and exercise, fostering links between the patients and the local community helps in stopping those discharged from hospital from feeling abandoned. They know there are people there to support them, a communal space to come back to. Find out more at: https://cyrenians.scot/community-and-food/community-gardens/
We got to set up a little stand in the workshop with a poster and our 3D printed blade. There was a lot of interest and positivity about our project which was great to see! Although there were a few concerns, they were mainly related to noise. Once we explained that the turbine would be quieter than the busy A7 that runs alongside the site, those concerns dissipated. All in all, the volunteers and general public seemed to be behind the garden getting its power from local renewables, using a mix of the newly installed solar, our wind turbine and battery storage to supply power in almost any weather conditions.
One of the most exciting new additions to the garden was the electric urn for tea and coffee, powered by the brand new solar PV and battery storage system at the site! Fingers crossed, at next year's open day we will be drinking hot beverages using the power from our turbine.