Growing climate action in Aberdeenshire
The Vattenfall Unlock Our Future Fund has completed seven years of grant-making, supporting community-led climate action projects across Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire.
In its seventh year, the fund reached two major milestones: supporting more than 110 projects to date and surpassing £1 million in total funding awarded, with £1,030,257 distributed since 2019.
With a specific focus on fund promotion in north-east Aberdeenshire in the past two years, it was particularly positive to see several new groups supported in this area, delivering practical projects of this kind – some modest and some very technical and ambitious - to reduce energy demand and improve the thermal comfort of several important community buildings.
Community gardens and food growing projects are supported by the fund, recognising the importance of local production and reducing food miles, as well as the potential improvements to biodiversity and building community connection and resilience. Two examples are highlighted below showing the impact of different scales of project and the many additional benefits they can bring.
These are just a couple of the climate action projects delivered in the past year, from funding awards made in 2024.
Ellon Community Allotments: Growing Community Spirit – and Veg!
Ellon Community Allotments (ECA) was set up as a SCIO in 2023 in order to develop an allotment site on the outskirts of Ellon in Aberdeenshire. The group received an award of £20,000 in 2024 to contribute to the cost of constructing a new allotment and community growing site on disused land at Balmacassie.
The Council identified a suitable location at Balmacassie, which they will lease to ECA for an initial 20-year term with a peppercorn rent of £250 a year. The project combines the development of a community growing facility with a focus on the health benefits and climate-smart features which reduce carbon emissions, increase carbon capture and conserve water.
A key feature is that it is an inclusive allotment facility that includes plots with easy access beds for people with disabilities or physical conditions that would otherwise find ground-level growing activities challenging.
Initial works involved clearing the site, creating plots, paths, raised beds and a polytunnel. All plots were let out by June 2025, one month after the official opening. The strategy of offering three different sizes of plots has been largely successful. Some novice growers have struggled with a large plot (200m2), and as a result, the future policy will be to let larger plots to experienced growers and encourage beginners to start with small or medium units.
Committee member, Sandy McDougall said:
“Our beneficiaries have generally been in keeping with our strategy. We have attracted several members who have mobility issues. Half of our beneficiaries are female. We have members from various international communities in Ellon to add to our diversity. The interesting demographic is that 50% of members live on the adjacent housing development. We did not envisage that this would be the case, but it does mean that many can easily walk to the site and use our active travel links. The greatest challenge we have faced this year has been the climate with a hot dry summer. There was not a water supply on the site until very recently and so people have had to carry water from home. We have recently secured a supply from a local brewery which will make a major difference in 2026, along with a range of water conservation measures like rainwater collection on site.
All visitors and those passing the site have commented how amazed they are that we have come so far this year and the growing of produce is widely complimented. We have also been able to deliver a small quantity of surplus produce to our local community larder and these volumes will increase substantially in future years. Our 20-year lease gives considerable security and the facility will be enjoyed by many who have discovered us since opening. We have plans to secure more land to enable us to meet demand and will pursue this ambition once the current development is complete. Foundation Scotland has been very supportive of our development and we would not be where we are today without them and the Vattenfall funding." |
Small grant – Big Impact at Gairn Community Garden
Gairn Community Garden was a brand-new group when it applied for a small grant of £2,500 in 2024 to regenerate a derelict allotment site in Aberdeen to create a community space to grow fruit and vegetables and increase biodiversity. The former allotment site had lain derelict for about five years before local people got together to convince the local authority to let them use the space for community growing and outdoor education.
The award contributed to the overall project costs of around £9,000 to create raised beds and storage space, purchase soil and compost, as well as gardening tools and other equipment. Benches would be installed, and 75 native trees would also be planted. Funding also included the costs of an instructor to provide support with initial gardening set up and deliver gardening training sessions.
In the words of local volunteer, Daniel Doherty:
“Our project has gone really well. We turned an abandoned 600m² allotment beside Gairn Terrace into a welcoming community garden. With Aberdeen City Council, local volunteer groups, the Refugee Council/New Scots, the Community Service team and neighbours, we cleared c.30 tonnes of waste and put in key infrastructure: a secure fence, two huts (one for nursery sessions, one for tools), four raised beds and a polytunnel. We ran one introductory gardening course and a second is underway to broaden involvement. Biggest change: year one became a set-up year focused on making the site safe and usable before running lots of activities.
Challenges included site clearance taking longer than expected and some materials delays, but teamwork and in-kind help kept us on track. Next we’ll build on this foundation: more volunteer days, nursery visits, intergenerational sessions and food-growing for local families, with an aim to widen participation and harvests through 2025.
Our project has made a meaningful contribution to increasing climate-aware consumption and production through the transformation of a previously unused, derelict space into a vibrant, productive community garden. We focused on sustainable, local food production by working closely with One Seed Forward, who delivered hands-on workshops teaching participants how to grow their own food organically. These sessions promoted awareness of seasonal growing, composting, seed saving, and responsible water use. We also collaborated with Harlaw Academy and Duthie Park Nursery, offering children regular access to outdoor learning. Nursery classes now visit every Tuesday, using the garden as a space to explore nature, understand where food comes from, and learn the basics of sustainability in an age-appropriate way. We provided gardening tools, toys, and safe infrastructure to support this learning.
Through these activities, the project has not only increased access to local food growing but also educated community members of all ages about environmentally responsible practices. This supports the long-term aim of building a more climate-aware and environmentally engaged local community. The project has already fostered a deeper connection between people and their local environment, and we believe this will continue to grow. Children involved will carry forward lessons about nature, sustainability, and healthy living. The space itself will remain a community asset—encouraging outdoor activity, shared responsibility, and neighbourhood pride. Social links formed through volunteering and workshops have created a stronger sense of community that we expect will last well beyond the initial funding period. Foundation Scotland’s support and Vattenfall funding has made a lasting difference to our community.” |
Read more about the Vattenfall Unlock Our Future Fund