12 tasks undertaken by Andrew McAvoy , Holly McAvoy + Julia Bauer. Between 23d March 2020 + 13th July 2020.
Due to the Pandemic - No one else was able to enter. When we no longer felt safe, we stopped.
With a view to completing 3 years of physical work toward the creation of a serviced Community Garden.
We began with a space in chaos that had been created by a very unproductive Volunteer Programme. CLARIFICATIONS Everything that was used in this work was sourced Sustainably and mostly from skips and local Tenement refurb cast offs. The Conservatory space was made from Second hand windows donated by Mary Hill Housing Association. We designed and made a Conservatory / Green house . We created a tool store/ library of tools for localised borrowing. We created - Ponds , decks, raised, growing beds, garden structures, ecology zones and protected planting. . We planned negotiated and ordered ancillary structures such as Poly Tunnels, + an open sided Marquee which were not erected due to Covid. All Georgian bricks, doors, tiles and floor boards were carefully removed from the home of Mrs Harriet Maclaren ( Mrs Mac) resident of Pollokshields, who passed away in 2018 In homage to her generosity of spirit - a pair of decorative panels made from her Kitchen doors were made bespoke for the conservatory breakfast bar... In Mrs Macs words commonly reflecting on the untidy nature of East Pollokshields where circa 1950 - she puts her best hat on to walk down Albert Drive for bespoke shopping .. " look at that mess “ “whats wrong with people” - “nothing should be wasted like that “ + “ all these cars - where are they coming from ! “
WITH a forecast end of Project by end of the year , the work was undertaken to allow for temporary use of a piece of Abandoned Neglected + Detrimental land - offered for community use on a very short term lease.
To that end temporary structures were self built with a view to removal at end of project in 2020 .
All of the work shown below was voluntary and made possible by time provided whilst Furloughed from a separate academic - Social Research Project. - Aspiring Communities.
THE VOLUNTEER WORK During Covid other than work on the tool store which was funded by a highly competitive Participatory Budget Award - Was - NON TRANSACTIONAL.
When the Research frame afforded by Aspiring Communities ended we were not afforded the cover offers by Furlough and had to find work elsewhere quickly. So Very sadly We cordoned off the Building Site area, issued a Health + Safety list to the new General Manager of the Pollokshields Trust + new Chair.
Since then
Some of the careful work undertaken with Mrs Mac's gift of materials has been vandalised - including the decorative panels made from local tenement Kitchen Doors and locks.. + Further damage to the structure of the gazebo was caused by someone intent in making their own disproportionate Mark. However overall We left the place much much better than it was for an intended Local Management Committee. to use until the end of the Lease running till summer 2021.
There was no Security of tenure.
For full details of that see the Mark Makers section of this site.
We wish the management committee of local people working - non transactionally and selflessly in the name of local improvements all the very best.