Community Group: Seaweed Gardens

Researchers: Dr Hannah Grist, Socio-Environmental Systems Researcher (Scotland’s Rural College)

Location: Oban, Argyll & Bute

Experimenting with seaweed fertiliser for growing vegetables in a community garden in Oban, also developing a manifesto for future creative community-led environmental research projects

Danielle Banks, Community lead at Seaweed Gardens, said: 

We wrote our manifesto based on [the engagement in phase 2] and what people said and now have a document we can work from. [We] feel we have more of a balance reflecting people’s views.

Phase 1 community-led research project

Seaweed Gardens is a collective of [food] growers, creatives and scientists based in Oban, who formed around taking collective action on local environmental issues and climate change.

During Phase 1 of the programme they partnered with socio-environmental systems researcher Dr. Hannah Grist, from Scotland’s Rural College, to experiment with seaweed fertilisers to grow vegetables.

This was done in collaboration with a local foodbank and community garden where they held monthly community meetings and activities, including collective project planning, sharing recipes, creative projects, a harvest festival, community meal and an exhibition.

Capacity Building Project

 In Phase 2 the capacity building grant helped the group to hold a follow-up community engagement and planning session (in the open air).

They reflected on the project so far, discussed ways in which they would like to take it forward and create a vision and sense of identity for the group that grounds the plans in collective ownership and care.

As a result, they have developed a manifesto and action plan for the group. It has also helped the group to meet regularly and focus on fundraising for future activity.

Research impacts

This was a developmental grant for Seaweed Gardens which was not a pre-existing group but had emerged as a loose collective around common interests in response to this grant.

Following the capacity building activities, they are now in a position to explore longer-term community-led research projects. Having the researcher involved from the beginning, and through a broad range of research activities, made it clear what is possible through community-researcher collaborations, as the researcher was able to share her expertise in different ways in response to community interests, and was likewise able to learn from them in turn.

The group have emphasised the potential of working together to improve future work.