Sustainability...

Despite our ability to produce attractive displays of colourful annual flowers, our group has always been aware of the need to plant for the future. One of the groups earliest projects was to develop an unkempt area at Victoria Place to provide an attractive multipurpose area for the benefit of residents. This location was grassed, lined with a variety of shrubs, and seats were provided with the assistance of local residents. Eventually an additional bed was formed recently when illegal use by car drivers caused damage and threatened to spoil the area for many others. We were also happy to support the initiative of a local resident who adopted a piece of grassland on the eastern edge of the village a few years ago where an attractive, mature, sustainable planted area now exists. Victoria Place Before Telephone Exchange Before     After After A more recent sustainable planting project was carried out in 2006 when, after taking advice on the types of plants that would provide colour and support wildlife, members bedded out one edge of the West Loan. The second phase to be undertaken in the current year will see native species including birch and alder being added to complete the bed. Further sustainable planting is now well established at the Clough in Balmblae where rowans, elder, alder, broom and wild roses were planted in an effort to augment the plants like rosebay willow herb, celandine and oxeye daisy already supporting the existence of wild life there. Involving young people, much work done on the site saw the clearance of self seeded sycamore and the complete elimination of Japanese Knotweed. A start was made to a new wildflower meadow at Balmblae in 2006 when several varieties of flowers were planted by local schoolchildren with the help of Fife Ranger Service. A considerable number of wildflower plugs are now on order in the hope of making the area even more colourful and insect friendly this year. Primary pupils will add to these when the seeds they have planted in our polytunnel at Sugar Acre are sufficiently mature. See Biodiversity. Such projects require regular maintenance and our group is presently planning for the years that lie ahead in an attempt to ensure a continuation of care for the local environment and attractive appearance of our community. The exact format of the way forward for our group is, as yet, undefined, but an ambitious programme of consultation, locally and beyond, will take place soon when we expect to consider a variety of ways to address the future and attempt to make sure the combined efforts of local voluntary groups can continue.