Group type: Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation

Category: Waste and Circular, Resilience, Engagement, Nature

Project Description: THE COMMON GROUND GARDEN will take a neglected and unused site, earmarked for future development of a Community Hub from being an overgrown wilderness, to being a focal point within the village for community growing activities. It will be an inclusive green space at the heart of our village, designed to grow food, nurture tree seedlings for future woodlands and inspire home food growing. Using recycled and upcycled materials wherever possible, along with the shared experience and willing hands of our Community, we will create a sustainable, movable garden that fosters biodiversity, community connection and environmental stewardship across all ages and multiple groups and organisations within the Community. When the site is required for constructions, we can move our beds and plants to alternative locations, so no work is wasted and people can still maintain their interest in growing.

By engaging in the Community, growing food, upcycling and reusing materials and teaching people new or forgotten skills, it will enable them to meet the challenges of Waste, Resilience, Engagement and Nature and the Cost of Living by achieving the following benefits:

1. Reducing Food Costs
• Homegrown produce can significantly cut grocery bills.
• Even small harvests of staples like potatoes, tomatoes, or leafy greens reduce reliance on store-bought food.
• Seasonal growing helps families access fresh produce without premium prices.

2. Promoting Self-Sufficiency
• Learning to grow food empowers individuals/families to be less dependent on fluctuating market prices.
• Skills gained in the garden can be transferred to home growing, even on balconies or windowsills.

3. Upcycling and Waste Reduction
• Using recycled materials (e.g., pallets, containers, old bricks) for planting beds reduces the need to buy new.
• It encourages a circular economy mindset, where waste becomes a resource.

4. Strengthening Community Support
• Shared gardens foster community resilience—people share seeds, tools, knowledge, and even harvests.
• This can lead to informal food exchanges or community meals, helping those most affected by the cost of living crisis.

5. Educational and Economic Opportunities
• Workshops on composting, seed saving, and cooking with garden produce can be offered free or at low cost
• Surplus produce could be sold at local markets or used in community kitchens, generating small income streams

6. Mental and Physical Health Benefits
• Gardening improves mental well-being, which is often strained during financial hardship
• Physical activity and time outdoors are free health benefits that reduce long-term healthcare costs

7. Enhancing biodiversity in our Biodiversity Village
• Organic (or chemical-free) growing including companion planting and planting for pollinators ensures healthy food as well as space for nature
• Growing fruit trees and native tree and shrub species for planting out in local woodlands contributes to biodiversity in the wider local landscape

Community Impact: This project will benefit the 2,000 residents of Stanley and surrounding areas—offering opportunities to volunteer, join social and learning activities, or simply enjoy the garden. We hope most of the community will be involved, either by contributing to its creation or enjoying the results. Local groups may also help shape the space or host events.
We aim to involve at least 50 volunteers of all ages and abilities—from those who enjoy physical work and construction to novice and experienced gardeners sharing skills.

Wider Benefits:
• Social Inclusion: A welcoming space that fosters intergenerational connection and reduces isolation.
• Health & Wellbeing: Gardening promotes physical activity, reduces stress, and supports mental health.
• Food & Skills: Participants learn to grow food, compost, and live sustainably—encouraging resilience.
• Youth Engagement: Hands-on learning links to school curricula and inspires environmental awareness.
• Economic Resilience: Reduces food costs, promotes upcycling, and may support small-scale income.
• Land Transformation: Revitalises a derelict site, boosts pride, and deters antisocial behaviour.
• Civic Engagement: Builds local capacity and strengthens networks for future community initiatives.

Climate Change Impact: The Common Ground Garden will contribute directly to local climate action by:

• reducing carbon emissions

• promoting circular resource use

• enhancing biodiversity.

By growing food locally, we will reduce reliance on transported produce, saving an estimated 250–1,000 kg of CO₂ annually. The use of recycled materials for constructing planting beds will divert approximately 1,000 kg of waste from landfill, reducing methane emissions and supporting a circular economy. The cultivation of native tree seedlings will further enhance carbon sequestration, with 80 mature trees absorbing up to 1,760 kg of CO₂ each year. Regenerative gardening practices will improve soil health and store an additional 50–100 kg of carbon annually. Through education and engagement, the project will also foster sustainable behaviours among residents, potentially preventing several tonnes of CO₂ equivalent emissions through reduced household waste and increased climate awareness.

Group type: Charity

Category: Waste and Circular Economy, Engagement

Project Description: School Uniform Bank
We are looking to secure funding to run our School Uniform Bank throughout the year and our Back to School and Nursery project over the summer.
School Uniform can cost families between £150-£200 per child whereas it only costs us £27.60 per pack to provide nearly everything a child needs. Our project would save our community over £225,000 in school uniform costs which then allows families to redistribute these savings into other household bills, keeping houses warm, children fed and our community thriving.
We have run our Back to School project for the last three years offering free applications to everyone living in Perth and Kinross and attending a school.
2023 – 300 2024 – 647 2025 - 1,034
We have seen a dramatic increase in applications each year, which not only indicates the need for free uniform support, but also our community’s commitment to reducing their fast fashion purchases.
Social Flock has been collecting pre-loved donations from our community across Perth and Kinross for three years. We would like to be able to open applications throughout the year for school uniform to support the ongoing need of growing children and families. Despite receiving 1,003 Back to School pack applications over summer, we continue to receive multiple requests for uniform from individuals, PKC service providers, charities and other community support networks.
In our Back to School packs we provide three days of school uniform, two days of PE kit, a school bag, a pair of school shoes and an additional extra each applicant can select for themselves ranging from school socks to a water bottle.
In our Back to Nursery Packs we provide 5 days of mix and match outfits: 5 bottoms, 5 tops, 5 jumpers and a pair of shoes. We offer 2 additional extras such as sun hats, hair ties, socks, vests and pants.
What else do we offer as part of this service?
Personalised Packs – to reduce waste and ensure the clothing we are redistributing will be used fully we don’t just ask for clothing and footwear sizes. We ask for sensory requirements, a style guide, colour choices and characters that children would love to have on their school bag. Each pack is catered to exactly what each child would like not just what they need.
Free doorstep delivery to each applicant to remove barriers to access across Perth and Kinross including access to travel in rural areas, disability and mental health issues which would limit access to our central Perth Hub.
Community Pop-Up Shops allow people to visit our event and ‘Pick Their Own Pack’ which increases dignity for everyone whilst also promoting wearing preloved, thus reducing the stigma around this within the community.
Community-based Collections – working in collaboration with other community groups, businesses and charities we have run collection points across Perthshire to enable our community to pick up their packs in their local area. Removing emissions from delivery and building community-based action.

Community Impact: Over 3,000 people will be positively impacted by our School Uniform Bank throughout 2026, covering benefits to cost-of-living, mental health and wellbeing, community activism and environmental awareness. Not only do pupils benefit from our packs, but everyone in their home. Households can redistribute uniform savings to other essential household bills like food, heating and fuel costs. Our applicants have told us our packs reduce stress in the household, support positive mental health and wellbeing for adults, excitement for returning to school & nursery for the children, alongside providing items they would otherwise not be able to afford. We work with a team of around 50 volunteers. We have regular volunteers coming into our Hub to organise donations, make up packs, and deliver packs to families across Perth and Kinross. We have volunteers who offer other essential roles for delivering all our projects such as washing and mending. We make sure any volunteering role is free for our volunteers, because we know we couldn’t run Social Flock without their contribution of time and energy. We offer travel costs, provide sustenance throughout their volunteer time. Our Delivery Drivers are provided with fuel reimbursement for their journeys. Our menders and washers are provided with specific supplies anything else they would need to support their volunteering. Keeping volunteering free to our community allows more people to support our services in a way that is accessible to them.

Climate Change Impact: Social Flock perfectly combines anti-poverty and pro-climate action for our Perth and Kinross Community. On a monthly basis Social Flock receives around 1 ton of clothing donations coming directly from our community across the 12 Perth and Kinross wards. We are redistributing between 1 – 1.5 tons of clothing to families across Perth and Kinross. We have also worked with different groups to run workshops to increase engagement with the aim to reuse and recycle clothing and build skills. We partner with AK Bell’s Lend and Mend hub to repair and redesign clothing ensuring we keep items in circulation for as long as possible. We are committed increasing our community’s knowledge on the environmental impact that fast fashion has. In 2025 we launched our Rural School Uniform Climate Challenge. Schools collected donation of preloved clothing and circulated our Back to School application, contributing to their Eco-School Status. In 2026 we would like to expand this into more schools across Perth and Kinross, offering complimentary workshops to further educate pupils on the environmental impact of wearing preloved clothing, embracing changes in their clothing and shopping habits and becoming Clothing Climate Activists. We see an increase in families returning their clothing to us building a cyclical clothing economy. By ensuring our Donation Stations are open and accessible to families across Perth and Kinross we can reduce re-useable clothing being put into our landfills.