The Silverburn Eco Hub: from vandalised community garden to educational hub; designed to champion biodiversity and the circular economy.
Relaunched for World Environment Day, the community garden at Workman-managed retail and leisure destination Silverburn had been vandalised in 2021 and neglected since. Now, thanks to Silverburn volunteers and grounds maintenance contractors from Instant Impact Group, the garden is back – and it looks brighter than ever.
In May, the Workman LLP Retail & Leisure and Building Consultancy teams collaborated with the Silverburn on-site management team and Instant Impact Group. They collectively revitalised the centre’s community garden, offering a much-needed makeover.
“The results were tremendous and very satisfying,” says Jim Hallan (pictured below, second from right), Partner. “Thanks to Katherine McGinness, Silverburn’s Environmental and Community Coordinator, for organising the garden makeover.”
Supporting the circular economy
Silverburn’s Eco Hub embodies circular economy initiatives, reusing existing on-site materials for planters, hedges, pallets, and bug hotel turf. The garden actively promotes circularity by using recycled coffee grounds as compost. Additionally, two rain barrels collect rainwater, reducing fresh water usage for ground maintenance.
Silverburn’s Eco Hub features a planter filled with peppers, strawberries, and mint. It houses numerous bird boxes, a bug and bee hotel, and an eco-hedge. This setup encourages a thriving natural habitat and biodiversity. The plan is to provide produce to local community pantries in the future. However, the current priority is to offer a thriving space for wildlife.
The new hub encourages wildlife with bird boxes, a bug hotel, and wildflowers to support pollinator species. Composting stations and rainwater collection repurpose discarded materials into landscaping components.
Building community: a natural resource
At the Workman-managed retail and leisure destination, educational signage will inform visitors about biodiversity and the circular economy. The creators of the Eco Hub aspire to collaborate with local schools and organisations. Their aim is to enhance understanding of these concepts and encourage the development of biodiverse spaces.
The Eco Hub is open to all, and access requests can be sent to [email protected]. The team is hoping for schools, colleges and nurseries to use it for educational purposes. The Eco Hub may also be used for some alternative therapy approaches like horticultural therapies.
Silverburn’s New Eco Hub: Cultivating Sustainability and Community Engagement
Katherine McGinness (pictured above), Environmental and Community Coordinator at Silverburn said: “This has been a project in the works for some time so it is fantastic to cut the ribbon on our brand new Eco Hub. It is very much a resource for the local community and can be used by school or youth groups for education or individuals for horticultural therapy.
“At Silverburn, we’re proud to play our part for a more sustainable Scotland and reduce our environmental impact. We currently recycle 66% of all waste, reuse thousands of plastic hangers every year and even repurpose coffee grounds. Also, we carry out water preservation initiatives on site and have 900 solar panels on our roof.
“We look forward to welcoming our first guests to the Eco Hub and seeing its positive impact within the community.”
Darren Cryans (pictured above left) Managing Director at Instant Impact Group added: “I like to say weeds are not weeds, they are simply flowers in the wrong place. People just need to adapt their mindset to see the beauty in nature, and that’s what Silverburn’s Eco Hub is all about.
“My family are local to Pollok and it has always been an aspiration of mine to work on maintaining the Silverburn grounds one day, so I am over the moon that it is now a reality for my business. Regenerating the garden is just one of many projects ongoing at Silverburn focused on boosting biodiversity so watch this space for more updates.”
