Wild Ways Well Spring Blog

A blog for NHS Lothian Charity by TCV Senior Project Officer, Paul Barclay

Spring has sprung (I make that joke every year and I refuse to apologise for it) and it was one of those rarest of Scottish things… a nice one! We became obsessed with it on the sessions, every week there were jokes about suncream – we even had to loosen the TCV purse strings and give everyone in the Thursday group a sun hat! I have to admit though, it did sort of lose its shine towards the end of May when we were forced to lug gallons of water to the Walled Garden every week in a desperate attempt to keep the tens of thousands of wildflower seeds that we planted alive.

There was plenty of work to do in the Walled Garden clearing up after the winter storms which had brought down several trees and trying to bring the wildflower meadows and beds under control. The garden has historically been very well looked after but, in these times of tight budgets, has become a bit of a neglected space slowly disappearing under the nettles and brambles. Trying to hold back the tide and bring some wild colour into these areas has given us a focus for our work so far this year.

As well as working with patients and staff at St John’s, we also partner with a variety of local community groups, from a young people’s early intervention group to a social isolation charity for the elderly, and pretty much everything in between. All of these groups came together in early spring for a series of tree planting days and we managed to find homes for more than 500 native Scottish broadleaved trees in Howden Park, right next to the hospital. Alder, rowan, oak, birch, elder, cherry, holly – every one of these trees has a story behind it and we look forward to following these stories over the months and years ahead as our own little woodland grows.

We’ve kept up with our folklore, in winter we wassailed the apple trees (twice!) and at the start of spring we used wood, water, and iron to ‘sain’ the garden, making sure that any ‘negative’ influences are removed and that is a welcoming space for all – to be honest, I have to admit that I don’t really believe in the ‘magic’ of folklore. I don’t believe that singing to apple trees wakes them up from their winter sleep. I don’t believe that our solstice fire caused the summer sun to rise, I don’t event believe that using wood, water and iron drives evil fairies away. But I do believe in connection. I believe that our ancestors believed, and that by doing these things we are becoming one link in a chain of community that stretches back thousands of years. Does touching a willow tree bring you luck? I don’t know, but I do know that every session our participants walk through our willow tunnel and take strength from the drawings and wishes that we’ve hung from its branches. Does a silver birch inspire people to find new beginnings? Perhaps, certainly the ones that stand by the entrance to our garden have helped many visitors searching for a new life.

Over the next few months we’ll be looking after our wildflowers and monitoring the pollinators that come to visit them. We’ll be watching the birds, making art to hang in the trees, designing fairy houses, growing plants to taste, touch and smell. Giving back to the green spaces and to the natural community around us – and building our own community as we do so.

Interacting with nature changes lives. There’s no magic involved, but that doesn’t mean that we should stop believing. The point of our sessions isn’t really to find fairies at the bottom of the garden – it’s to go looking for them together.