Interested in protecting historic designed landscapes in the Clyde and Avon Valley for generations to come?

Head to Callendar House, Falkirk, on Sunday 17 July, 2-4pm, to find out how you can get involved in the Glorious Gardens volunteering project, which seeks to do just that.

Glorious Gardens volunteers have been researching, surveying and recording designed landscapes in both the Clyde and Avon Valley and Falkirk since April 2015, including sites at Stonebyres, Carfin and Dalserf, where gardens in various states of disrepair are all that is left of a historic Estate.

Managed by Scotland’s Garden and Landscape Heritage (SGLH) and led by Northlight Heritage, the project is funded by Heritage Lottery Fund supported Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership (CAVLP) and Historic Environment Scotland.

Volunteers receive FREE archaeological researching, surveying and recording training in order to help them complete the project. Workshops cover use of on-line resources including historic maps, how to use local archives, archaeological survey and recording.

Once completed, volunteers learn how to upload reports to the national Historic Environment Scotland database where they can be accessed by all, and used to inform future decisions about site management.

“I am so happy to be volunteering for Glorious Gardens,” says one current volunteer.

“At first there seemed to be no information about our site – then the maps, newspaper cuttings, and comparison of maps, brought out so many stories – the linked ponds in the ravine, the sawmill on the site, the puzzle of why there’s so much tree planting, and why the owner (an MP) allowed the railway to run right next to his house.  So many other things to learn about – early sawmills, Huguenots, fish ponds, and I haven’t even started on the architectural vocabulary!”

Current volunteers will be on hand at the event in Callendar House on 17 July to share their experiences and answer questions on volunteering for the Glorious Gardens project. The first field trip will be on the following Sunday 24 July, although alternatives will be set up for volunteers who are unable to make that date.

“The feedback we’ve had from current volunteers has been fantastic,” says Sue Hewer of Scotland’s Garden and Landscape Heritage.

“People have commented that the organisation of resources and enthusiasm of the Northlight Heritage project officers has been contagious, and everyone has loved either learning or brushing up on knowledge of researching and recording the historic designed landscapes.”

The volunteering opportunity including FREE training sessions is open to all.

To book a place at Callendar House on Sunday 17 July, 2-4pm, contact SGLH on info@sglh.org. If you have questions ahead of the event and would like to find out if Glorious Gardens is for you, phone Sue Hewer on 01241 828797.

Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership
www.clydeandavonvalley.org