Girvan group digs in to garden plans

Aug 15 2008

THREE mature students are aiming to go green and overhaul their town.

The women, from Girvan, want to build a community garden for all ages.

And they’ve praised the college course which motivated them to make a difference.

Julie Campbell, Etta Auld and Diana Mutimer have founded the Make It Happen Arts Group.

And making it happen is something they certainly intend to do.

Julie, 43, revealed: “We all met while studying the HNC Community Arts course at Ayr College.

“The idea for the community garden is to brighten the area and get as many people as possible involved.

“We’ve had a great response and more than 20 volunteers have been helping out.

“It’s great to see young people helping out the older community in the garden.

“It provides people with a place where they can come together in a non-threatening environment to socialise.

“Some volunteers have suffered bereavement over the last few years and the community garden project is a gentle way of easing them back into the community.

“But it’s going to take a lot of work and we’re hoping to secure some funding in the near future.”

The proposed garden is on the site which stands hidden behind Knockcushan House.

And the Make It Happen girls are also planning a library aimed at children.

The Story Sack library will provide at least 50 story sacks to form an independent library in Girvan for children between the ages of 3 and 8.

The project, headed by Etta Auld, a retired primary school teacher, will attempt to attract young children to reading through creatively designed story sacks illustrating the story. Making the sacks themselves will provide a sociable and creative forum for parents and others to get involved.

Diana, 59, said: “We all really enjoyed our time studying the Community Arts course; there aren’t many courses like it in the area.

“If it wasn’t for our year spent on the course we wouldn’t have learned fund-raising, administration and management skills which have giving us the solid foundation for developing Make It Happen.”

College principal Diane Rawlinson added: “It’s great to see our graduates put their learning into action. Make It Happen deserve a lot of credit for their community work and we wish them good luck in their future endeavours.”

For more information on the group, visit www.makeithappen-girvan.org.uk