The buzz from the hub

Welcome to our August 2018 newsletter!

In this issue we report on our successful participation in the Power of Food Festival last June, update the latest on our on-going Iron Age Log boat experiment, as well as our involvement in the Edinburgh Shoreline project, Summer wildflower plant sale and more! 

Native Scottish wildflower plant sale

Granton:hub’s thriving community garden is hosting a native Scottish wildflower and plant sale later this month. 

Running from 11am to 2pm on Sunday August 26, the event presents a great opportunity to make a contribution to wildlife in the city by picking up plants for your garden, window box or community project.

A huge range of flowering plants and grasses will be available from only £1, as well as coastal plants contributing to habitat creation, cultivated as part of the Edinburgh Shoreline project. The sale will additionally include plants suitable for woodland edge, meadows, coastal grassland and wetlands.

All plants have been grown by granton:hub volunteers in collaboration with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, and as well as offering wildflower growing advice, the garden team will be on hand taking orders for the new Mini Meadows project.

Refreshments including teas and coffees will be served, as well as soup made from produce grown in the garden with freshly baked local bread. 

Hope to see you there!

Iron Age boatbuilding

Our exciting experimental archeology project is now well under way, after the delivery of our log from the shores of Loch Ness back in June.  

A unique collaboration between The School of Ancient Crafts and the Madelvic History Group, the project involves a team of volunteers hand-making a replica Iron Age logboat in the garden at Madelvic House over the summer.

The team has been working arduously every weekend since the log arrived, and the hull is progressing nicely. Over the next few weekends, the boat's bow will start to take shape. With carving taking place along the full nine-meter length of the log, there is plenty of room for those who’d like to drop in and take part in this special project.

Interested? We're still looking for volunteers. It's a hands-on opportunity calling for enthusiasm, practical skills and a willingness to pass on skills to young people in the community. Training in basic axe handling will be provided as well as gloves and safety specs. 

The group meets every Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 4pm, and all you need to do is bring your protective boots and lunch!

To get involved, please email projects@grantonhub.org

Power of Food Festival 2018

This year’s Power of Food Festival was a big success! 

Staged on June 16 and 17, the festival brought the community together for two days of events, activities, workshops and performances celebrating the benefits of community food growing and environmental sustainability.

Highlights of the weekend included a children’s puppet show with Le Petit Monde, music from Bows and Bridges and the Clari-nite ensemble, and an interactive storytelling exhibition with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. 

Also well-received were the School of Ancient Crafts' Iron Age food workshops, and Bread in Fife’s excellent bread-making classes.

Many thanks to everyone who made it along, took part and helped make the Power of Food Festival a memorable, fun-filled weekend for all of us at granton:hub!

Edinburgh Shoreline Project

The History Hub has contributed to the Edinburgh Shoreline exhibition, on now at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE).

Using artefacts from our own Granton collection, the exhibition explores the rich natural and cultural heritage of the 27km of shoreline running east from South Queensferry. 

As well as showing the buildings and history of parts of the shore, the exhibition sheds light on how Granton became a hub for marine biology thanks to the Ark, a ship-laboratory berthed in the flooded quarry by the harbour for 20 years from 1883.

Celebrating Edinburgh's relationship with the sea and presenting a vision for the future, the exhibition also features the results of a creative project involving local school children fashioning colourful representations of coastal wildlife from knitted wool.

Running until September 23 at the RBGE’s John Hope Gateway (the Botanics west entrance), entry to the Edinburgh Shoreline exhibition is free.

Room hire at granton:hub

Looking for an affordable and accessible space to host an event? 

granton:hub has three flexible rooms available for hire, suitable for classes, workshops, activities, meetings, exhibitions and training sessions.

All rooms offer great natural light and free wifi. We also have kitchen facilities and a large outdoor garden space.

Booking rates start from £15 for two hours. Discounts are available for community groups, charities and regular use bookings, with special rates for exhibition use.

For bookings and enquiries email events@grantonhub.org