Clare Byrne, Director of Spinal Injuries Scotland (SIS), writes about the charity's work and tells the story of the exciting Clober Farm development, which is being featured on the Beechgrove Garden
(prHWY.com) September 26, 2012 - Edinburgh, United Kingdom -- Clare Byrne, Director of Spinal Injuries Scotland (SIS), writes about the charity's work and tells the story of the exciting Clober Farm development, which is being featured on the Beechgrove Garden, BBC2 Scotland, at 7.30pm, Thursday 20th September.
Sustaining a Spinal Cord Injury is a life changing occurrence which can happen in the blink of an eye. The result is often life in a wheelchair with little or no limb function, depending on the level and severity of injury. Spinal Injuries Scotland (
www.sisonline.org) is here to help injured persons and their families, friends and carers, providing information, advice, support and education to help them live a fulfilling life. Our volunteers visit the Queen Elizabeth National Spinal Injuries Unit at the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow on a weekly basis, and we are at the end of the phone to answer any queries. (0800 0132 305)
Towards the end of the last series of Beechgrove Garden, I saw the appeal for Community Gardens requiring the help of the Beechgrove team. I realised that the garden at Clober Farm could be ideal as it will be available to be used by anyone with a spinal cord injury - both throughout Scotland and perhaps further afield. I suggested that we should apply.
The house and garden were bequeathed to Spinal Injuries Scotland by Viv Donaldson, a former Occupational Therapist, who wished it to be used for the benefit of those with a spinal cord injury. Her generosity in doing so meant that we at the charity had to take great care in adapting the farmhouse appropriately. The garden in particular was a bit of a wilderness, and although not huge, it was completely inaccessible by wheelchair users - in fact it was largely inaccessible by anyone at all, such was the length of the grass and the overgrown weeds.
After meeting with some of the Beechgrove team earlier this year, and discussing our project in some more detail, we were given the good news that they would be able to help us.
Shaun Dargan, Clober Farm project coordinator, and I met with Karen Laing, garden designer, and we discussed the possibilities, the needs and wants for our garden.Â
Karen was enthusiastic and genuinely excited by the prospect of designing a garden with such a specific end user in mind.
Karen came up with a lovely design, incorporating separate areas for enjoying the garden in different ways - including raised beds for herbs, fruit and vegetables, and an ingeniously designed lawn, built at a level that would enable wheelchair users to transfer on to the grass far more easily than would normally be the case.
Many people heard our appeals for help and came along to get their hands dirty when the time came to get planting. These included Spinal Injuries Scotland's own staff, directors and volunteers and their friends and families. Our main sponsors, Digby Brown solicitors, provided a number of pairs of hands who all worked really hard - some for two days straight. A definite shock to the system to some more used to an office based way of working!
I'm sure all who saw the show will agree that the garden is a big success and we at Spinal Injuries Scotland are certain it will be enjoyed by many for years to come. We hope that those who visit will see that a spinal cord injury does not mean an end to gardening as a hobby - just an opportunity to learn a new way of gardening! Even the relatively simple addition of a raised bed to a garden could make all the difference.
A huge thank you to all our helpers, and to Karen and all the Beechgrove Garden team - and not just George and Lesley, who kept working even when the cameras were off, but also to all those not normally seen on camera too!
The Beechgrove Garden visit to Clober Farm will be show on BBC2 Scotland at 7.30pm on Thursday 20th September. For more info, click
here
For further information or details, please contact;
Neil Cardwell,
PR Executive
DD: 0131 319 8109
Mobile: 07766 421 842
E: neil.cardwell@digbybrown.co.uk
digbybrown.co.uk
accident claim solicitors
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