Watch our VIDEO to learn more about the project here

Campy Growers are transforming a derelict space into Dundee's biggest community food garden: the Vegetarium, with the potential to produce tonnes of fresh, local food to benefit the whole city.

As food costs increase, we need to build resilience, security and the skills to grow our own food, in response to the worsening climate crirsis.

We are both mitigating emissions, as well as adapting to future food shortages and at the same time boosting biodiversity.

So, over the next year, we will:

• Expand our growing space for food production.
• Provide fresh produce to community projects.
• Deliver workshops to teach people across the local area how to grown food.
• Deliver cooking skills classes, lunch clubs and other food and health-based activities.
• Inspire, excite and welcome families to connect with vibrant, fresh, local food.
• Produce vegetable seedlings to support Dundee residents and other community gardens to grow veg.
• Grow high-quality, nutrient-dense food using sustainable agro-ecological methods.
• Minimise carbon emissions and maximise carbon absorption through shortening supply chains, composting onsite waste and building soil carbon.
• Enhance biodiversity, soil restoration and carbon drawdown.
• Guide individuals throught their horticulture journey by upskilling and training  them.
• Regenerate the soil, which has been neglected and compacted ovber the years, with the use of green manure and manual tools.
• Help connect poeoplpe with their local food grower. Increase knowledge of and participation in environmentally sustainable land activities buy providing opportunities for peopole to be involved with the site, such as Community Supported Agriculture membershio, volunteer days, pick-your-own, open days and stalls.

As a volunteer-led organisation, over 2 growing seasons, having rejuvenated the soil, we have produced approx 3 tonnes of vegetables that have been donated across the city to individiuals, families and charities.

We are looking to employ a full-time gardener and opart-time Project Coordinator to develop this work and allow us to reach our full potential for the benefit of the whole city.

We are also seeking funds for the propagation of our vegetable seedlings and the upcycling of two abandoned shipping containers into usable storage.

Our success supports the success of other food projects across the city.

Dundee, 1833. The age of steam power.  

Thousands of Dundonians work in the factories and mills, producing textiles for sale across the country and across the world. It is a time of rich opportunities, but also unprecedented social challenges. And it is the beginning of a dangerous increase in carbon emissions, which today threatens all life on our planet...  

Dundee, 2022. The age of climate change.  

A new industrial revolution is afoot. Green technology is changing the way we live and work, and has the potential to make life better and fairer for everyone. But how can we harness it? And how can we make sure no-one gets left behind?  

 

We are Dundee Heritage Trust, proud custodian of Dundee’s only industrial heritage museum: Verdant Works.

This is the engine-room of the city’s industrial past.  

But now, as we embark on our own green journey, WE NEED YOUR HELP! 

 

Verdant Works is based in an original Grade A-Listed Victorian mill building from the 1830s, run by a lively team of staff and volunteers, and holds a nationally significant collection, including an original steam engine and large-scale replicas of the machines used by Dundee mill-workers for over a hundred years.  

Our machines all run on electricity today – meaning we don’t have to burn coal to demonstrate to our learners and visitors how these magnificent machines worked in the past.  

But because so much of our building is old, we are still powered in many places by gas: a fossil fuel which, when burned, releases carbon dioxide and other harmful gases into the atmosphere.  

By replacing the gas heating in our Machine Hall with a low-carbon electric solution, our project aims to save nearly a tonne of greenhouse gases every year – the same as 11 flights from Edinburgh to Stornoway! – and will help us keep this space warm for learners and visitors as they get to know the story of the mill from industrial powerhouse to a green museum for the  21st century from our enthusiastic volunteers and award-winning education tours and workshops.

And, by installing the same system in our beautiful but sadly underused High Mill, we will open up entirely new opportunities for green community activities, exhibitions, and events involving the whole community.

 

With your support, this exciting project will enable us to:

🗸 Keep our volunteers guides warm in winter to run our much-loved heritage machinery demonstrations for the public.

🗸 Host more schools for tours and workshops designed to get students thinking about important climate topics, such as the industrial revolution, climate change,  STEM for the future, green technology, and how museums can help the planet in the 21st century.

🗸 Host more sustainable events and exhibitions with local businesses, community groups, artists, and makers.

🗸 Pioneer a new Green Verdant Works Action Plan to further improve our sustainability and reduce our carbon footprint.

 

HELP US START OUR GREEN INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION.

Vote to keep Dundee’s heritage alive and its future at Verdant green!