Transition Edinburgh South

Transition Edinburgh South TES is part of the grass roots movement for transformative change, good for people and the planet

Transition Edinburgh South (Scotland), TES for short, recently became a charity (Company No SC445635). TES is run by voluntary trustees (currently Pat Abel, Tricia Kaminski, Lynn Jamieson, Norrie MacPhail) . TES's ethos is to support community and sustainability in ways that try to mitigate climate change and stop harm to wildlife - people getting together and turning good ideas into actions where

they live. Our main activity is supporting Gracemount Community Garden in the Gracemount, Budriehouse/Southhouse, Glimerton/Liberton, Moredon area on the South East of Edinburgh. (You can also look at Gracemount Community Garden's page.) Gardening uses techniques that are organic and regenerative along with friendly welcoming ways of working - helping the soil, the wildlife, access to nutrious good food and supporting the local community. Richard Whiston is our friendly Gracemount Community Garden gardener/coordinator working with local voluteer gardeners. The coordinator and most of the tools, materials, facilities and some of the workshops associated with the garden are paid for by TES activities. We are currently still fundraising to pay for the disabled toilet installed in our new portacabin. We also contract the services of a professional fundraiser/development worker, Hugo Whitaker, to help us. TES are also providing financial and practical support to local efforts chaired by Lindsay Graham to put together a new legal entity that plans to take of over the now closed-down building known as the Masion. Long ago, the walled garden that is the homebase of Gracemount Community Garden belonged to the owners of the Mansion. More recently the Mansion was a Youth and Community Centre run by City of Edinburgh Council until they decided that necessary repairs were beyond their budget and closed the building as unsafe. The local community are setting up a Mansion Development Trust to take on ownership with an asset transfer under the Community Empowerment Act. TES and the Mansion Development Trust and both looking for new trustees and members from all walks of life. Whether you’re a busker or a banker (or both!), have lots of time or a little, please help us make a difference.

Through autumn and winter you'll see a lot of folk from TES and the Community Garden tidying up around the place - in th...
22/08/2026

Through autumn and winter you'll see a lot of folk from TES and the Community Garden tidying up around the place - in the vicinity of Gracemount Stables. This is just the start of a long process. If you're out and about and see the team in action - stop and say hi and find out about what's going on.

Maybe lend a hand.

I'm told they like coffee and cake.

We're having a party Tomorrow. Come and join in. There will be music, dance, craft activities, garden advice, free food ...
21/08/2026

We're having a party Tomorrow. Come and join in. There will be music, dance, craft activities, garden advice, free food and much more.

Follow this link to find out how to approach the garden....

https://youtu.be/crM5FXYERd0?si=cFloSZAxICwtRaOH

20/08/2026

**Weather isn't climate**

It's chucking it down so my mind has drifted to the lovely cool rain and what it means to us these days. Maybe not so much around central east Scotland but most of the rest of the country qill be very glad of it.

We sometimes confuse weather with climate. Weather is what happens today, tomorrow, or next week. Climate is the pattern we see over decades.

The strange thing about climate change is that a seemingly tiny rise in the Earth's average temperature can have huge consequences. A warmer atmosphere and warmer seas shift the balance of the systems that shape our weather, making heatwaves, floods, droughts and other extremes more likely - it's classically chaotic and what happens when you add energy to a dynamic system.

And here's the thing: even if climate change somehow turns out to be less dramatic than we fear, moving away from fossil fuels would still be a good thing.

Less pollution. Fewer wasted resources. More local food and energy. More time to slow down, live locally and build resilient communities.

That's not a bad future, whatever the weather.

**Newsletter from the Q***r Gardening group**Nettles are useeful things. They're nutritious, they have health benefits a...
19/08/2026

**Newsletter from the Q***r Gardening group**

Nettles are useeful things. They're nutritious, they have health benefits as food and medicine and you can make string from them. They're also amazing hosts for a whole world of insects. So we let them grow in the garden, that's deliberate.

Our QG team have written a new newsletter and they have been making nettle cordage in the garden. Follow the link for the story.

https://queergardeningedinburgh.substack.com/p/a-slow-august-update?r=8plln7&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Apples, apples, apples.So, finally, some of our apples varieties are ready to eat. We've worked hard to get to a stage w...
18/08/2026

Apples, apples, apples.

So, finally, some of our apples varieties are ready to eat. We've worked hard to get to a stage where we can enjoy them with the volunteers.

Did you know there are over 7500 apple varieties in the world and that they originated in the Tian Shan mountains of Kazakhstan? We have around 20 or 30 varieties in our gardens. only around 15 varieties are available in the supermarkets.

On Friday we taste tested 4 early varieties with our volunteers and some of the young people. The favourite was "Lass o Gowrie" - preferred for it's juice, crunch, tang and aromatics.

Last week I posted a teaser about our work to renovate Gracemount Stables. We have a tonne of work going on to finish de...
17/08/2026

Last week I posted a teaser about our work to renovate Gracemount Stables. We have a tonne of work going on to finish designs, technical specifications and so forth. During that time, between now and March, you'll see a lot of work going on around the building to tidy up the scrub and to make it more visible.

When we were considering taking this on we conducted a couple of comprehensive community feedback projects. There was some interesting ideas for use of the space and a high demand to see it back in use. By far the most popular idea was for a community cafe. Read this article for an idea of the kind of thing we're considering setting up.

https://www.positive.news/society/come-dine-with-us/

Next Q***r Gardening Group session is 11-3 on Wednesday 19th August, at Gracemount Community Garden! Our last nettle str...
17/08/2026

Next Q***r Gardening Group session is 11-3 on Wednesday 19th August, at Gracemount Community Garden! Our last nettle string session was much enjoyed so we're doing another one while the nettles are ripe. Come learn about plant fibres hands-on, and make some thread, string or even rope to take away in good company. We'll explore a technique or two we didn't try last time. Gloves, snacks and beverages provided.

As always, drop-ins welcome, no booking or experience needed.
For more info on the group (including access information for the garden), see this page: https://queergardening.carrd.co/ or contact us at [email protected]! ✨

What on earth is that? We hear you ask.It's a jar of pickled green coruiander seeds - we harvested them from the garden....
15/08/2026

What on earth is that? We hear you ask.

It's a jar of pickled green coruiander seeds - we harvested them from the garden. They're sharp, aromatic and full of flavour. Marvellous sprinkled across a rich curry.

Sometimes the best bits of food from the garden are not the most obvious.

Address

Gracemount Community Garden And Woodland
Edinburgh
EH166FD

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Transition Edinburgh South posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organisation

Send a message to Transition Edinburgh South:

Shortcuts

Share