SeaShed Go Volunteering

Grampian SeaShed did something a little different on Wednesday 30th July.

We have, as a group, been blessed by receiving funding from our supporters and it was decided that we would like to "give back" and volunteer for a worthwhile local charity.

Our chairman has a disabled son who lives at Camphill School Aberdeen and absolutely loves it there. It is quite a campus with lovely grounds, workshops, farm and a huge walled garden to mention but a few of the good things they do. (For more details click here.)

So what did we do and what did the day look like?

We gathered in the main office at 0935 where Peter Davidson, Director of Development met us for tea/coffee and gave us an intro to Camphill and showed a short video. Then it was a walk down to the Murtle Garden where we met the Head Gardener, Katherine who gave us the tools, gloves and set us our task for the day.

Weeding...

It looked somewhat daunting... see below for pictures of the potatoe engulfed by weeds. Katherine had been on holiday for 2 weeks and we all know how quickly weeds grow!! Below you can see the extent of the task before us. (There is another picture at the end showing how we got on!)

We had a lot of weeding to do, but it was such a beautiful setting to do it in, so we got busy. Over the day we emptied at least 12 huge blue barrows fulled with weeds.

Before we knew it, it was time for lunch and so we headed off to have our lunch at Camphill's own Murtle Market.

"This is our sustainable social enterprise charity which has been developed as part of our Building Futures, Transforming Lives appeal. This sustainable shop, café, and heritage hub is our first public-facing venture. Local and seasonal produce is sold, as well as refilling schemes for dried food and environmentally friendly cleaning products."

We enjoyed a hot/cold drink, fresh sandwich and a slice of cake... yummy!

Soon we were back in the garden again... where we met Kate Mackenzie, Executive Assistant - checking up on us?

Not much work being done here?

It was hot and certainly saw some crew members taking a short break.

Below, our volunteers are still smiling after a day of weeding in the garden.

All in all, it was a great day that will be repeated for sure... And of course you will need to see the end result...

So as I draw this post to a close, can I encourage any retired seafarers living in the grampian area to please consider joining our 20+ strong group of retired seafarers. A warm welcome awaits you!

Please fill in the contact form and Howard will get back to you with more details and he is always happy to meet up for an informal chat over a cuppa...

Our next meeting is on Friday 15th of August, at 10:00.