YMCA Glenrothes ARCH Healthy Living Community Garden
Tucked behind the flats on Alexander Road, easily accessible from the rear entrance, lies the Healthy Living Community Garden, a lovely facility for Auchmuty and wider Glenrothes.
My first sight when visiting the garden at YMCA Glenrothes wasn’t plants or raised beds, but a lovely welcoming block of flats run by the team at YMCA Glenrothes, housing around thirty men facing homelessness in supported accommodation.
I was shown around the centre by the Service Manager Gareth who, along with the rest of the team, personified the warmth and openness of the wider facility. As well as this site at Alexander Road, they also manage the Farmhouse, which houses 9 women and a handful of community flats throughout Glenrothes. Their aim is to promote independent living, and although they’ve been running for years, they find themselves facing new challenges daily as the picture of homelessness develops through our national financial crisis.
I could have stayed inside all day (it was very cozy), eventually the time came to see the lovely new community garden at the back of the centre. In August 2022, the group officially opened the ‘Healthy Living Garden’, and 2023 saw their first full growing season on site. During the growing season, they employ a staff member and work closely with volunteers to run twice weekly growing sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays (if you’re interested in volunteering, click here!).
The garden is a good size, and consists of multiple facilities. There are two new large workshops, perfectly set up for making and creating, and a large green area set aside for a future orchard and as an area of quiet relaxation. There are a few large, in-ground vegetable growing areas (with really healthy looking soil!) and one large finished and one soon-to-be-finshed polytunnel. There’s seating, an outdoor gym and easy access to an under-5’s playwark just on the other side of the fence.
Overall, it is a really lovely space with huge potential to improve the lives of not only the men who reside there, but the wider community as well. We wish them the best of luck with their next growing season!
