East Coast Local Community Benefit Fund

Funding recipient story

Located on Moncreiffe Hill, near Bridge of Earn in Scotland, The Growspace Network have created a community growing space, aimed at supporting the community to connect with nature and learn new skills relating to growing their own food and flowers.

Connecting communities through growing together

A £5,000 award from the East Coast Fund has enabled this vision to become a reality, by funding the purchase of a polytunnel, a compost toilet for visitors and volunteers, and the compost required for the initial planting at the site. This critical infrastructure for the site will enable ongoing sustainable food growing, wellness activities and community connection.

Working with other local community groups, The Growspace Network are aiming to make this site a key community space, reaching up to 500 people. Community members will be able to meet others and socialise, pick their own food and flowers, and attend free sessions on practical topics such as permaculture, food preservation and seed saving.

Chrissie Valluri, from The Growspace Network, said:

“It’s such an amazing feeling to receive this support, especially as we only launched The Growspace Network in early 2025.

The funding has helped us build a polytunnel and buy plants and compost, helping create a welcoming, beautiful space where people can connect with nature, spend time together, and enjoy growing things.

This award allowed us to share and engage more deeply with our community – passing on knowledge, building confidence, and supporting people to grow both food and resilience.

Our long-term vision is to build a wider food-growing and mental wellbeing network, and we hope this is the first of many spaces where we can create lasting impact through connection and care.”