Bumper Harvests at Almond Valley

17th February 2012

A bumper display of home grown fruit and vegetables is expected this year in the "wartime garden" at Almond Valley Heritage Centre in Livingston, thanks to a grant from Central Scotland Forest Trust and Scottish Natural Heritage. The Community Volunteers Fund grant aims to encourage volunteers to improve their local environment and contribute to cultural heritage.

At Almond Valley this grant funding will be applied to encourage volunteers to get back to the soil and enjoy the satisfaction of growing their own traditional fruit and vegetables. Work will initially focus on the existing "wartime garden" at Almond Valley where volunteers can dig for victory and grow the traditional crops that sustained Britain during World War Two. They will also care for the adjacent orchard, planted with traditional varieties of fruit trees, that is now approaching maturity. It is also hoped that additional land can be brought into cultivation to enable a broader range of crops to be grown. The gardening efforts of the volunteers will serve as a living display that will be enjoyed by the many thousands who visitor the Heritage Centre during the summer, and by visiting school groups studying food production and the harvest. It should also produce some delicious fresh produce that can be enjoyed by all. The project is open to all volunteers but is particularly arranged to be suitable for families with young children who will be able to book in for supervised sessions run every morning and afternoon on Saturday and Sunday, and on Friday afternoons.

Almond Valley are currently recruiting for a Community Garden Coordinator to oversee the project and support the work of the volunteers. Once in post, an army of new volunteers will be sought to dig for victory and share the joy of growing your own.

Super smart new people trailer

5th February 2012

We've been busy with all sorts of new features and improvements over the course of the winter. Our old trailer - used of tractor and trailer rides around the outlying fields - was beginning to look a bit shabby, so we've re-built it with boarded-in the sides to keep out some of the weather, and fold-down steps to make it easier to clamber aboard.

How do you like the new website?

22nd December 2011

We've reconstructed the website for the new year; and would welcome your ideas on how it might be further improved. Information about our shale museum activities is now on a separate website, www.scottishshale.co.uk

At Almond Valley we've all sorts of other new improvements in the pipeline for 2012. Come springtime we'll complete the new turkey enclosure in Charlesfield complete with Turkish pavilion, also a giant walk-in camera obscura, and a new den-building area. Our first goats should also move into their new adventure playground by Easter. In the main museum we're improving displays and installing a giant i-pad touch screen. We're also waiting on planning consent to construct two new farm buildings to house small animals and provide extra space for small animal encounters.

The team here have recently completed a Leading Service Excellence course (involving balloons, goats, string, plus Annie and Val from Tickety-Boo) and are now introducing an improved training programme to ensure that everyone can do their best for our visitors. We also recently underwent our biannual VisitScotland inspection at which we retained our 4-star accreditation. We scored 84%; just one percent below the threshold for a five star award. Maybe we'll get five stars next time?