Heartless thieves plunder community garden's bounty
SNEAKY thieves have stolen fruit and vegetables from a garden set up to improve the health of the volunteers who work in it.
Organisers and volunteers at the "green gym" in the Howden Walled Garden in Livingston's Howden Park are upset after someone stole the fruits of their labour.
Green gyms were set up in West Lothian to boost the health of residents, including people recovering from drug and alcohol problems, and the local environment.
The organisers say they will improve fitness through practical conservation activities like woodland management, horticulture, tree planting and improving footpaths.
Anna Dennis of the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV), who helps run the Howden project, said she was "disgusted" at the thefts, as the garden is a facility for communities to enjoy.
A total of 18 strawberry plants, two tomato and ten broccoli and cabbage plants have been taken just as the garden was beginning to take shape after months of hard work.
"It's quite depressing what's happened," said Ms Dennis.
"Whoever done it must have known what they were up to and did it with a wheelbarrow or something. Someone wrecked the bottle garden as well.
"This is a community resource for people to enjoy and we've been working here since January when you couldn't even see the footpaths in here, which shows just how far it has come on.
"The people who come here work very hard and come from every background from the elderly, people with mental and physical problems and volunteers who want to come along. It's such a shame that someone would want to steal from people who give up their own time to do something for their community.
"We don't have a budget to replace this stuff. Some of the plants were even donated by children from Toronto Primary School in Howden."
Executive councillor for voluntary organisations, Willie Boyle, urged anyone with information regarding the "selfish" thefts from the garden to contact the police.
He said: "It is extremely disappointing to hear plants have been stolen."
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Weather for Bathgate
Tuesday 07 February 2012
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