Reflections on The Falkirk Food Gathering 2026
On the 25th February 2026, FEL Scotland hosted the third annual Falkirk Food Gathering event at Bailliefields Community Hub, which was a great success. With over 40 people in attendance including various community food growing groups, we had some wonderful conversations around sustainable food and community gardens in the Forth Valley.
The event was kicked off by Julie Haywood, from Bailliefields Community Hub, who talked about the community garden at the Hub which has been helped in the past few months by New Scots Volunteers. The volunteers have dedicated their Friday mornings each week to work in the garden, with many of them bringing valuable skills and tips from farming backgrounds. Attendees were then given a short tour of the garden; it was brilliant to see the achievements the New Scots have helped with, and great to see the community garden looking so well loved and looked after!
FEL Food & Growing Team Project Coordinator, Stuart Guzinski, then spoke about the work that FEL has done over the past year, from training sessions to community events. Afterwards, Lynsey Hansford from CVS Falkirk and District spoke about resolving conflict in community spaces, and how to manage and react to disagreements. This was a great interactive activity which sparked a lot of conversations within the tables.
A vegan-friendly lunch was provided by the wonderful Boundary Cafe for all the participants, and during lunch there was lots of time to discuss gardens and share notes on projects. “I found it really good to network and get a few contacts for possible help in the garden space,” said Mhairi McAinsh from Larbert High School Community Garden.
After lunch, the attendees then broke into groups for some discussion activities where participants shared their inputs and personal experiences, and FEL staff went around to gather conclusions. Discussions revolved around how community groups use volunteers in growing spaces, how volunteers are rewarded and motivated, and what’s been working in different gardens.
This was a really useful part of the day for hearing from everyone and sharing knowledge between growing groups! We have collated the information from the day and discussions into a report which anyone is welcome to read below:
Falkirk Food Gathering Discussions Summary Report
Overall, the day was a great success, with lots of positive connections being made between people working and interested in sustainable food and community growing. We’re looking forward to the next gathering already!
