Making food growing more accessible to everyone in Dundee, multiplying the opportunities for people in every neighbourhood.

Maxwell Centre and Garden

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Addressed Challenges:

  • Health and Wellbeing
  • Food Security and Supply
  • Waste / Circular Economy
  • Flooding and Drought
  • Biodiversity Loss
  • Greater Fairness / Just Transition
  • Excessive Consumption

Action Areas:

  • Biodiversity and Nature
  • Circular Economy
  • Land Use, Food and Agriculture

Initiative Purpose:

  • Mitigation and Adaptation

The Story

Big Grow Participants

The BIG GROW DUNDEE has supported, promoted learning and sharing opportunities of 2 new and very successful community networks to continue to address local climate justice through growing and cooking food, supporting biodiversity and climate-friendly gardens and green spaces across our city.

We have enabled access for all Dundonians to food growing opportunities, events and learning in their area through GROW DUNDEE – aka Dundee Network of Community Growers.

  • Networking gatherings every two months at different community gardens across the city 
  • Workshops and events to learn and make our work more visible for more engagement at each neighbourhood – keep community growers updated with good practice and opportunities for sustainable gardening and support to keep their community groups running.
  • Updating the GROW DUNDEE website so Dundonians know where gardens are, how to join to volunteer or for activities as well as tips and advice on sustainable suppliers etc. a live chat, phone and in person advice. 
  • Facilitating partnership projects with RSPB and others mentioned before to enable access of community gardens to resources, support and funding (for example free fruit tree or bushes, help with composting, building ponds, etc.) 
  • Expanding the network to include schools that are growing food - Establishing biodiversity hubs in neighbourhoods through community growing spaces and regular Bio blitzes

DUNDEE THE BIG GROW was supported for 2025/2026 growing season, with 100 families, community groups or schools. Some new to growing, some having started recently to learn, grow, cook and share in their community. They have benefitted from a learning programme that includes training in growing, cooking and biodiversity through workshops, newsletters, videos, events, tool borrowing, free seeds and seedlings as well as one-to-one tailored advice for their growing space.

Success & Outcomes

We are very satisfied to have attracted more resources for the network and for workshop delivery (funding for V&A event, Permaculture project funded by Foundation Scotland and project continuation/ evolution via Urban Forestry Fund and resources contributed from other Maxwell Centre funded projects in staff time and resources).

We have focused more on growing perennial plants for food through new workshops, also others like winter wildlife walk and sustainable practices by designing and implementing the PermaDundee project and linking with more sustainability partners like the James Hutton and Water Resilient Dundee.

We have held over 36 Big Grow Workshops and events since the summer of 2025. Additionally, we have provided 12 monthly newsletters to all Big Growers and 9 extra What's On reminders. We have held brilliant network events too in collaboration or partnership with other organisations as well as other community gardens.

The word was really out this time about the project and we were approached by 6 schools, 3 nurseries and a care home and a hospital to provide resources for them to grow food. This was over and above the initial Big Grow signs ups.

One member said: ‘Best group ever for knowledge, information, guidance, support and friendship. I’ve gained and am learning all the time from being part of it. Always someone there to help.’

Find out more about the success of our project at our Big Grow Youtube Channel. 

Or check out our article by Get Growing Scotland!

Advice for others looking to do something similar

Along the way we learned so much. Here are some of our top tips: 

  • Ensure that you have the funding in place or that you have the resources/ time to access funding if like, in our case, the funding doesn’t cover the full project cost.
  •  Also, in terms of funding, as soon as you can look into funding to sustain the project if you want to keep it going. · Find partners and collaborators who share goals with you to maximise resources and time.
  • Linking up our various projects has enabled our participants to benefit from additional activities and resources funded by other sources (food events, yoga in the garden, films, crisis support, creative activities, youth activities, litter picks, tool library, garden partners project, civic engagement, etc.)
  • it’s about building and nourishing the community of growers and the network of community gardens in as many ways as we can.
  • Use as wide a range of activities as possible to engage people and keep them engaged. e.g food, ‘how to’ and fun videos, tours and Art.