Community spirit is blossoming as Highland Park staff transform day centre garden area

Staff at Highland Park have been thanked for their volunteering efforts in completing a garden makeover at the Glaitness Centre in Kirkwall.

The day centre garden, which is for people aged 16-65 who have physical disabilities and/or sensory impairments, had become overgrown and a bit tired in recent years.

With staff simply unable to dedicate the time needed, manager Inga Wilson, got in touch to ask for the distillery’s help.

She explained: “The idea came about after Vicky Paterson at the Sunnybrae Centre very sheltered housing got in touch with Highland Park to ask if they could help tidy up the garden there, which they did.

“I took up the manager’s post at the Glaitness Centre recently and discovered the garden had become very overgrown during the pandemic, some of the benches and planters were not fit for purpose and it couldn’t be enjoyed by the residents, service users or staff anymore.”

The production team at Highland Park spent around two months volunteering on an almost full-time basis, for nearly 20 charities and organisations in the county after a pipe bridge was damaged in early May resulting in enforced downtime.

Inga said around six distillery staff spent several days transforming the garden into a useable and enjoyable space once more.

“They cut back all the trees and bushes, extensively weeded and just generally made it a nice place to be once again. We cannot thank them enough for all the hard work they put in. We would love for anyone who may be interested in being a volunteer gardener to keep the garden in tip top condition to get in touch with myself.”