Friends Of Montgomery Street Park

20/08/2026

Another productive volunteer session on Sat 15th, have you ever seen the steps & landing at the park so clear of weeds? 😅👏 So satisfying to see for however long it lasts and thanks so much to our volunteers for this back-aching work. There were about 8 of us and we concentrated most of our efforts on the new planted bed, new hedge and planters - watering, weeding and mulching. Our mulch from the compost heap is really going down a treat and so useful to have for much needed moisture for our new growth!

We also picked up litter and did some further work on the spinney with rooting out nettles.

Then we shared teas, coffees, stories and tips for doing our bit for the environment as well as what's going on locally and in the festival & city!

Thanks again to everyone who came, next session will be the 5th Sept, look forward to seeing you there!

14/08/2026

🌼 A midsummer morning in the Park

The flowers we planted are out, the wildflower area is also doing its thing, the grass has bounced back after the rain... and naturally, the weeds are enjoying themselves too.

So this Saturday we're back for another volunteer session, mostly giving some care to the newer planting.

🌱 Weeding the new hedge and flower bed
💧 Watering where needed
🍂 Adding more mulch to help keep moisture in
🗑️ And the inevitable litter pick

📅 Saturday 15 August
⏰ 10.30am–12.30pm

Come for 30 minutes or the whole session, everyone welcome and no gardening expertise required. Tea, coffee and biscuits afterwards, obviously. ☕🍪

05/08/2026

Lots of satisfying weeding done on Saturday, more lovely new volunteers joining and...the park grass is back to green after some much needed rain! 💚🌱👏

You can see in the before and after pictures the difference the weeding makes around the park entrances and steps area etc. 👍

We also rooted out the nettles in the Spinney to keep them at bay and away so the kiddies can play...freely. There is a rhyme in there somewhere! 😆

Got some litter-picking done too, volunteers enjoying the mindful nature of this!🚮

Our pond is still looking good and seems to keep holding water for now! 😅

And as always good chat over tea, coffee & biscuits! Thanks so much to everyone as always for your time & efforts! 🙏 Catch you next time on Sat 15th Aug!

30/07/2026

🌳 Montgomery Street Park’s fortnightly check-up…

🌼 The flowers are looking happier.
🌿 The new hedge is settling in nicely.
🌧️ The recent rain has arrived just when it was needed.

Now for this week’s jobs…

We’ll be giving the little wildlife pond some TLC (including trying to track down and repair a small leak), dead-heading the flower beds to keep them blooming, tidying the playpark railings and Elgin Street entrance, cleaning the white steps and, of course, tackling the inevitable litter.

🗓 Saturday 1 August
⏰ 10.30am-12.30pm

Whether you enjoy gardening, like seeing the difference a couple of hours can make, or just fancy a chat over tea and biscuits afterwards, you’re very welcome. Stay for 30 minutes or the whole morning.

22/07/2026

Another great park volunteering session on Saturday, we gave our pond a little make-over planting some waterside and aquatic/deep-water plants which we hope we can all take good care of as they settle into their new environment.

Our compost heap is providing some great and necessary mulch for our new growth, we did lots of mulching and watering of the new hedge, planters and flowerbed to keep moisture in the soil in this very dry and warm weather.

We had to rescue one of the planters which had a rubbish bag dumped on top of it, unfortunately killing some of the plants in it. We rescued what we could and planted some new flowers. Although the planters may look similar to bins to some, they are not and there are several rubbish bins around the park for litter disposal thankfully!

We also did some weeding at the top of the steps, pruning in the Thicket and of course lots of litter-picking, thanks to our additional helpers who grabbed a litter-pick. 🙏

Finally, we shared well deserved teas, coffees, chats and giggles as we admired completed work achieved and the progress with our beautiful park! 💚
Join us next time on Sat 1st August 10:30-12:30! 🗓️

17/07/2026

💧 A little bit of water. A little bit of mulch. A couple of new pond plants...

Tomorrow we're helping some of our newest features settle in. The recent hot, dry weather has been tough on young plants, so this week's volunteer session is all about giving them a helping hand.

We'll be watering the new hedge, planters and flower bed, mulching to keep moisture in the soil, rescuing one of the planters after an unwelcome encounter with a bag of dumped litter, and adding a couple of creeping jenny plants to our little wildlife pond to soften the edges and make it an even better home for nature. 🐸

There'll also be weeding, step cleaning and the usual litter pick.

🗓 Saturday 18 July 10.30am-12.30pm

Come along for half an hour or stay for the whole session. Tea, coffee and biscuits await afterwards. 🍪

06/07/2026

A lovely if breezy park volunteering session on Saturday, 13 of us including 9 regulars and 4 additional helpers in the park who grabbed some litter-pickers. 👏🚮 Every season does indeed bring different jobs but weeding is pretty much a constant these months and what a noticable, satisfying difference it makes, if temporarily 😅. We weeded the hedge and white steps area and also the planters! These have certainly had a bit of a growth spurt. We thinned and shared around the sage and discussed great culinary plans for it at home.

We had more fabulous ferns donated by our regular volunteers which were planted by the railings of our flower bed. We are hoping to give some extra care to our hedge area and newest planting so we gave the hawthorns some attention and a good soaking.

Then we all teamed up to move a large broken tree branch that we may put to good use yet, send us your ideas. And finally, thanks to the parents and children who spontaneously grabbed a litter-picker, the wind had certainly spread about some rubbish that needed bagged & binned, the extra hands much appreciated.

We had teas, coffees and good chat as always, enjoying hearing about each other's summer adventures and activities etc. If you would like to join us next time, we'll be meeting again on the 18th July! Would love to see you there!

02/07/2026

🌿 Every season brings different jobs...

A few months ago we were planting hedges, creating flower beds and sowing wildflowers. Now comes the important bit - helping everything establish.

This Saturday's volunteer session will focus on giving some extra care to the park's newest planting, including watering the young hawthorn hedge, looking after the planters, weeding around the new hedge and tree pits, tidying around the white steps, and the usual litter pick.

💧 Sometimes the biggest difference isn't planting something new. It's making sure what you've already planted has the best chance to thrive.

🗓 Saturday 4 July 10.30am-12.30pm

Come along for as long as you can, whether that's half an hour or the whole session. Tea, coffee and biscuits will be waiting afterwards as usual. ☕🍪

26/06/2026

👇🏼 The 'Reclaim Our Streets' anti-racism rally is assembling in the park at 1pm tomorrow (Saturday 27th) 👇🏼

RECLAIM OUR STREETS

In recent weeks we have witnessed a disturbing rise in racist violence and intimidation.

From Belfast to Glasgow, and now Edinburgh, people have been targeted because of who they are, what they look like, or what they believe.

Many people in our Black, Asian, Muslim, migrant and refugee communities are scared, angry and understandably concerned about what comes next. Some are questioning whether it is safe to walk their own streets, travel home at night, or go about their daily lives without fear of abuse or attack.

That is exactly what the far right wants.

They want to spread fear. They want communities to retreat into silence. They want people to feel isolated and alone.

We refuse to let them succeed.

The overwhelming majority of people in Edinburgh reject racism and hate. Our city belongs to all of us, and we will not allow a small number of violent bigots to terrorise our communities or dictate who feels safe in our streets.

On Saturday 27 June, we will come together in Leith to send a clear message: we will not be intimidated. We will not be divided. We will stand together and push back against those who seek to spread fear and hatred.

Our solidarity is our power.

These are our streets. Let’s reclaim them.

🗓 Saturday 27 June
📍 Montgomery Street Park
⏰ 1pm