St Ninian's & St Clement's

St Ninian's & St Clement's, Catholic Churches Together

Author: Louise Hunter

Eco / Garden

Did you know …..

that the Church gardens aren’t just about the flowers and veg! We have lots of bird feeders and bug hotels around the area to encourage and protect wildlife and we made a “pond” from an old sink. We make our own compost and, from the leaves we sweep up in Autumn, we make leaf mould to spread on the raised beds. We have water butts to collect all this rain that seems to fall daily and there are several varieties of fruit trees in the orchard which are now really beginning to blossom. As well as growing flowers for the altar and the tables in CCs, we grow herbs and vegetables which are often added to hearty soups to be served up on Thursdays. The garden gang are heavily involved in all sorts of garden maintenance; cleaning, painting, digging, chopping, sweeping and building. So, if you can spare an hour or two over the summer to come and help with some essential jobs such as watering and weeding then it would be much appreciated! Oh, and one more thing…. Did you know … there’s always tea and cake 🙂

Eco

CC Juniors and the Sweet Pea Wigwam!

Today we have been planting out our sweet pea seedlings around the wigwam. We filled the bird feeders and the hedgehog dishes, we planted sunflower seeds in the Mary Garden and we enjoyed some flower shaped snacks! Our little robin enjoyed our company too and he says that, even though the wigwam doesn’t look like much at the moment, it will definitely be very pretty by the time summer arrives! Fingers crossed for some warmer weather to really get the plants growing! 🙂 

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Eco

Garden Update

As Spring (slowly) begins to make an entrance, work begins again in the Church gardens. Time to clear up after the wet Winter, to admire the first of the flowers – the crocus bulbs that the children planted and our annual daffodils ready for cutting, to look at the new additions such as the Sweet Pea Wigwam, the Hedgehog House and the beautiful Memorial Cross. Our little pal Bob the Robin is ever present and generally spends the whole afternoon with the Garden Gang. Please do come along and visit or lend a hand as Spring progresses.

Eco

CC Juniors Litter Heroes!

Our March CC Juniors had a litter theme! On a wet and miserable afternoon we first of all tucked in to some “litter free snacks” with fruit which we peeled and put in the compost bin and blueberry muffins baked in washable moulds! We watched some videos about caring for our world and the importance of not dropping litter! These are the links to the short videos. 

As the rain had eased a bit, we braved it and headed out to do some litter picking – we had such a lot of fun, everyone was very enthusiastic and we think we did a great job! On the way we checked to see if a hedgehog had moved into the house yet and left some food just incase. Looking forward to next month – wonder what the children will be up to next! 🤩🌍🌸

CC Juniors Litter Heroes

Eco

Big Lent Walk Update

A willing bunch of parishioners have signed up to complete a 200km walk during the 6 weeks of Lent. Some are walking alone, in families or in social groups sharing the miles. The photos below show some of us in action. It’s been a nice opportunity to take stock of the beautiful world around us and to enjoy some canine company, some friendly chats and to embrace the weather – rain, wind and shine! We are delighted to say that, even at the halfway point, we have already raised almost £2000 and are top of the UK leaderboard – this money will go a long way towards helping those overseas who are supported by Sciaf to achieve their goals and dreams. 

Big Lent Walk Update

Eco / Garden

Local Connections

Following an appeal from Ballumbie Hedgehog Rescue (and following on from CC Juniors hedgehog theme in February!) a couple of us went to visit The Men’s Shed In Invergowrie to try to build links within the local community. Long story short – the Men’s Shed have helped us in the production of a hedgehog house which in turn has helped Ballumbie who are delighted with our efforts to try to provide a safe shelter for a hedgehog! All we have to do now is wait and hope …. 🦔 

The Men’s Shed is a fantastic environment for men (only) who enjoy working with wood and metal and is a place to chat, work, relax and get support from others.  It’s a huge area with lots going on. It really was inspiring to see the projects happening and luckily Jim (Ashwood) was able to work with a friend who is a member there and wow! look at their finished product! 🤩  Thanks so much for a great job Jim!

We are very grateful to The Men’s Shed for donating these beautiful wooden items made by their members. We hope to sell them within the Parish as a fundraiser. They look amazing! Thank you Men’s Shed!

Eco

Toy Donation

Many thanks to Allison, our Community Champion from Tesco, who has given us this “trolley-full” donation for our Giving Tree appeal. She also provided gingerbread men for the children taking part in the “alternative nativity play” and the carol service! I think she’s not only the community champion but a champion in general 🙂