EDINBURGH GARDEN PARTNERS

That this House congratulates Edinburgh Garden Partners for receiving £60,000 of National Lottery funding for its service of creating befriending relationships through shared gardening experiences; recognises the importance of this service to the local community for preventing social isolation and loneliness, particularly amongst the most vulnerable groups in society; welcomes the news that the funding will contribute towards a volunteer mentoring scheme to allow volunteers to maintain and develop their befriending relationships and provide them training; pays tribute to those involved with the project for their terrific work and for volunteering their time to help those who need it most; acknowledges the benefits that the initiative has for people's mental and physical health as well as bringing communities together; and wishes the charity all the best as they continue to develop their services and reach out to even more people who are at risk from experiencing loneliness.