The course is designed for adults (18+) who:

• Live in Edinburgh (Edinburgh address required)
• Already have at least some basic experience of growing/horticulture, even if they have no formal qualifications
• Want to develop a career working with the land and people, e.g. in community gardening, market‑scale community growing, nature restoration etc.

Participants may have a wide mix of prior experience – from practical growers with no certificates to graduates considering a change of direction.   This course will not teach horticulture, it is intended to ‘train the trainers’.  Applicants will need to evidence knowledge and experience in growing.

Places will be prioritised for those who are unemployed, underemployed, and/or live in a disadvantaged community.

As the placements may involve working with children and/or vulnerable adults, all course participants will need to be PVG’d as a volunteer.

The Growing Together course will aim to:

• Help participants step into or progress within green jobs, including community gardening, market gardens, community food projects, nature restoration and related roles.
• Provide opportunities to gain recognised certification (for example, community horticulture units and essential certificates such as outdoor first aid), including recognising and accrediting existing skills and knowledge.
• Develop participants’ ability to work with communities – engaging local residents, managing volunteers, leading workshops, and supporting others to learn to grow
• Support the wider green transition and economic development in Edinburgh by creating a pipeline of skilled, community‑minded practitioners.

The course will include tuition and practical training in community gardening and other forms of working with people to support their interaction with the land, such as therapeutic horticulture, community woodlands, market gardening etc. The course will include modules in:

• Design and Development of Community Gardens
• Construction of Community Gardens through Community Self-Build
• Managing Community Gardens
• Establishing and Running Community Organisations
• Working With People 

We will also invite in experts to give seminars on a wider range of subjects including:

• Nature Restoration
• Therapeutic Horticulture
• Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems
• Market Gardening / Running a Horticultural Business
• Climate Adaptation 

Participants will be supported into volunteering placements with community gardening organisations, community farms and market gardens in Edinburgh and the Lothians, travel and subsistence costs will be funded by the course. This will normally be a full day, and will likely involve small groups (2-4 people) of course participants attending together.
Like WWOOFing (https://wwoof.net/), participants will be directed by the placement provider to carry out practical tasks on behalf of the project. This might include:

Like WWOOFing (https://wwoof.net/), participants will be directed by the placement provider to carry out practical tasks on behalf of the project.  This might include:

• Assisting in the teaching of small groups of residents to grow at a community garden
• Learning about commercial growing at a horticultural enterprise
• Participating in the construction of new community garden
• Engaging with communities to identify opportunities for nature restoration in a council estate.

This will provide informal learning opportunities and assist the participants to build up a portfolio of learning, achievements and experience which will contribute to an accredited certificate (see below).

Organisations already signed to provide placements include :

• Tyninghame Farm (https://www.tyninghame.farm/)
• Pyrus Botanicals (https://pyrusbotanicals.com/ethos)
• Wester Hailes Growing Communities (https://westerhailesgrowing.org/)
• Edible Estates (https://www.edibleestates.co.uk/)
• Gifford Community Woodland (https://giffordcommunitywoodland.com/)
• Gracemount Walled Garden (https://www.transitionedinburghsouth.org.uk/)

We are also reaching out to the following organisations but no commitment has been made by them as yet. Lauriston Farm : Granton Community Gardeners : Bridgend Farm : Redhall Garden.

The course will be certified through SQA-accredited units in SRUC’s Community Horticulture certification. Participants will be able to choose between Levels 5, 6 or 7 to suit their needs and ambitions. There will be a combination of taught hours, placements and self-directed study. Tuition will be delivered by staff within partner organisations, within placements (to be confirmed), and with invited external tutors.
Evidence would be gathered through:

• Practical work in placements (community gardens, farms, school farms, therapeutic gardens, woodlands)
• Self‑directed projects and assignments (e.g. designing a notional community garden, planning funding, documenting work with groups)
• A portfolio of photos, logs, short written work, and witness statements from supervisors at the placements.

The course will provide opportunities for ‘Recognition of Prior Learning’ (RPL) such as participants who already know how to grow (but lack certificates). There would be scope to:

• Verify and accredit existing skills through assessment against unit outcomes
• Use their current practice and past experience as part of the portfolio evidence

We will provide a budget for course participants to take on other certificated learning during the course. This will include Outdoor First Aid for all participants that do not already have a certificate. Other modules could include Lantra accredited certificates such as brush cutter operation; ride‑on machinery; basic chainsaw, highly valued in land‑based roles.

The course is still under development, but we expect the course to require participants to devote 7 hours week for tuition and placements which would be rotated each week. Which day of the week is still to be confirmed. The course would start in September and continue to the end of March.
The course will delivered from locations across Edinburgh and East Lothian.