Local Volunteering with Men’s Shed

Volunteers from the project team attended Stanley Men’s Shed in October to help them progress plans to create a Community Orchard at Stanley Mills.

Stanley Men’s Shed has been working with Historic Environment Scotland (HES) to plant a community orchard in land surrounding the car park at Stanley Mill where the group regularly meet. Agreement in principle for the orchard project was successfully gained, but progress had stalled over the requirement to test the soil for pollutants at the proposed location.

Stanley and District Community Council sought assistance from Balfour Beatty and subsequently, the project team agreed to spend the day at Stanley Mill collecting soil samples which were then sent to a laboratory to be tested. The raw data has been provided to the Men’s Shed and will be assessed independently by HES.

A Men’s Shed is a place that is run on a voluntary basis and is open to all men over the age of eighteen, where members can socialise and work on projects and hobbies. The Men’s Shed is traditionally split into two main areas: social activities and workshops.

The Stanley Men’s Shed boasts a range of fantastic facilities at Stanley Mill which includes everything from woodwork and metalwork workshops, to an extensive Information Technology (IT) suite with technology including 3D printing.