Custodians of The Leng Home Estate
The estate is a beloved heritage asset and well-used greenspace for which Forgan Arts Centre is the custodian. With over three acres of grounds, there is scope for extending and fulfilling our environmental aims, whilst continuing to make adaptations to the buildings (The Leng Home, The Gardener’s Cottage, and Kiln House) to reduce emissions. The gardens are hugely popular, from daily dog walkers to forestry classes, they are perpetually busy. They’re a site for food foraging, a home to a growing population of red squirrels and bats, and place of peaceful sanctuary. The blend of mature woodland, hedgerows, curated borders, purposeful wilderness, food growing plots, and accessible lawns provide a diverse range of habitats for animals, plants, microorganisms, and humans alike.
As stewards of the land, as well as protecting it, we maintain and develop it. This is for the betterment of the environment and to increase accessibility so that all visitors may benefit from its health improving effects. Custodial responsibility extends to mitigating for external threats which aren’t limited to the climate emergency. We have committed in this action plan, our new business plan, and publicly as a membership organisation, that the site will be cultivated for the benefit of our community and as an as a site for climate action. This commitment is echoed by our partners, especially the Scottish Land Fund and Fife Council, as well as the communities we serve.
Our overarching environmental aim is Beyond Net Zero. We will meet Net Zero 2045 and go beyond it, working closely with our community, to extract more carbon and GHGs than we produce. We embrace the principles of a Just Transition and will take a collective response that ensures equitable access to meaningful action.
Recent Environmental Sustainability Actions
- Reducing food waste by not over catering and also in house catering is vegetarian or vegan (this has a lower carbon footprint than meat based meals).
- Composting residual food waste in our tumbler composter and wormeries, the hot temperature tumbler compost also diverts used paper handtowels from landfill turning it into nutrient rich compost.
- Rainwater collection from the roof of the main building and the bike hub is used in the garden (diverting water from sewage treatments and keeping more water in the land). Grey water used in the garden reducing water treatment carbon emissions, and reducing use of tap water for plant watering.
- Seed library: supporting the community to grow food and flowers
- Food Larder: food is offered to the Forgan community as it is ready in the garden along with plants and cuttings.
- Rock dust and biochar are being added gradually to the garden. Rockdust to capture carbon dissolved in rainwater and biochar to store captured carbon as charcoal is an inert form and helps support soil health, and hold water in the soil, releasing it gradually during dry weather.
- Onsite composting of garden vegetation/prunings keeping the carbon in the garden, the woody dead hedges also add habitat.
- Low till/no dig cultivation in the veg plot, reducing carbon emissions from turning soil, and supporting soil health.
- No use of herbicides or pesticides in the garden.
- Regular addition of woodchip to the garden for paths and to make mulch, increasing soil organic carbon.
- Leaving dead heads on some plants till spring for insects to overwinter in, ones that are cut back are kept in a dedicated pile allowing hibernation space.
