Wish They All Could Be Caledonia Boys!

Let’s hear it for the Caledonia boys! Local firm Caledonia Removals (visit their Facebook page) offered their services for free to give Perth’s first urban farm a big lift – and get it ready for school kids to visit soon.

The six-strong team of gents from Caledonia mucked in with planting, digging, hauling and lifting to lend a hand to those running Perth Community Farm (visit their Facebook page), a volunteer-run project which educates locals about sustainably growing chemical-free fruit and veggies in a town setting.

After putting a message up on Facebook offering themselves for free to a worthy local organisation or charity for the day, company director Tam Lindsay was delighted to hear from the Jeanfield Road-based farm, which last year worked with over 200 local children, helping to nurture a love for the outdoors. 

“We like to be able to give a helping hand when we can and it’s important we give back to our local community,” says Tam. “We see on a daily basis, people who are less fortunate than ourselves so we like to be able to do our bit when we can.” We see on a daily basis, people who are less fortunate than ourselves so we like to be able to do our bit when we can.

“It was great joining forces with Perth Community Farm and giving them a hand. It was a great effort from the lads who got stuck in straight away and worked a full day, all for a great cause. We transported wood chip and lay this along with compost to create an area ready for school kids to start planting. We stayed on a little later to help prepare a play area for the kids too," added Tam. 

Set up in 2018, Perth Community Farm is a non-profit organisation which last year provided over 19 community engagement events alongside their work with children, getting families, schools and other organisations involved in growing food and learning how a farm works. Exciting future plans include expanding their activities this year to reach more schools and community groups, but none of this is possible without the help of volunteers.

Lindsey Thompson, Perth Community Farm committee member and volunteer said the gesture from Caledonia Removals was greatly appreciated as the farm was run entirely by volunteers.

“The help that the guys have offered is a great boost to our little project. We can only run this if we have kind hearted people like Tam to help out as there is an awful lot of work to do in maintaining the space and developing it for use by children,” said Lindsey. “We certainly had plenty for them to do this week.
“If people would like to be involved, our working parties will begin again in early April on a Wednesday evening and Saturday afternoon. We hope to have some days in the week for folk to volunteer too from mid-April. It’s a great way to meet people, keep fit and learn something about growing,” Lindsey added.

GALLERY

Produce grown at the farm is now available at Perth’s first Zero-Waste Shop, set up following the success of monthly pop-up shops in town. They’ve also teamed up with the Perth-based social enterprise Giraffe and share their farm space with The Westbank Project which provides educational and employability related activities for clients with barriers preventing them from undertaking paid employment.

Established in 2013, Caledonia Removals started with just Tam, his business partner Kyle Mowat and one van. Six years on, the company now has eight employees, storage facilities and their own yard and they welcome enquiries locally, regionally and nationwide.

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Check out our stories on Perth's Community Farm and the Zero Waste Shop!

Make space in your diary for planting a tree at the Community Farm this Mother's Day - Find out more.