Tranent Wombles

Litter Picking

Tranent Wombles was originally set up to tackle litter as we came out of lockdown. We noticed a huge problem in our streets, along our main roads and in shared public areas.

You can either get involved during our group litter picks or we can loan you equipment so that you can look after the streets where you live. Our group litter picks take place on a Sunday morning from 10.30 and are a great way to make a difference and meet like-minded individuals. We are currently working with corporate volunteers on a monthly basis and we work with other groups like the beavers, Church Eco-group and sports clubs. If you have a group or club who’d like to do their bit, please get in touch!

Since starting in November 2020 Tranent Wombles have removed 4,2566 bags of litter from in and around Tranent (correct as of October 2023). Some of this is historic litter that has gathered over years if not decades, some is litter dropped more recently. We want to work to change this behaviour and reduce littering but in the meantime we will keep going.

We advertise litter picking events and encourage each other’s individual efforts on our Facebook page. Please check us out – https://www.facebook.com/groups/tranentwombles  

Green Belters Project

Following the success of the Pollinator Parklet and the Saloo Bed on Lindores Drive, the Wombles wanted to continue our work to make Tranent more environmentally friendly for the people and animals living here.  Thinking about developing a green corridor, we identified a patch of land along the road at Foresters Park and approached East Lothian Council.  The Amenities Department were as helpful as ever, so we then teamed up with Heugh Community Garden and East Lothian Play Association to make an application to the Tyne and Esk fund.  The Green Belters project was awarded £10k by Scottish Ministers in conjunction with the Tyne and Esk Action Group to develop a forest garden, work with schools and purchase bins and litterpicking equipment.  

The patch of land at Foresters Park had originally been part of people’s large back gardens but was now grass monoculture.  Forest gardens are a dense and diverse but low maintenance type of planting, usually involving food production, and we liked this approach.  It would make a small contribution to increasing Tranent tree canopy cover (at 16%, the second lowest cover in East Lothian after Prestonpans).  And growing fruit and nuts would also be a useful resource and link to Tranent’s rich fruit-growing history.

We held an on-site consultation event on 26/11/23 and agreed a design (see pics).

With the Pollinator Parklet’s log stump edge being so popular for children to walk along, it was decided that a log stump pathway should be included, as well as a place to sit with an accessible path.  A willow tunnel leading to a wildflower meadow was also planned.  For the planting, we went mainly for locally supplied native varieties of trees, shrubs and herbs.  Strawberries and primroses will provide ground cover and we included local varieties of apple, such as East Lothian Pippin and Bloody Ploughman. 

Work onsite began on 9/1/24 with East Lothian Council preparing the path (see pics).

We then held a community event to lay the log stump pathway on 16/2/24 (see pics).

A willow weaving workshop making a willow tunnel and willow crafts took place with artist Natalie Taylor on 1/3/24 (see pics).  The willow was donated by head gardener Kerry Lyall at Archerfield Walled Garden.

The first main planting took place as a community event run by Fruit Trees of Midlothian on 15/3/24, which also provided most of the trees.  Shrubs and herbs were supplied at a reduced rate by R&B Nursery at Roslin. 

Keeping the rustic style, we worked with specialist East Lothian artists and craftspeople to design bespoke wooden pieces.  Robin Wood of WildChild Designs made the seating, sign and children’s gate and Hamish Darrah made the cleft hazel gates using wood from a restored coppice at Tyninghame.  

Tranent Wombles would like to thank residents and groups for their interest and ongoing support for the Green Belters project, including Tranent Juniors for the use of their hut.

Planting for Biodiversity and Amenity

Working with East Lothian Council (ELC), we adopted two small plots on Lindores Drive and named them the Pollinator Parklet and the Saloo Bed. The Parklet was a triangle of unloved land with loads of potential – covered in patchy grass with stone walls on 2 sides. The Saloo Bed was a brick bed that had been left to get full of weeds and was a magnet for litter and anti-social behaviour. ELC were fundamental in helping us prepare the Parklet for planting for rotavating the site and removing the stumps and laying our beautiful path that takes you through the Parklet.