Allotment - the Where, When, Why and How - Who are SAGS?

The Scottish Allotments and Gardens Society works for allotment sites and plot holders throughout Scotland to:

• Protect sites from developers by
• networking among allotment associations
• campaigning nationally and locally
• raising awareness of the planning process and new legislation.

Because there isn't the same statutory power to create allotments depending on demand that there is in England and Wales, a much more campaigning approach has generally been valued in Scotland, to keep or get new allotment allocations.

It also aims to promote the value of allotments for healthy activity and good food, celebrating our open air communities and saving the eco-system and enhancing bio-diversity. As many people know, Scotland is considered to have one of the worst national diets in Europe; high in saturated fats and sugars, and it definitely has a disproportionately high rate of heart disease, so the role of SAGS in helping promote healthy activity and good food is an important one.

In Scotland, many allotment sites have been lost to housing and commercial development and SAGS aims to bring groups together to reverse this trend and safeguard allotments through new legislation by sharing information and experiences and helping to provide a network of support and advice. New community gardens have been a feature of recent housing estates and SAGS in instrumental in getting them built and planted.

Membership of SAGS can be combined with membership of the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners (NSALG), bringing all the benefits of that organisation to Scottish members.

Find out more at: http://www.sags.org.uk/index.php

Scotland photograph by Jay Galvin, used under a creative commons attribution licence