Gary Oliver
chairman
Gary Oliver came to Oldmeldrum in 1988 and have lived here for 33 years with his wife Eileen. Their grown up son and daughter were brought up in the village.
I like the size of Oldmeldrum because it’s neither too little nor too big, which helps to give it a good sense of community. Being mostly on a hill you get some fantastic views, particularly of Bennachie which I recognise as my homeland.
It seemed right to get involved to help create a community facility which can be shared by all ages, and in doing so bring people together for fellowship, health and well-being. I like that allotments can be personally designed to exactly how you want it to be.
Why you should get involved
There are not any allotments in our immediate community area and there has been a greater interest in gardening as a positive result of lockdown. Its great to see a younger generation become more interested in green growing.
Fun Fact About Gary
Likes Doric tongue, like humour!
Louise Ferris
Secretary
Louise Ferris has lived in Oldmeldrum for 10 years. She lives with her husband, son, and golden retriever Apollo. Louise loves the sense of community she finds in Oldmeldrum – especially how no one passes by without a hello!
Louise has had an interest in gardening and growing since she was young, and as her son is now in school, she decided some of her free time could be used to help the Oldmeldrum Green Growing Group get off the ground. Louise has special skills to help the group with her background as a contract lawyer, and she is an incredible source of knowledge and help with administration and contract jobs needed to get the group going.
Why you should get involved
“This will be an amazing facility to bring many generations within our community together, the committee are a friendly bunch and we would love to welcome as many people as possible to help make it a reality.”
Fun Fact About Louise
“I took part in a charity boxing match in 2020 to raise funds for Cancer Research UK.”
Toby St Ledger
treasurer
Toby St Leger has lived in Oldmeldrum for 17 years with his wife Michelle and two boys.
He moved to Aberdeenshire in 2003 for a six-month assignment with work. Originally from Canterbury in Kent he was attracted to the wide spaces, big skies, lack of crowding and friendly ovals. Especially his next door neighbour who he married!
Why you should get involved
He wanted to get involved with creating a community facility that will help all comers develop a passion for gardening.
Gardening is a great way to develop with the seasons. Being a member of an allotment society is a great way of making friends to learn new skills and pass on knowledge gained.
Fun Fact About Toby
He still struggles to think of Edinburgh as “down south”!
Ian Jackson
school representative
Ian Jackson has been associated to the Meldrum community for over 20 years. He was appointed as Principal Teacher of Design and Technology at Meldrum Academy when the school first opened in 2002. Currently as Head Teacher of the school he has been involved with the OGGS project from the beginning and he has a keen interest in enhancing the opportunities for the pupils of the school by being involved in outdoor learning and expanding on the great work that pupils are already involved in within the current small school garden.
Why you should get involved
Being involved with the local community certainly brings everyone together and this is an exciting project to be involved in that will be of great benefit to the health and wellbeing of many within the local community.
Fun Fact About Ian
Tracy Noles
media team
Tracy Noles is originally from Louisiana, USA. She moved to Scotland in 2007, and moved to Oldmeldrum in 2018 with her husband, Dave (native Scot and former resident of Oldmeldrum), and daughter, Eilidh, who is now nearly 5 and will start P1 in August!
Tracy loves the community spirit of Oldmeldrum, especially how the community came together to help each other during the pandemic. Tracy learned about OGGS through her employment with Aberdeenshire Council. Tracy is interested in sustainability, community development, and community participation and so decided to join in to see how she could help promote OGGS.
Why you should get involved
“OGGS is a fantastic opportunity to bring the community together – not only for growing food and sustainability, but the potential for community and multi-generational projects and the possibility that the allotment sites could be a Happy Hub for the village.”
Fun Fact About Tracy
Tracy has been attending Aberdeen Lynx Ice Hockey games for 7 years after going to a game on the suggestion of a friend! On a Saturday night in-season you can find her and her family at the Linx Ice Arena cheering for the team.
Louise Smith
MEDIA TEAM
Louise has lived in Oldmeldrum for 3 years with her family. When she is not being a busy mum, she is a family photographer.
Louise has always loved gardening and found it a great way to relax and says through lockdown it was the biggest blessing.
Along with many other residents who discovered the same, she started an online Facebook community page called “Oldmeldrum in the garden”, where local folks could share their knowledge, growing progress and leave their surplus seeds and plants at their front doors for others to pick up on their daily walks. This sparked a sense of community spirit and allowed us to see the enjoyment and health benefits of gardening in our community members.
Why you should get involved
“When word came of an allotment site, I did not hesitate to get involved. I would love Oldmeldrum to have the opportunity of allotments and I am eager to see how we involve other local groups in this exciting venture.”
Fun Fact About Louise
Louise was once taught Rhythmic gymnastics by lead group member Angie in their youth!
Angie Snowie
Media Team
Angie Snowie moved from Pitcaple to Oldmeldrum 3 years ago with her husband and two sons who are currently 11 and 9 years old. Angie’s passion for growing was reignited during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions while caring for her youngest son who has complex medical needs. She is quickly outgrowing the small space in her garden, and when she came across the OGGS group she decided to help get the group off the ground. Angie’s creativity has been an asset to the design process of thinking about allotments.
Why you should get involved
“The lead group is filled with like minded individuals, and I hope to involve the whole community from young to old in this new venture in Oldmeldrum.”
Fun Fact About Angie
Was a dancer and gymnast once upon a time, taking part in many Theatre shows in Inverurie Town Hall!
Colin Wallace
general member
Colin was born and brought up in Oldmeldrum before moving away at 18 to study at university. During the national lockdown Colin and his family realised the importance of space, country living and a good community so moved out from Aberdeen and back to Oldmeldrum.
His two children attend Meldrum Primary School and his wife hybrid works between home and Aberdeen. A trained PE teacher Colin is currently not working but fills his time volunteering in various capacities in and around the village.
Along with OGGS Colin is on the community council, helps MAIG with the floral displays and can be seen riding the Cycling Without Age Scotland trishaw around the village.
Why you should get involved
There is nothing quite like growing your own produce and tasting how good it is compared to anything you buy in the supermarket. I previously had an allotment in Aberdeen and think it would be an amazing asset to the village to have one.
Growing most things is relatively straight forward and at times can end up with
a mountain of fresh veg, always good presents for friends and family!
Fun Fact About Colin
Colin has Multiple Sclerosis and competes in Paratriathlon for GB.
Terry Patterson
Lead Group member
Terry, together with wife Audrey and two young children moved from Shetland to Oldmeldrum in 1983. Both our children attended Meldrum Primary before going on to study at Inverurie Academy.
Meldrum is a friendly village with all the essential facilities and a good community spirit. It has provided a good environment to bring up our children. We have made many friends in the village and enjoy living in this community.
Audrey works in the local community café that provides a facility for local people to meet and socialise. Hopefully the green growing space project will provide an opportunity for more local people to enjoy the benefits that gardening brings.
Why you should get involved
I am a keen gardener and when we arrived in Oldmeldrum I enquired at the local council if there were allotments available in the area. At that time there were only two available plots with a projected waiting time of 25 years. There are currently no allotments in Oldmeldrum, so the green growing space project offers a great opportunity for many more people in Oldmeldrum to become involved in green growing and enjoy the benefits that gardening offers. I live in hope that I may finally be able to work on an allotment in Oldmeldrum whilst I am still able!
Fun Fact About Terry
A fan of the “flying Pig” articles in the P&J
Rona Ross-Thomson
former lead group member
Rona Ross-Thomson has lived in Oldmeldrum for nearly 9 years. She enjoys living here as for a small town, it has a lot going on and feels like a community. Rona got involved with OGGS after listening to an online talk in March 2021.
Why you should get involved
“I would encourage others to come along, the more the merrier, good ideas always welcome, many hands and minds make light work and enthusiasm costs nothing but help a lot.”
Fun Fact About Rona
Rona had the idea to create a “Christmas tree” out of used plant pots to promote the group at Christmas time! Local children created decorations with recycled materials for the tree which was on display at the church.