A new garden, over 20 new rhubarb growers in Dunoon and 150 bottles of rhubarb POP. The Dunoon Goes POP team have been busy over the last year with two new projects. Here's how it all went.
Thanks to National Lottery players, we had funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, The National Lottery Community Fund and Business Gateway in Argyll and Bute to run two Dunoon Goes POP projects.
We want to bring soft drinks production back to Dunoon in a way that minimises our impact on the planet and maximises our positive impact on the community. We do this by connecting people to the fascinating heritage of soft drinks-making through practical workshops, growing ingredients and gathering local heritage stories.
What did we do?
Here are the highlights:
You donated 30kg of rhubarb to Dunoon Goes POP!
We made and sold 150 bottles of rhubarb-flavoured pop syrup using your rhubarb so that you could raise a glass to 150 years of Dunoon Burgh Hall
Inspired by People of Place (POP), our Dunoon Goes POP rhubarb-flavoured syrups were named after the Dunoon Burgh Hall architect Robert ‘Bob’ Bryden.
We mixed 3 fabulous Rhubob POPtail recipes!
We started a rhubarb-growing revolution in Dunoon. Over 20 local organisations and people came on board with our mission to grow more rhubarb in Dunoon!
You attended four talks, walks or trips to hear about and contribute to our research into the plants, people and places that tell the story of Dunoon’s soft drinks heritage.
We built a garden filled with flavoursome plants used to make drinks!
You came along to 9 gardening sessions to help us create the garden while learning new skills to sustainably build and grow a garden along the way.
Together, we planted over 50 new plants in the new garden!
Created a Green Map archive
We have had many, many conversations with people about the plants used in our soft drinks alongside interesting chats about this area's connections with the sugar and slave trade.
We have developed a Green Map associated with the 150 bottles project, serving as an online archive that we plan to update as Dunoon Goes POP evolves. You can see this Green Map here>
Thank you!
Thank you to our funders and supporters, including Dunoon Community Development Trust, Grow Food Grow Dunoon and Dunoon Burgh Hall also supported the project.
Thanks to all of our new rhubarb growers including Top Shop Dunoon, Dunoon Burgh Hall, Dunoon Foodbank, Dunoon Primary School, Kirn Primary School, Patchwork Nursery, Clyde Cottage Nursery, Ardnahein Care Home and many more!
And thank you to all of the local people who came to workshops, grew or donated rhubarb, bought our pop, did some research or shared our story. Your support helps us work towards a socially enterprising approach to local soft drinks production.
Fancy learning a bit more? Browse our blog to read more.
What's next for Dunoon Goes POP?
Taking what we learned through our recent projects, we've launched new Dunoon Goes POP experiences this winter. Keep a look out on our news and events to find out what's coming up.