Community, STEM, and Creating Habitats

On Wednesday, August 27, 2025, ESES Communities, Heron Bros, and The Destiny Project came together at The Heugh Community Garden in Tranent for a day that turned out to feel quite special.

The Destiny Project

The Destiny Project is a registered mental health charity in Prestonpans, East Lothian, that aims to support and advocate for individuals in the community who experience high levels of deprivation.

Their mission is to champion mental health and empower those who need it through innovative collaborations with various organisations.

They support their service users in developing personal skills, such as confidence and self-esteem, as well as vocational skills, to help them compete in a changing and demanding job market. Additionally, they provide life skills to enable people to live positively and independently. 

 

Heron Bros

Heron Bros is the contractor building the Edinburgh Innovation Hub, a significant joint venture between East Lothian Council, Queen Margaret University, and ESES City Region Deal.

Heron Bros aims to secure wider social, economic, and environmental benefits for the communities it works in by supporting education and training, physical and mental well-being, protecting the environment, and encouraging suppliers to operate responsibly.

 

The Heugh Community Garden

The Heugh Community Garden project was developed from an old gasworks site in Tranent that had lain unused since 1978, transforming it into a Community Growing Garden resource.

The area is a place where people can learn about horticulture. For some, the garden serves as a therapeutic and rehabilitative space, or a means to improve their employment prospects. For the wider community, it offers a natural communal space for events, garden/environmental training workshops, arts and crafts and seasonal cooking. 

The Project

In Heron Bros original Community Benefits Proposal, they expressed a desire to take part in the following activities:

  • Support with STEM programmes
  • Support Community Projects/Events
  • Undertake an environmental project
  • Create or restore habitats

This project was ideal.

Heron Bros Site Manager Ged McCallion coordinated the project. They created 10 flat-pack bird box kits, each accompanied by an instruction sheet and a flyer detailing the types of birds the boxes could attract.

On the day, Site Engineer Kian Daniels and Heron’s joinery foreman Michael Wilson were onsite to go through everything.

The Destiny Project carefully curated a group of participants, and The Heuge Community Garden provided the venue.

Two Bird Boxes were installed in the Heugh Community Garden, with the hope that they will be used for nesting in the spring. 

On the day, every participant thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to make a box, with many taking theirs home to install in their own gardens or neighbourhoods. Two of the young participants donated their boxes back to the ESES Communities Team and asked us to find suitable homes with relevant East Lothian charities.