A GROUP of green fingered youngsters have created a unique comic book inspired by the magic of a community garden in Greenock.
Over the summer, the Drying Green Community Garden at South West Library hosted a project with 12 young gardeners, teaching them all about how to help things grow and sharing their knowledge through an original comic book story.
The outdoor sessions were led by Greening Officer Julie Anson with the children then working on creating the book with Paul Bristow from Magic Torch and Inverclyde Council staff from the Watt Institution.
At the end of the project, a bright and colourful book was created in which readers follow Leo and Kylie who meet Professor Chilli-Mustard and Flutters the Butterfly who show them the secrets of the garden.
While reading, children learn all about the soil and how to help things grow as well as super seeds, polyculture and pollinators.
There are adventures with the Gnome Patrol fighting creepy vines and killer tomatoes, and augmented reality surprises within the pages and even links to a soundscape created by recording plants in the garden with special microphones.
Vice-convener of education and communities committee, Councillor Natasha McGuire said: “This is a brilliant project. Not only have the young people showed their creative side, they’ve learned about the importance of community gardens and growing your own fruit and vegetables.
“They spent time outdoors learning about the garden and even recorded the sounds to add another dimension to the comic.
“The Drying Green is an important and popular community resource which is well-used all year round.
“Well done to everyone involved.”
Paul Bristow from Magic Torch Comics said: “We had a wonderful summer working on this. The young people were just bursting with ideas and every week we had something new to work with.
“I love that it’s such a collaborative effort, from the character designs and stories the young people came up with, through to the music and digital elements of the published comic – it’s a great way for folks to learn about what’s going on in community greenspaces and why they are so important.”
The comic book was launched during Green Libraries Week which is running until Sunday, 2 November with libraries across the UK focusing on climate and sustainability.
Copies of the comic are available from South West library on Inverkip Road with the library planning on using the book as an educational resource.
Visitors will be able to borrow the from their local library, or read the e-book version on the library’s free Borrowbox app. It will also be available to read online at https://issuu.com/magictorchcomics/docs/the_drying_green_comic
This summer project was funded by Creative Scotland with additional project work supported by Magic Torch Comics Storyworks project, funded via National Lottery Community Fund Young Start Programme.
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