The Astley Ainsley hospital site is a large area of green space in the south of the city. With wild areas, protected buildings and teeming with wildlife, it's a surprisingly special space. The Astley Ainsley Community Trust is working to protect the area as the NHS is moving out of some of it and parts of the site will be sold. There are plans for retaining its wildness, creating community greenspace and ensuring it remains available for recuperation and recreation, in line with its original purpose.

Join me on a wander around the site, discovering its long history, its unique spaces and listening to some incredible bird sounds.

You can access the site from Morningside or Grange HERE

The Astley Ainsley Community Trust website is here: https://www.aact.scot/

Binning Wood is in East Lothian beyond North Berwick and is a historic wood. Once used to build warplanes and then replanted after the war, it's packed full of different trees and was an ideal location for my walk with Jean Nairn. Binning is home to wide walkways through native trees, a beautiful green burial site and little hidden spaces.

Jean worked in forestry and while she still works with trees, it's now in a very different - and fascinating - way. We headed out into Binning to enjoy nature sights and sounds and to find out more about Jean and her love of trees.

You can find Binning Wood HERE

Jean's Woodlands Breathing site can be found here: https://www.woodlandsbreathing.co.uk/

Find out more about green burials at Binning: https://www.binningwood.co.uk/

Gorgie City Farm is remembered fondly by everyone. Now remerged as Gorgie Community Farm, the location is being revitalised by a new team. As trustees, gardeners and volunteers breathe life into the space, focusing initially on the community garden, it's packed full of potential to bring back an essential green space for the area.

I went along to meet the people transforming it, to find out what they've been doing and to talk about the future. As volunteers return and we head towards Spring, it was a great time to find out what's planned.

The site is HERE

To find out more: https://gorgiecommunityfarm.co.uk/

The team has a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/GorgieCommunityFarm/

And an Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gorgiecommunityfarm/

And if you are interested in gardener Johanna's journey through the garden, she has an Instagram too: https://www.instagram.com/gorgiefarmgarden