A collection of organisations, alongside the Calton Hill Conservation Trust, plan to re-turf parts of Calton Hill to prevent further erosion.
The CHCT, Cafe-Calton, and the Collective Gallery will re-grass 240 square meters in front of the National Monument on 12 November.
This initiative follows Edinburgh City Council’s failure to adequately respond to the “Erosion Emergency” declared by the CHCT earlier this year.
The CHCT claims that the council has done “too little too late,” as it is responsible for the poor management and excessive mowing that led to the decay of this UNESCO heritage site.
The “Erosion Emergency” was also attributed to excess tourism.
Simon Holledge, chairman of the CHCT, told BBC Scotland that the council cut 90 per cent of grass blades.
“Once the grass has gone, the earth starts being washed or blown away, and once the earth has gone, the grass obviously can’t come back”, explained Holledge.
The Edinburgh Council adjusted its grass-cutting schedule as a response to this environmental crisis and has committed to providing topsoil for the re-grassing project.
This initiative follows past efforts to slowly re-grow parts of Calton Hill.
Using germinated old rye grass seed swept up from the storeroom floor, volunteers successfully re-turfed the area in front of the Douglas Stewart building in September.
Currently, there are multiple fenced-off muddy areas at this part of the Hill.
A temporary eyesore, but one that will likely be repeated in front of the National Monument and will inevitably lead to successful restoration.
“View of Edinburgh from Calton Hill, Scotland, United Kingdom – cityscape photography” by Giuseppe Milo (www.pixael.com) is licensed under CC BY 2.0.