We established Carlowrie Academy to create a practical, dignified route out of homelessness in Edinburgh. It began with a simple proposition: people should not have to choose between earning, learning and rebuilding stability. They should be able to do all three at once.

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The initiative developed a grounds-maintenance enterprise based at Carlowrie Castle. Its team of student horticulturalists—people with experience of homelessness—worked on the estate while studying horticulture and building accredited skills through the Scottish Agricultural College. Learning was rooted in real work: tending land, caring for plants, maintaining landscapes and seeing the value of their contribution every day.

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Carlowrie Academy treated employment as a setting for confidence, connection and renewed agency. Participants earned experience alongside qualifications, with practical support to sustain their next steps into work, housing and community life.

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The programme worked alongside Edinburgh Council and Police Scotland, accepting referrals including from probation services. This partnership recognised that homelessness, exclusion and contact with the justice system cannot be addressed by one organisation alone. Carlowrie Academy brought together a working environment, education and local support around the person—helping cultivate not only gardens, but possibility