This is a learning outdoors project that will bring people together through a range of activities-planting, growing, cooking, storytelling and more partly funded by the Big Local Sw11 small grant 2018.
The first part of the project is building a bespoke garden designed by pupils of the school with established designer Cleve West.
This garden needs support from volunteers to clear and prepare the space for the garden to be started. It will invite local volunteer support for digging and planting giving opportunities for young and old to come together and learn valuable horticultural skills.
The garden will be started in September and will take two years and a lot of community engagement to complete. We will develop links with local people to volunteer their help and will facilitate and create groups to come together regularly to work on the garden and benefit from the space. Training for all involved is an important part of the project which will lead to volunteers becoming more skilled in a range of areas e.g. understanding compost, propagation, planting, pruning, creating signage etc. We have a strong track record as we already use our Secret Garden to support the training and development of volunteers. Our new space will not only transform a piece of wasteland but will offer a larger and more tailored teaching space for the local community.
The second phase of our project is to replace a dilapidated portacabin with a building designed specifically for outdoor learning events, even if the school is closed. It will have toilets and a kitchen as well as enough space to both train and work with groups.
There will be a roof garden with space for growing a range of herbs and spices as well as micro salads. The building will enable the groups to meet and have space to make drinks or food as well as take well-earned breaks. The space will also give the opportunity for training on site so volunteers feel they have the opportunities to develop their own skills and competencies.