A community garden which has become a place of sanctuary for volunteers has secured thousands of pounds to help it grow.
County Durham-based housing association believe housing awarded £19,300 to Bishop Auckland Community Partnership’s Cultivate 4 Life initiative.
Based on the allotments at Woodhouse Close Estate, in Bishop Auckland, the garden is as much a social project as a horticultural one.
Volunteer Nigel Bryson said: “What’s really going on is people getting out of the house, spending time together, doing something positive. Gardening just happens to be the activity; you could even call it the therapy.”
The believe housing capital community grant is paying for new sheds, a greenhouse, and polytunnel along with a coordinator post to manage the initiative, which aims to expand its work and engage more volunteers.
This will include developing its community garden service which offers a range of services, such as lawnmowing, in return for a financial donation to the garden.
And it will be able to grow more plants, flowers and vegetables to donate for use in local public spaces and by community groups, including the foodbank and lunch club at Woodhouse Close Church.
The new coordinator, Alan Irving, said: “We have some amazing ideas about how to develop the garden which will be good for everyone who gets involved, and the wider community, and the funding from believe housing will help make them happen.”
Joanne Norman, Community Investment Coordinator at believe housing, said: “By supporting this community garden, we’re not only helping those who gain so much pleasure, pride and fulfilment by being involved, we’re also supporting the wider community.
“The community garden service they offer could really benefit local believe housing customers, who struggle to manage their own garden. The volunteers have the skills and equipment to maintain gardens, which is good for the wider neighbourhood, and do so with a smile on their face.
“We’d also encourage customers to consider volunteering at the garden, if they’re looking to boost their overall wellbeing, employability skills, and feel less isolated.”
The Cultivate 4 Life garden project is also made possible by the support of Bishop Auckland Town Council, which provides the allotment site for a peppercorn rent to allow it to be used for the benefit of the community.
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