The project will provide local residents with opportunities to co-design the 'Here We Grow' community garden, helping to transform it into a space that all of the community can take pride in. The garden will provide space for residents, young and old, to come together to grow vegetables and fruit, support healthy eating, and participate in activities which improve physical and mental health and wellbeing, partnering with other community organisations, creative arts, and health and social care providers. The garden will offer opportunities for residents to volunteer, participating in gardening, recycling, composting and food growing initiatives, and to join learning and training, to increase skills and knowledge, and improve employability. The co-creation of the community garden landscape will enhance its biodiversity and nature habitats, help to reduce crime, and transform this formerly neglected space into a beautiful neighbourhood oasis.

What we'll deliver:

• Facilitate 4 x initial community engagement sessions (including with children and young people)
• Facilitate 4 x co-design workshops (including with children and young people)
• Enable the co-creation of the community garden with 8 raised beds, 8 fruit trees, a pergola, and a pond
• Instal outdoor seating areas and pergola, to enable residents' social engagement in the community garden
• Facilitate 10 garden-based sessions for local young people to engage and co-design and create the community garden
• Facilitate 10 sustainable gardening workshops for adults across the year
• Instal a polytunnel to enable all year-round propagation, water collection and storage (no water supply on site)
• Installation of a shed for equipment storage and portaloo hire (no facilities on site)
• • Provide a celebratory harvest and food event for the local community to recognise what has been achieved

Why it's a great idea:

The 'Here We Grow' community garden will address the pressing social and economic challenges in the Bentinck Street neighbourhood, as the 26th most disadvantaged ward in the UK (IMD, 2019). • Improved Access to Fresh Produce: By growing healthy food, we can help reduce reliance on food banks and improve nutrition in a food-insecure area. • Community Cohesion: Fostering social interaction through garden activities will help reduce crime and anti-social behaviour, turning the area into a more vibrant and safe community. • Health and Well-Being: Providing opportunities for physical activity and mental health support through gardening and community events will enhance overall wellbeing. • Skills Acquisition: Workshops and training will help residents develop gardening skills, improve employability, and build confidence. • Enhanced Local Biodiversity: Creating habitats for pollinators and other wildlife will promote ecological balance and increase residents’ connection to nature.

Steps to get it done:

• Community Engagement and Co-Design Workshops (Months 1-2) initial workshops to gather input from local residents
• Site Preparation and Clean-Up (months 1-3) clear debris, litter, map out, preserving existing trees and wildflower area
• Instal Garden Features (month 2-3) raised beds, fruit trees, seating, pergola, shed, polytunnel, water collection
• Gardening Training/ Workshops (month 3 onwards) series of workshops for adults and also for young people
• Growing season (month 3-7) planting seeds and plants to start to take full advantage of growing season to August
• Monitoring and Evaluation (Month 6) Assess the impact of the garden on community health, engagement, and biodiversity
• Celebration Community Event (end of project -month 8) to celebrate the garden's completion, harvest and achievements

Grow-Wellbeing will provide in-house co-ordination (0.25FTE) until end of August 2025, enabling produce to be harvested, providing a fitting celebratory finale to the project. The co-ordinator, currently sessionally employed, has Wildlife Conservation BSc (Hons), and is experienced in managing nature-based projects, stakeholder engagement and supporting volunteers. They will co-ordinate community engagement, co-design, learning, construction works and events, including staff. This project focuses on nature connectedness actions, linked to 'greater human wellbeing and pro-environmental behaviour, including increased biodiversity'. (Uni of Derby, 2023) Public Health England (2020) identifies 'new evidence and actions to help local areas consider how quality greenspace can support the delivery of health, social, environmental and economic priorities, at a relatively low cost.’ The site aligns with the LCR LNRS strategy, an urban green space with potential for biodiversity enhancement.