Our Delivery Report
Funded on 10 December 2024 | Delivered on 05 April 2025
£26,060
RAISED
58
BACKERS
39
DAYS TO FUND
BIGGEST PLEDGE
£4,000
From Stroud District Council
500
people have visited this project!
23 January 2025
‘People feel a sense of ownership’: the growth of community composting
The Guardian“I think more and more local communities understand that there’s a need for sustainable action, but it can be really difficult to know how to do that on an individual level,” Misha Dhanak\n\n“That’s why projects like this do so well. They’ve identified a real local issue and come up with a solution but not only that, [they have managed to] bring the community together around it and rally everyone in a way that got people energised. People feel a sense of ownership.”
30 plants planted
40000 kg of material recycled
More about our impact
The environment
Since we opened, BATCOM has diverted around 40 tonnes of green waste to turn into compost for our community. We've planted trees and shrubs, sown seeds and sunk Spring bulbs. New bat and bird boxes have gone up into the surrounding trees and we have built a huge hibernaculum for our amphibian friends on site.
Volunteering, jobs & education
BATCOM has a brilliant crew of 20+ regular volunteers who commit to helping on site when members visit, and get involved in occasional working party days. People love to roll their sleeves up and get stuck in! We haven't started our workshops yet but have begun talks about how to further develop the wider site to open it up as an educational community space for sharing our skills and knowledge. Beyond BATCOM, we're also playing a role in establishing the Gloucestershire Community Composting Network. Watch this space!
Activity, health and leisure
There's always a good vibe on the site when we're open and composters are dropping in with their green waste to add to our deposit piles. There's a no lone working policy on site so volunteers are always in pairs or groups, and there's time to chat about what we're doing and help visitors to feel welcome and at home. The work is physical, especially on days when we're chipping and sorting the waste and turning the big piles. Luckilly we have machinery to help with that! The site is a sheltered, sunny spot and surrounded by trees and an abundance of biodoiversity. There's lots of birdsong in the summer and our nesting boxes are in good use. We have encountered a few frogs and slow worms so we take as much care as we can when we're working.
