Touchbase has an incredible garden on the grounds of a local farm. Our members enjoy growing produce that is then used in our catering service. We also love using the garden as a space for learning and wellbeing, where members can enjoy being outdoors and experiencing nature in an accessible way. We want to continue to improve this space so that it can be used all year round. We'd like to plant an orchard, increase biodiversity and plant a sensory garden. Being outdoors has significant benefits for improving wellbeing. Our members will be involved, designing and painting an outdoor mural, as well as planting the new sensory garden.

What we'll deliver:

• Complete installing pond
• Plant Sensory Garden
• run workshops for building bird boxes / bug boxes.
• We'll install facilities to make the space more usable later in the year, e.g. a rain covered area.
• Members will create a mural for the side of our outbuilding on the site.

Why it's a great idea:

Taking a walk in the countryside, tending plants, or simply sitting and watching insects amongst the flowers. These activities can help calm the mind and bring a sense of wellbeing to the body. However, for disabled people access to the countryside can be difficult and thats where our community garden makes a difference. Our garden is accessible: members come to our garden using our accessible minibus and are able to enjoy the space without restriction. Our garden is ecologically sound: produce grown by our members is used by our catering team to provide lunches at the centre and we even have a composting toilet at the garden! Our garden is a great place to spend time: As well as working and growing plants our members use the space as somewhere to come and relax. We need to raise funds to make the space the best it can be and complete all our great plans and ideas that members have been working on. See the list of what we plan to deliver to find out more about what we're hoping to do.

Steps to get it done:

• Purchase of plants
• Digging and planting new beds
• making improvements to accessibility (e.g. path making)
• delivery of creative projects with members in the space