Verbal Presentation
Minutes:
Barbara Bates from the Bulwell Forest Community Garden provided a verbal report on the garden which was accompanied by a slide show of photographs of the volunteers, achievements, activities undertaken and produce.
The following points were highlighted and questions from the Committee responded to:
(a) the Community Garden is sited on Austin Street in Bulwell Forest and came about as a result of a few residents on Broomhill Road discussing the lack of safe open green spaces for children and local people to engage with nature, socialise and get to know each other;
(b) with the idea of establishing a community garden, residents asked the City Council for an area of land and after a year, were allocated a two and a half acre plot of land behind Cantrell School to the rear of St Alban’s Road;
(c) local residents were consulted to ensure that the garden could meet their needs and expectations. Initially some citizens supported the garden but were concerned that it would become a target for theft, vandalism and general anti-social behaviour, but apart from one brief spate, this has not been the case;
(d) initially there were 3 or 4 volunteers working very hard to provide a family area where it was appropriate to hold children’s activities during the school holidays, but volunteer numbers have now swelled and approximately 25 regular volunteers and approximately 200 people attend the garden activities and events on a regular basis;
(e) although starting from nothing, the garden now has 22 raised beds, a pond is being constructed and a medicinal garden and a seasonal recipe book is being developed;
(f) the garden is open to the community between 10am and 4pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and between 1pm and 4pm on a Saturday, promoting physical activity, education, healthy eating and good mental health and wellbeing;
(g) the Lunch Club is very popular and meets every Friday at 10.30am to harvest, prepare and then cook a meal including produce grown in the garden. The club regularly attracts between 25 and 30 people per session. Other activities include Yoga at 10am on a Wednesday , the ‘Green Fingers Club’ and the ‘Forest After School Club’;
(h) Initially the founding members visited school fairs and events to raise local awareness of the Garden, but due to reducing volunteer numbers, this hasn’t been possible this year;
(i) some of the volunteers and participants have additional needs which does raise concerns as the garden group do not have specialist knowledge but are keen to be inclusive;
(j) it is a concern that, as there is no charge for citizens to attend activities and events such as the lunch club and school holiday activities, larger numbers of citizens from across the City, not just the local area, are attending sessions which are now starting to exceed capacity. Whilst there would be reluctance to turn people away, further consideration is needed as to how this can be managed to ensure that quality standards are met and not diluted due to the volume of participants;
(k) as with most voluntary organisations, more committee members are required from Bulwell and Bulwell Forest Wards and new members, particularly gardening volunteers are always welcome;
(l) members of the Committee and local Community groups are welcome to visit the garden and see what is being achieved;
(m) with regard to capacity and attracting participants from outside the area, a community garden group has formed in Bestwood and held an initial meeting and two potential sites have been identified. Bulwell Forest Community Garden group members are happy to share their experiences and knowledge with Bestwood group and have already met with them;
(n) the garden attracts a lot of people from Bulwell Hall and the Snapewood area, but not many from the Crabtree Estate area. It may be that they think it’s too far away and difficult to get to, but there’s a convenient pedestrian cut-through which leads directly to the garden. A walk is proposed from the Crabtree Estate to the garden (with tea and cake on arrival) to promote how easy it is to get to the garden from that estate;
(o) funding from the National Lottery has been secured for 5 years, of which 3 remain.
Members of the Committee applauded Barbara and the group for their consistently hard and enthusiastic work which has produced such impressive achievements.
Members of the Committee and the local community groups are requested to promote the garden and encourage anyone interested in gardening and possibly contributing some time and/or skill to the garden, to contact Barbara on 07890 557854, and maybe attend the Annual General Meeting on 19 July 2018 where scones and fresh strawberries from the garden will be served.
Although there had been efforts to launch a community garden in Bulwell, there hadn’t been enough local interest, possibly as a lot of people are renting and don’t necessarily have a longer term view of investment in the area. However, if interest is expressed in the future, another attempt may be made.
The Bradford Street Allotments is well established and very popular and run by volunteers with a significant waiting list. However, the City Council will be raising the allotment rents by a significant amount soon so this may deter citizens from renting an allotment, to keep active and grow their own produce.
There had been a community garden in Grindon Crescent but were not able to recruit new volunteers.. Sharing the knowledge of gaining National Lottery funding for the Bulwell Forest Community Garden may be beneficial to other groups as this is a significant achievement.
RESOLVED to thank Barbara Bates for her attendance, offer the Committee’s congratulations to the Bulwell Forest Community Garden for its outstanding success and request that an update is provided to a future meeting.