Bulwell Hall Community Garden
Community garden project significantly improves quality of life on the Bulwell Hall estate.
Contribution to sustainable development and people’s quality of life: The project creates opportunities to address barriers to work for long-term unemployed residents from local (and neighbouring) estates in gardening services, generating income to fund community garden site maintenance and activities.
Organisation: Bulwell Hall Community Garden LTD
Sector: Social Enterprise
Location: Bulwell, Nottingham
Start Date: October 1998 - ongoing
Summary: The project significantly improves the quality of life on the Bulwell Hall estate addressing health, community involvement, environmental sustainability and social inclusion. It employs a combination of intermediate labour market-supported trainees and volunteers and provides a range of services including design and landscaping, grounds maintenance, garden maintenance, composting and market gardening. Monthly social events, an after-school club and community activities are all hosted at the community garden.
Background: The community garden site was originally a disused allotment which was prone to dumping, anti-social and criminal behaviour. The estate population was experiencing poor health, high unemployment, low skills, low educational achievement all of which the garden addresses. Initially the site was made secure offering construction training and intermediate labour market opportunities in the process. Once developed as a community garden by volunteers and ILM employed-status trainees it became a social action research project model and continues to develop as a social enterprise. The project is now moving towards Entry to Employment and basic skills through gardening opportunities
Project results:
- Skills development in adults and children
- Work experience/training leading to approximately 50% of participants finding work
- Healthy food produced and sold locally
- Area of land redeveloped and improved creating community amenity
- Increase in social capital
- Partnership working particularly within social economy
- Maintained gardens on the estate
- Increased bio-diversity of site
In 2003 garden design and landscape services were launched. In April 2004 we intend to launch grounds (including school grounds) maintenance services. Main lesson - it takes a long time to become sustainable as a business!
Keywords: Social inclusion, health, community involvement, environmental sustainability, social enterprise.
Contact Details:
Alison Duckers
29-31 Aston Drive
Nottingham
NG6 8BX
Last updated: 12th February 2008