Inspirational community garden created
Within the grounds of Plymouth Highbury Trust, a community garden has been created by and for people with learning disabilities.
Jane Neale, Resource Worker for Plymouth Highbury Trust explained: “The garden is very new and still a work in progress, so we are very grateful for the donation of £300 from the Fire Service as it means we have been able to establish the garden sooner than planned.
“Over the summer we have created a sensory area, vegetable garden, graffiti wall as well as a relaxing area. Huge tractor tyres have been donated and they are brilliant as we filled them with soil and they became instant gardens. They are also the ideal height for our wheel chair users to garden from.
“The garden also has a variety of arts and crafts within it in and everyone had the opportunity to paint slates which are now decorating the garden wall; after an outing to the beach, mobiles were made from shells and hang from the trees. It’s important that all our clients have a chance to be involved and develop their skills, whether they physically work in the garden or not.
“We want it to be a real community garden; we recently held a coffee morning and sent everyone home with our freshly grown vegetables, which is great.”
Angie Pope a client from Plymouth Highbury Trust said: “We have lots of plants in the garden. I helped plant them and we painted slates to put on the wall. I really enjoyed it.”
Dave Evans from Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service works with a variety of communities within the Plymouth area said: “When I found out the Trust were developing a community garden and looking for some funding to improve the outside space for adults with learning disabilities. I thought it would be a nice idea for the Fire Service to contribute a small amount of money to help built the garden. In return it was a nice surprise that they hand painted a slate with our crest on and a thank you message for the donation.”
The trust is an independent charity, supporting people with learning disabilities. For more information visit Plymouth Highbury Trust
