By Over in Ancaster, Lincs LOL led the creation of two large raised beds to facilitate community growing for all age groups and abilities.
Initially we met with the management of the Day centre in order to discuss their expectations and requirements and to timetable for the days of the practical sessions delivery. The initial consultation with the management of the day centres identified both their needs and the diverse range of abilities to ensure inclusion and rewards for all.
Ancaster Day Centre (Lincoln ): A truly enduring community legacy, creating a mini orchard of 8 fruit trees planted with secure stakes and the construction of a large raised bed 80cm high and 2.4metres long and a medium sized raised bed of 60cm high and 2.4m long filled with topsoil.
We supplied the day centre clients with growing kit propagators and veg seeds, so that they could sow and germinate veg seeds that will be transplanted into the raised bed. This involved the Ancaster day centre clients using a variety of tools including Soil Augers and Post Holers and spades for digging holes for the tree planting and moving soil into the raised beds, this was to be constructed with the day centre clients and was outside of the grounds of the day centre and has full public access.
This means that we created a growing area that the local community was invited to help maintain and look after and can share in the food produce.
Outcomes?
The project became 6 morning or afternoon sessions, with at least two hours of physical activity to engage the day centre clients with gardening activity sessions. It was important to us that we talked to the day centre management to develop a bespoke plan that was exactly what they wanted.
What did we learn?
How to work together as a team for the benefit of the community, using their own resilience, confidence and determination, seeing physical and mental divergence as a blessing rather than disabilities.
The workforce has been upskilled and safety training accessed, learning woodworking, horticultural, and risk assessment prior to learning the safe system of work for hand tools such as soil auger, post holer, sawing, spades, wheelbarrows, sprayers and potting tools.
As for the final pictures, why not come see for yourself.
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