1 The Growth Project 2010 The Growth Project in Southport after receiving our award at the Royal Horticultural Society Award Ceremony
2 Growth Project report 2010 1. Introduction and context The Growth project has just completed its third growing season. The projects uses Social and Therapeutic Horticulture which is the process of using gardening, plants and horticulture to help individuals develop both physically and mentally. It has been another brilliant year for the Growth Project which has gone from strength to strength in 2010. We have built on the success of winning Northwest in Bloom 2009, by winning a further RHS award this year, and the confidence it has brought us allowed us to be able to take on semi-commercial contracts in the borough and beyond, all of which we have successfully achieved. With 32 beneficiaries actively engaged on the project in both Rochdale and Middleton and with 6 beneficiaries completing an NVQ1 award in Work Based Horticulture (funded through Mind), the project has continued to meet the needs of people with mental health problems in the Borough. Two beneficiaries have obtained employment this year, one from the Middleton group, who then moved on from the project, and the other from Rochdale, who works on a part time basis through the supported employment scheme and who continues to be a volunteer on the Growth Project. According to Thrive: The benefits of a sustained and active interest in horticulture include: Better physical health through exercise and learning how to use or strengthen muscles to improve mobility Improved mental health through a sense of purpose and achievement The opportunity to connect with others thus reducing feelings of isolation or exclusion Acquiring new skills to improve the chances of finding employment Just feeling better for being outside, in touch with nature. These benefits are illustrated in the diagram.
3 This year we have seen the development of the Growth Project s Dream Team, which is a group of experienced beneficiaries who have taken on the role of fully CRB-checked volunteers, using both skills they have brought with them, and those they have developed whilst on the project. This has enabled us to take on extra community focused work within the borough, an important new development as it has allowed us to self-generate some of the revenue funding so important to the sustainability of the Growth Project as a whole within the current economic climate. Case Study 1 DM came to the project to help us erect the poly tunnel, he did not intend to stay on the project, he was only there to help to get the job done. DM has a long standing history of mental health problems and alcoholism and now lives in sheltered accommodation. He is also a fully qualified plasterer, and can generally turn his hand to anything practical. seemed intent on staying on the periphery. Very quiet at first, DM was loath to divulge any of his personal history and Over the past two years DM has become a full member of the Growth Project and the Dream Team. He has learned new skills such as willow weaving and has taught others how to build raised beds out of concrete blocks and how to render them, when finished. The photograph on the right shows one of is apprentice plasterers getting to grips with the tools of the trade. DM completed his NVQ1 Award in Work Based Horticulture in September A man with great skill and tenacity, a good listener, and brilliant fun to be with, DM and is an invaluable member of the team.
4 2. The Delivery Partners and Funding Partners The delivery partners for the Growth Project continue to be Hourglass, a constituted not-forprofit company limited by guarantee, which project manages the sites and provides the horticultural expertise, and Rochdale and District Mind an established and trusted charity committed to a society that promotes and protects good mental health. They provide a support worker and the referral system for the project through their Open Minds team. The Kellett St Growth Project has continued to be funded by RMBC Adult Care Services who have provided the capital to further develop the sites on which we have been working at Kellett St, also funding some of the development of a new site on Valley Rd in Middleton. However, we have developed our partnerships further by working closely with and receiving funding Middleton Township who funded the costs of a support worker on Valley Rd (managed through Mind) for1 year (due to finish in August 2011). RMBC Environmental Management who have funded (through Play Path Finder and the proceeds of an RMBC allotment land sale) the development of the new community and leisure gardens and commissioned the Growth Project Dream Team to work on the development of the natural play areas outside of the fenced area designated to be allotments. This work was completed in June 2010. Middleton Township has also funded the development of the community plots within the allotment area. This is an ongoing project, again being developed by the Dream Team and the Middleton beneficiaries. In December we completed a small project for Sure Start in Bolton, building Willow structures on two sites commissioned through Groundwork Landscapes a well known and trusted local business in the Borough. Finally, the Dream Team has been working for one day a week over winter on Lower Falinge Estate creating a community allotment site funded through RBH, due to be completed by the end of February 2011. 2. The Project In March 2008 funding from RMBC, NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale, in addition to a grant from National Mind, enabled the partnership to pilot the Growth Project; working and developing a derelict allotment on the Kellett Street site in Rochdale. This work has continued with the development of three other allotment plots on the same site and in 2010 the development of the community plot on Valley Rd in Middleton.
5 2.1 Kellett St Rochdale On Kellett St this year we have continued to develop the new large plot as sadly we discovered when all the land was cleared that we had very little or no soil. This is because the site had been used as an animal plot for many years and the site was covered with decade s worth of glass and debris. The task of clearing this bringing in new top soil where necessary and sieving any which may be reclaimable will take us a few years to complete. The mess on the new plot However, we have made good progress. All the external fences have been completed and we have internally fenced one side of the plot. We have removed all the large trees which would have once been a hedge and have put in the main paths. Beneficiaries were asked what they would like to see on the new site and it was decided that we should build a large pond to encourage wildlife, have a fruit area, a herb garden and a lawn. This year we have completed the pond including a wild flower area, an insect house and a bird feeding station. We have developed an area in which to grow fresh herbs, both designed and constructed by the beneficiaries
6 New growing areas have been developed on a raised bed system so that people with less physical mobility can join the group. To this end many of paths are of a wheel chair friendly width and more raised beds are being designed for 2011. In July we opened our doors so that others could see what we had been growing over the year and had a very busy and successful open day with over 50 people attending. On the day we showed people how to make insect houses and gave them tips on how to grow your own fruit and vegetables. The Kellett St project runs on Wednesdays and Thursdays and is always open for recruitment to the team.
7 2.2 Valley Rd Middleton We started as the Dream team on the Valley Rd site in January 2010. It was a mud bath to die for. The weather was terrible with persistent rain and freezing temperatures. We had fly tipping problems from the start to deal with plus extensive compaction of the soil due to the use of heavy plant on the site before and while we were working on it. However, by April we had built the Edible Walk, a foot path area around the site planted with edible trees and bushes. The butterfly Bar, an area to attract insect life to the site.
8.and built the Barrow Mound as part of the natural play area. We then got to work on building the Willow Henge, dome and willow walk. This had to be fenced for as long as possible after building to protect it from vandalism. We sowed the wild flower meadows and lined the pond and planted up the wetland areas By June the site looked like this and we had finished this part of the project.
9 We next moved on to the development of the allotment area. We also sent out leaflets telling the Middleton residents of the new allotment site and put up a display in the local library to attract more volunteers. We built a shed to store all the new tools we had bought.
10 We have spent the rest of the winter double-digging the ground level beds and building the raised beds. These are to be used as community plots for schools as well as our beneficiaries. The site is brand new so there were no facilities on it when we took it on. The soil has been imported due to contamination issues. However; as it seems to consist mainly of heavy clay, it will take a great deal of hard work before we will be able to grow our first crop. Our next job is to put in all the paths, finish the raised beds and dig over new areas, and plant each section as we complete it. The Growth Project on the Middleton site runs for one day a week (Mondays) and is actively recruiting for new volunteers from the Township as it is still very much in its infancy. Plus the amount of back breaking hard work does not help! Case Study 2 IR moved to Middleton from the South West. She has suffered from mental Health issues for a number of years and came to the area soon after a recent breakdown. She heard about the project through Mind and being interested in horticulture decided she would like to give it a go, as she found it difficult to make friends being new to the area. As our first Middleton beneficiary, she worked throughout the year alongside the Dream Team building the natural play areas. When the allotment society was formed she put her name down for her own plot. She enrolled on a level 2 Mental Health worker qualification with Mind in September and has since found employment.
11 3. The Future 2011 Of course, with all the funding cuts within the borough, 2011 has not entered with a great deal of positivism. We have already seen cuts that have affected our beneficiaries and expect to see a lot more. However, with the help of the Dream Team, who continue to work as a progression extension beyond our core programme, any income we make is ploughed back into the Growth Project both in Rochdale and Middleton. This will mean that beneficiaries who are not able to expand their horizons just yet will hopefully be able to reap the benefits therapeutic horticulture in the forthcoming year. In the mean time RMBC Adult Care services have agreed to fund our capital expenditure for the core projects for 2011-12. We have also teamed up with the HMR team, Vision for Kirkholt, and have been working on the management and development of Q Gardens, on which the Dream Team will be working on in the near future. By the end of February, we will be developing as small school site on Kirkholt funded through RBH, who have commissioned us to build a children s allotment plot and an outdoor Willow class rooms, as well as a small woodland, to help the school in their Forest Schools programme. Rochdale Township has also awarded us a grant through their Kick-start your Health scheme which, as funding allocation was a delayed, delivery has been extended through until June, which will pay for some of our standing revenue or capital costs for that period. We all are determined to continue throughout this period of local government cuts, and have made a good start, but please remember that by commissioning Hourglass and the Dream Team, people with more severe problems can and will be supported on the sites in both Middleton and Rochdale as long as we are able to do so.