Tuesday 14th May 2024 – Grapes Hill Community Garden Group celebrates after receiving nearly £18,000 of National Lottery funding
Grass-roots community garden project Grapes Hill Community Garden Group (GHCGG) is celebrating after being awarded almost £18,000 in National Lottery funding, to support its work providing a city centre community garden. The group, based in Norwich will use the money to provide more events and workshops at the Grapes Hill Community Garden. Nature in the Garden on Sunday 19th May 11am-3pm will be a fun family friendly day where all are welcome to enjoy the music, the cakes and see the animals.
The group was set up over 14 years ago to turn a patch of unloved, Council-owned, tarmacked land to a colourful community-owned garden. The garden’s vision is to provide a community space for people be a part of creating and maintaining, to connect with each other and with nature, and to learn to grow edible plants together in a natural way using organic principles, as well as signposting people to other services and support they might need.
The garden does this by providing naturally grown produce and planting that people can enjoy and learn to grow, hosting community events, volunteer days, activities and workshops including artistic projects. The garden also provides nine raised beds which members of the community, who have limited access to outdoor space, can rent to grow their own produce.
Grapes Hill Community Garden Group (GHCGG) is a registered charity managed by volunteers; the new funding enables us to pay for three part-time freelance workers. It was founded by Fran and Pete Ellington after they realized there was a derelict site next to their home with lots of local people in flats and without gardens nearby.
The group now runs weekly open gardening sessions where local people can come together and garden while making new friends and learning new skills and having fun.
The new funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, which distributes money raised by National Lottery players for good causes and is the largest community funder in the UK, will enable these sessions to continue and hold regular public events in the garden. We will also hold workshops such as art and craft, herbal teas and weaving and dyeing with plant materials.
At the same time, the group will be able to encourage and support disadvantaged groups (i.e. unemployed, unskilled, people with learning difficulties, people struggling with mental health issues and refugees, asylum seekers and migrants) to benefit from the space and the training and support we can offer through tailored volunteer days, workshops, or activity sessions.
Richard Bearman, Chair of GHCGG says: “We’re delighted that The National Lottery Community Fund has recognised our work in this way. Now, thanks to National Lottery players we will be able to continue our work engaging and bringing local people together in this beautiful community garden. This is important because it improves individual mental and physical health and provides a sense of community.”
Matt Salmon, Volunteer says: “Volunteering at Grapes Hill Community Garden has helped me improve my gardening knowledge and meet new people. I have also really enjoyed the workshops on a wide variety of subjects, including herbal teas and nettle cordage!”
The National Lottery Community Fund recently launched its new strategy, ‘It starts with community’, which will underpin its efforts to distribute at least £4 billion of National Lottery funding by 2030.
As part of this, the funder has four key missions, which are to support communities to come together, be environmentally sustainable, help children and young people thrive and enable people to live healthier lives.
National Lottery players raise over £30 million a week for good causes across the UK. Thanks to them, last year The National Lottery Community Fund was able to distribute over half a billion pounds (£615.4 million) of life-changing funding to communities.
To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk
Sunday 19th November 2023 – Winter Pruning Workshop
The Winter Pruning Workshop on 19th November was fun, and productive. Richard Bearman, our Chair, demonstrated secateur maintenance and led on the pruning. We were glad the rain held off until the end.
Sunday 15th October 2023 – Rent A Raised Bed
Applications for a raised bed to grow your own vegetables have now opened. Please apply now. The deadline is 1st December. The Grapes Hill Community garden group will consider how close you live to the garden, whether you already have a garden or allotment when deciding who can have a bed. Current tenants also need to reapply if they want to garden next year.
Download a raised bed rental form (MS Word document). E-mail completed forms to us at contact@grapeshillcommunitygarden.org.
Raised beds should be used to grow vegetables – view the Raised Bed Tenancy Agreement.
The annual membership fee is £3 (unwaged individual), £10 (waged individual) and £15 (group).
Sunday 23rd July 2023 – Art and Culture in the Garden
We held our “Art and Culture in the Garden’ event. It featured art, music and culture with organic wine to buy from Substrata Wines.
Sunday 25th June 2023 – Celebration of International Cultures
Our Celebration of International Cultures was a fabulous success. Over 200 people visited the garden. It was a very hot day. Pictured below are members of The African Choir of Norfolk after their performance.
With thanks to funding from Big Lottery Fund and Norfolk Community Foundation.
Sunday 28th May 2023 – Nature in the Garden
We held our annual event about nature on your doorstep, with stalls, refreshments, a meditation taster session and fun for all the family.
Sunday 23rd April 2023 – Good to Grow Day
Grapes Hill Community Garden in Norwich joined the national Good to Grow Day (formerly the Big Dig Day).
Good to Grow Day is all about exploring how to grow food and to celebrate the start of spring with friends and neighbours.
Grapes Hill Community Garden Group invited visitors to meet neighbours, learn new skills and get the opportunity to grow their own food. We offered an opportunity to grow your own yummy pea-shoots to take away and accompanied children could play Bug Hunt Bingo.
Tuesday 7th March 2023 – Annual General Meeting
We held our Annual General Meeting on Tuesday 7th March 2023 at NNOS chapel, Douro Place, Norwich.
Grapes Hill Community Garden Annual Report 2022.
Monday 20th February 2023 – We’re Norwich’s first Garden of Sanctuary
We are proud to announce we have been recognised as Norwich’s first Garden of Sanctuary.
Friday 20th January 2023 – Vacancies Filled
Our recent vacancies (for a Part-time Gardener and an Outreach & Integration Co-ordinator) have now been filled.
Saturday 17th December 2022 – Two Job Vacancies
We have vacancies for a Part-time Gardener and an Outreach & Integration Co-ordinator.
Closing date for applications – Friday 6th January 2023.
Full details are on our Vacancies page.
Wednesday 12th October 2022 – Volunteer Fair at The Forum
Becky, Jo and Richard attended the Volunteer Fair at the Forum hosted by maNGOma to connect with local people and groups. We connected with 21 people during the day in various capacities.
Wednesday 28th September 2022 – Ninth Sixth Community Roots Session
Jo Hosted an inspiring session on Herbal Teas to 7 participants. It was a wonderful autumnal evening in the garden; learning about the properties of different herbs and flowers, and then getting to taste them too!
Saturday 24th September 2022 – Art in the Garden Public Event
The Garden hosted its third event of the year all about connecting people though Art both visual and musical! There was an amazing lineup of artists displaying their crafts and musicians playing throughout the day. There was even a greenhouse take over by our artist in resident,Niki Medlik! – A very smart choice when the rains started! See our Facebook page for links to the artists who joined. The weather was quite a battle with visitors huddling under the events gazebo for much of the day to seek shelter and enjoy the even more atmospheric acoustics! The sunshine came out for the last hour in time for the Punchhouse band and was a lovely note energy to end on. Thank you for all who visited.
Wednesday 21st September 2022 – Eighth Community Roots Session
The garden welcomed a group of 9 to discuss the importance of seed saving, its history and sharing practical tips, lead by Becky. We then had a go at saving seed from a variety of different dried plants from Grapes Hill Community Garden and Hevingham Community Garden.
Wednesday 14th September 2022 – Seventh Community Roots Session
Becky laid out a feast of salads gathered from Eve’s Hill Community Market Garden and Hevingham Community Garden earlier that day, and lead us through the tastes of the different leaves you can grow here in
the UK. Sharing practical tips along the way and sharing stories among the group of 13 participants.
Tuesday 13th September 2022 – Bloom Group Visit
Becky and Jo returned to the first session of the new Bloom group run by the feed (a 12 week programme for women run by women, improvingwellbeing and providing new skills). Once again they introduced the garden and its history and shared information on how to get involved. Jo led an interactive herb session which sparked a lot of curiosity and new
visitors from the group to the garden the very next day!
Wednesday 7th September 2022 – Sixth Community Roots Session
Holly facilitated another brilliant session- sharing skills to 16 participants on how to weave with plants and stick looms. It was great to be in the garden at the end of the day, relax, connect, and for some of us using them to make Christmas decorations- look forward to the colder seasons
ahead!
Wednesday 31st August 2022 – Fifth Community Roots Session
Holly facilitated a session on Making Seed Paper – we had a go at creating paper from recycled materials and added wildflower seeds, petals and leaves to repurpose materials and produce plantable paper!
Wednesday 24th August 2022 – Fourth Community Roots Session
Becky facilitated an amazing Nettle Cordage session, with nearly 20 people attending! We learnt how to make strong cord from nettles, from processing to braiding, whilst enjoying time together in the garden.
Sunday 21st August 2022 – Volunteer Picnic
We enjoyed a shared picnic in the sun to say a massive thank you to all those who have helped the garden flourish over the past few years.
Thank you so much to those who couldn’t make it too, we hope to celebrate with you soon!
Wednesday 17th August 2022 – On Track Session and Third Community
Roots Session
We welcomed On Track for their monthly gardening session – they did a great job of planting out tomatoes, chard, calendula and shungiku in their raised bed.
Holly facilitated a Sensory Map & Mandalas session. Despite the rain, we made lots of patterns from natural materials and created visual maps based on our senses.
Wednesday 10th August 2022 – Second Community Roots Session
Jo facilitated a wonderful Nature Word Games & Quizzes session; a fun evening in the garden!
Thursday 4th August 2022 – Bishops Garden Stall, Norfolk Green Care
Festival
We were invited to hold a stall at the Norfolk Green Care Network’s open garden event, hosted at the Bishop’s Garden. We connected with lots of wonderful local projects and shared information about Grapes Hill Community Garden with visitors.
Wednesday 3rd August 2022 – First Community Roots Session
We welcomed a lovely group to our first Community Roots session in the garden. We explored patterns in nature, enjoyed some drawing activities and simply spent time together. We are incredibly grateful to the Paul Bassham Trust for funding this project, which hopes to connect people to nature and community in the garden.
Wednesday 20th July 2022 – On Track Garden Session
Thursday 30th June 2022 – Refugee Support Fair Stall
We were invited by the People from Abroad team to hold a stall at the Refugee Support Fair. We shared information about the garden and welcomed lots of people to our mailing list, with the hope of welcoming more refugees, asylum seekers and migrants to the garden. Thank you to Jordan Watson for inviting us and coordinating the event.
Saturday 25th June 2022 – Celebration of International
Culture for Refugee Week
A wonderful day in the garden with a co-hosted event with New Routes welcoming over 200 people for a celebration of international culture, many of whom were new faces to the garden! With a wonderful music from an array of musicians, tasty Lebanese street food, fantastic language taster sessions, info stalls by new routes and maNGOma, and craft stall from artists from around the world. There was a lovely atmosphere to the day and we look forward to working with new routes to do this again next year. Thank you to all who made it so enjoyable!
Sunday 19th June 2022 – Norfolk Green Care Network Visit
Richard and Jo hosted a group of 15 visitors to the garden from the Norfolk Green Care Network. Richard gave a tour of the garden, explained the history and what we offer, and Jo shared knowledge of our herbs in the garden and questions from the group. Followed by networking over refreshments.
Wednesday 15th June 2022 – On Track Garden Session
The On Track group have also started to rent a raised bed in the garden. We’re so excited to see what they grow!
Saturday 4th June 2022 – Yoga Workshop with Sue
Saturday 28th May 2022 – Lino Printing Workshop with Haychley
A great day with some challenging weather! The attendees had a great time learning new skills, despite being huddled in the greenhouse for some of it to escape the rain!
Wednesday 25th May 2022 – Shelter Complete!
The fabulous shelter was completed! A massive thanks to the great work by Patrick and the Groundwork East guys. A very useful addition to the garden!
Saturday 21st May 2022 – Creative Writing Workshop with Donna
EDP journalist, Donna Louise Bishop led two wonderful creative writing workshops (11am to 12.45pm and 1.15pm to 3pm). It was great to hear the variety of pieces written by the participants, inspired by the garden.
We look forward to this hopefully being the start of an anthology for the garden!
Monday 9th May 2022 – Garden Organic 100 Days Project Visit
Richard and Jo hosted 18 visitors from the garden organic network who enjoyed a tour of the garden with Q & As. This was followed by a talk at the Quakers Meeting House, on planting advice and guidance on planting for biodiversity and pollinators by Chris Collins, organised by the Garden Organic and 100 Day Project team.
Tuesday 17th May 2022 – The Feed ‘In Bloom’ Talk
Becky and Jo attended the first session of the new Bloom group run by
the feed which is a 12 week programme for women run by women,
improving wellbeing and providing new skills. They introduced the garden and shared
information on how to get involved, and Jo shared an interactive herb session which was well received!
Thursday 5th May 2022 – Voluntary Norfolk Virtual Fair
We spoke at the Voluntary Norfolk Virtual Fair, sharing information about volunteering opportunities in the garden alongside events, workshops, raised beds to rent and more.
Sunday 1st May 2022 – Wild in the Garden Event
Our first event of 2022 took place on Sunday 1st May. We welcomedWild Encounters, Filigree face painting, Substrata wines, wildlife artists and more to the garden for a day of celebrating the natural world! It was a great day with lots of new faces to the garden, so lovely to see, thank you to all who came along and joined in.
Wednesday 27th April 2022 – On Track Garden Session
On Track returned for their 3rd session in the garden.
Wednesday 20th April 2022 – Groundwork East Begin a New Shelter
Work began by the Groundwork East team for building a new shelter in the garden above Margherita’s bench.
Wednesday 30th March 2022 – On Track Garden Session
On Track returned for their second session in the garden.
Wednesday 16th March 2022 – Spring Garden Preparation Day and First
Volunteer Session
Wednesday 9th March 2022 – St Giles Trust, Notre Dame High School and
MensCraft Visit the Garden
We welcomed our first volunteers from St Giles Trust to the garden and had a wonderful meeting with Colin from MensCraft to see how we could ink up. We also welcomed the Notre Dame High School ‘Green Team’ for a tour of the garden and Q&A session on creating a garden – we also shared some seeds with the group so they can get growing!
Friday 4th March 2022 – Adult Learning Class Visits the Garden
Saleeta and her class from Norfolk County Council Adult Learning visited the garden as part of their ‘Living Creatively’ course. They explored the garden to gain inspiration for their art projects.
Thursday 3rd March 2022 – AGM
We held our Annual General Meeting at Douro Chapel – all garden members and the local community were invited to reflect on the past year and share ideas for the exciting year ahead. Thank you so much to all who contributed.
Wednesday 23rd February 2022 – On Track’s First Garden Session
Following a lovely online co-design session with the On Track group, we welcomed the group to the garden for their first activity session. Jo gave a tour of the garden and we planted primroses, pulmonaria and feverfew. Thank you so much to On Track for their amazing work and enthusiasm!
Tuesday 22nd February 2022 – Visit to Notre Dame High School
Becky, Jo and Holly visited Notre Dame High School’s ‘Green Team’ meeting to hear more about their amazing work and see their growing spaces. They would like to create gardens in their school grounds and are passionate about climate action, it was lovely to share ideas, and meet an amazing group of young people!
Saturday 29th January 2022 – Raised Bed Preparation and Induction
Day
We welcomed our 2022 raised bed tenants to the garden to prepare their raised beds for the Spring, clearing old plants and adding fresh compost to replenish the beds – an exciting time of the year!
Wednesday 19th January 2022 – Voluntary Norfolk Virtual Fair
We spoke at the Voluntary Norfolk Virtual Fair, sharing information about volunteering opportunities in the garden alongside events, workshops, raised beds to rent and more.
Wednesday 8th December 2021 – Winter Pruning Workshop
Jon Darby led a wonderful pruning workshop for garden members, raised bed tenants and the local community.
We learnt lots about pruning techniques and had a go ourselves with the apple, pear, quince
and medlar trees!
Tuesday 12th October 2021 – Vacancy Filled
Welcome to Holly Chantrill-Cheyette, our new Volunteer Coordinator/Integration Officer.
Tuesday 7th September 2021 – Vacancy Filled
Welcome to Becky Rolf, our new Project Manager.
Monday 30th August 2021 – New Vacancy
We have a part time vacancy for a Volunteer Coordinator/Integration Officer.
Start date: as soon as possible and lasting until the end of October 2022.
Full details are on our Vacancies page.
Sunday 8th August 2021 – Ten Years of Grapes Hill Community Garden
We celebrated our tenth anniversary with an array of Arts & Crafts, Brilliant Bands & Musicians and Refreshments including Substrata Wines, Activities, Face Painting etc.
This event included ‘Art In The Garden’ (nature inspired art), postponed from Sunday 25th July 2021.
Saturday 17th July 2021 – Vacancies Filled
Jo Rice is now the Events & Workshop Organiser for the garden.
Sunday, 27th June, 2021 – Wild in the Garden
An event to celebrate nature in the city, with the amazing Norfolk Wild Encounters Hawk and Owl display on the lawn, Hodmedods, Filigree facepainting, Substrata Wines and Give Two Figs! It was a lovely day to reconnect and enjoy the the garden.
Saturday 22nd May 2021 – We Have Some Vacancies
The Grapes Hill Community Garden Group has some lottery funded vacancies, starting as soon as possible and lasting until the end of October 2022. The closing date for applications is Friday 4th June 2021.
Full details are on our Vacancies page.
Saturday 27th March 2021 – AGM News
Our AGM was held on Wednesday 10th March 2021.
The AGM presentation and agenda can be read at
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dlwbi9t8k75t93e/Grapes%20Hill%20AGM%20Presentation%202021FE.pdf?dl=0.
Monday 9th November 2020 – Garden Still Open
We are pleased to confirm that we remain open for visitors to enjoy the garden. Over these next weeks it’s important to try and enjoy some fresh air and the beautiful plants here in the city. Gardens provide a haven for mental and physical health so please do pop along and see what wildlife you can spot in the garden. Please stick to social distancing guidelines.
Sunday 20th September 2020 – Nature in the Garden
A socially distanced nature event, with the amazing Norfolk Wild Encounters Hawk and Owl display on the lawn, The Papillon Project, Hodmedod’s Hedgehog Support and Acle Crafts. It was a nice day of enjoying nature in the city.
Friday 18th September 2020 – Thanks to GoodGym
A big thanks to GoodGym Norwich who visited one evening in September to help with the delivery of our flyers. With their help we have managed to let our local community know about our Nature in the Garden event on the 20th September. Two hardworking volunteers ran round our area, up and down multiple flights of stairs to get this information out to local residents. We look forward to welcoming them back to the garden again soon.
Saturday 25th July 2020 – Nature Art in the Garden
We held this year’s first event, a day full of fantastic nature inspired art in the garden.
Local artists displayed their work and visitors (booked in advance and practising social distancing) viewed the art and enjoyed the garden.
Funded by The National Lottery Community Fund
Tuesday 7th July 2020 – Garden Re-opens
The garden is now open again.
Tuesday 24th March 2020 – COVID–19 Update
In response to the COVID-19 situation we are constantly reviewing activities in the garden this year and will continue inform you of any changes.
Unfortunately, given the recent announcement by the UK government we have taken the hard decision to close the garden to the public from Wednesday 25th March 2020. This is because there is no way we can monitor social distancing in the garden and we must put everyone’s safety first and foremost.
We will be making separate arrangements with raised bed holders who will be able to continue using their bed as part of daily exercise allowed.
We urge you to take the appropriate advice for your situation and practice at all times social distancing wherever you go.
We will again review this if anything changes.
We wish you all well, stay safe and check this website for updates.
Wednesday 4th March 2020 – Annual General Meeting
We held our Annual General Meeting at The Chapel, Douro Place, Norwich.
Wednesday 5th February 2020 – Secretary Vacancy Now Filled
We now have a new Secretary: Heather Stabler. She can be contacted via the Contact Us page on this website.
Friday 17th January 2020 – Secretary Vacancy
Would you like to join the Grapes Hill Community Garden management committee? The post of Volunteer Assistant Secretary is now vacant – see our Vacancies page for more details.
Friday 1st November 2019 – Another New Business Sponsor
Many thanks to Heritage Will Writers for becoming our latest business sponsor. The company visited the garden recently as part of the Norfolk TweetUp and immediately wanted to be part of the growing local business community that helps keep the garden open and looking beautiful for all to enjoy every day of the year.” Local businesses can contact us to find our more about the scheme how they can benefit by emailing ellen@grapeshillcommunitygarden.org
Wednesday 16 October 2019 – On the map!
We are very pleased to be included in this new Norwich Place of Wellbeing Map – one of 12 places that Norwich citizens can go to chill out and enjoy nature whenever they are feeling distressed or just need some peace and quiet.
Friday 27th September 2019 – Donation from Virgin Money Lounge
Many thanks to the Virgin Money Lounge Norwich for donating an extra £500 on top of the £250 earlier this year to the garden. The community garden group is grateful to be supported by a grant from the Virgin Money Foundation.
Wednesday 25th September 2019 – ‘Thank You’ Party
We were able to thank many of our volunteers and supporters with a small party funded by the Virgin Money Foundation . The rain put many people off but we are grateful to Louise Wilding for opening the doors of the back room at the Reindeer Pub so that we could carry on in style. It was great to welcome some of our business sponsors too, including Rhino Greenhouses and Adam from Loveday & Partners who is specialising in ethical and environmental investments.
Monday 16th September 2019 – Would you like to rent a raised bed in this community garden in 2020?
Applications must be made by 1st December 2019.
Download an application form here.
You must be a member of the Grapes Hill Community Garden Group to apply for a raised bed – download membership application form here.
Annual membership fees:
Individual (unwaged) £3.00
Individual (waged) £10.00
Group/ family £15.00
Raised Bed Fee Small Bed* Large Bed
Individual (unwaged) £5.00 £10.00
Individual (waged) £10.00 £15.00
Group/ family £20.00 £25.00
Allocation of beds is subject to certain criteria as agreed by members of GHCGG and on signing of a tenancy agreement. Full terms and conditions can be viewed on the website or by contacting the group using details above.
* The five smaller raised beds are designed for accessible gardening by wheelchair users who will be given priority.
Tuesday 14th September 2019 – Norwich Meetup For Eco Conscious Business Owners
The garden provided an outdoor setting for the Norwich Meetup For Eco Conscious Business Owners. It was a thoroughly enjoyable 2 hours shared with some inspirational local businesses with the opportunity to sample or buy some products. Richard and Fran spoke about the garden and Jo offered garden tours. They say:
“Thank you Fran and Richard for all your efforts and hosting us in such a great space in Norwich and for providing tea, coffee, cake and water. Thanks to Norwich FarmShare & Sara By Nature & Life Shakes & Natural Spa Supplies Ltd & Jill Loves Tropic for taking a stand and supplying us with great food, drinks and products to buy. What a great evening!”
Wednesday 4th September 2019 – Fantastic Funding News for Grapes Hill Community Garden
We have just heard that we will receive funding for the next three years from the National Lottery Community Fund. We are one 1600 projects to share more than £58 million. Our new project, starting in November this year, focuses on creating an improved volunteer programme and family growing project. The aim is to encourage and nurture volunteers from the local and refugee communities to develop their confidence, self-esteem, well-being and sense of belonging. We will provide a full range of horticultural experiences and facilitate volunteers to work towards gardening qualifications if desired. At the end of the project, we would hope that the increased volunteer participation and improved community integration would contribute to the longevity of the garden.
We have a vacancy for a Lottery-funded Integration Officer and Volunteer Coordinator. The deadline for applications is Monday 16th September 2019.
See our Vacancies page for more details.
Monday 2nd September 2019 – Big Bike Revival
At the end of August we held two events in collaboration with Cycling UK’s Big Bike Revival.
On the evening of Wednesday 28th August the garden hosted a free cycle maintenance session. The next day Richard Bearman led a cycle ride to Norwich FarmShare at Whitlingham, which provided residents and volunteers with an opportunity to try out their repaired bikes and gain some confidence on the road. This is part of the group’s commitment to improving air quality in Norwich, general health and well-being and increasing mobility without negatively impacting the environment.
Monday 8th July 2019 – Funding for Volunteer Sessions
We are very grateful to the John Jarrold Trust for funding all the volunteer sessions and family sessions for 2019 from July onwards.
Friday 5th July 2019 – All our 25 fruit trees are now sponsored
Many thanks to Jill Watkinson and family for sponsoring and dedicating the last 4 trees to family members past and present!
Jill’s company – Jill Watkinson Sales and Marketing – is also a generous business sponsor and is also one of the four funders for the WooWoo waterless toilet in the garden.
http://www.grapeshillcommunitygarden.org/Fruit_Trees_List.pdf
Monday 1st July 2019 – A New Tree Sponsor
Many thanks to Hebe, Maud, Melanie and Steven for sponsoring the Apricot tree in the community garden. Tree sponsorship is a vital source of funding for the garden and a lovely way of commemorating a life or a special moment. There are only three fruit trees left to sponsor out of a total of 25.
See list here: http://www.grapeshillcommunitygarden.org/Fruit_Trees_List.p…
Thursday 27th June 2019 – A New Business Sponsor
Many thanks to Loveday and Partners for agreeing to sponsor the garden. We invite local businesses to sponsor the garden for as little as £50 a year to help fund general running costs such as insurance, replanting, website hosting etc. In return they may host an event in the garden such as a party for clients and or employees.
Saturday 8th June 2019 – Summer Fayre and Grand Opening of the WooWoo waterless toilet
It was a cold, wet June day, which was disappointing for the stall holders who were selling a superb range of quality crafts and other goodies. Our volunteers did us proud baking cakes and providing hot drinks for those who made it to the event despite the weather. The musicians played on with good humour and raised our spirits and the resident wren filled in the gaps! The highlight of the day was the arrival of the Lord Mayor and Sheriff of Norwich with their consorts to open the newly installed WooWoo wind powered waterless toilet in the garden which has been funded by the Norwich Freemen’s Charity, the Norfolk Community Foundation, Jill Watkinson Sales and Marketing and Triple Bottom Line Accounting. They enjoyed a tour of the garden and a brief history from Richard and cut the “ribbon” which was a beautiful wreath made from branches of a flowering Jasmine. Our distinguished visitors were very impressed with the new loo and how it works by separating liquids and solids, followed by rapid dehydration and evaporation powered by the wind and the sun. This latest instalment will pay for itself in 4-5 years by saving on the annual hire of a chemical portaloo. We recommend that you pay a visit!
Thursday 16th May 2019 – An evening with Grapes Hill Community Garden
The Norwich Virgin Money Lounge hosted an evening with Grapes Hill Community Garden for their members and the members of the garden group. Richard gave a short history of the garden, Fran talked about our various projects and our need for more volunteers, sponsors and funds and Ellen Mary presented a talk on ‘gardening for well-being’ which was very well received. We welcomed our guests with a glass of organic wine from Substrata Wines Norwich, who also offered the opportunity to buy a bottle to take home donating 10% to the garden group. We separated into smaller groups for people to ask questions, and this included a table on gardening and permaculture hosted by Steve Land. We took our photo displays for everyone to enjoy. Thanks to all who supported this event.
Sunday 14th April 2019 – Permaculture for Gardeners – Patterns in Nature
Steve Land from the Eastern Permaculture Gathering gave a free short talk to volunteers and answered questions before the volunteer session started. Very interesting!
Friday 3rd May 2019 – Hands-on AQA level 1 Award
The gardening course at Grapes Hill Community Garden got off to a good start and was fully subscribed. It runs for 10 weeks every Friday until 5th July, 9.30am -1pm. The Grapes Hill Community Garden Group is very pleased to be hosting this course in collaboration with Eves Hill Veg Company. The course is free to anyone who has not been working for 12+ months funded by Norfolk Community College which is part of the Building Better Opportunities programme, which has received funding from the National Lottery, through the Big Lottery Fund, and the European Social Fund as part of the 2014-2020 European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme in England.
Sunday 5th May 2019 – Nature Day with Hawks and Owls
Thanks to everyone who came or supported this event last Sunday! We had over 400 visitors throughout the day despite the cold and ever threatening rain!
Thanks to the cake bakers – what a wonderful array! To those who helped on the day, to our stall holders, Substrata Wines Norwich , Hodemedods Hedgehog Rescue, Norfolk Master Composters, Filigree Face painting and RSPB Norwich for supervising the building of bird boxes for adults and children to take home.
Not to forget the stars of the day the birds of prey from Norfolk Wild Encounters.
The GHCGG made a surplus of over £200 after expenses. THANK YOU!
You can see the album of photos by clicking this link here.
Tuesday 19th March 2019 – Annual General Meeting
We held our AGM at the Douro Place chapel which sits in the heart of this community. The photo display was put up again and enjoyed. We have a new member on the committee and the current members were re-elected, a colourful booklet was provided for all attendees with our annual report which was summarised by Richard and included our funding report. Peter presented the year’s accounts. Minutes are available on request.
Saturday 23rd February 2019 – Coffee morning and community consultation
Sponsored by the East of England Co-op.
Members of the community joined us for a free cuppa and cake in the Douro Place Chapel and enjoyed a fabulous display of Jo Rice’s photos taken at a selection of events, workshops and projects in the garden last year.
We welcomed many new visitors who then walked down to look at the garden for the first time. New and established users of the garden gave us lots of feedback about what works well for them and what the garden group could do to improve both the garden and the opportunities next year.
This feedback will inform our planning and future applications for funding.
Saturday 16th February 2019 – Help to pay for our Gardener
We would like to raise funds specifically to pay our part time gardener so that she can run the parent and child gardening group and the the volunteer sessions as well as manage and maintain the garden all year round. The total needed for 2019 is £2,500 and money raised above this amount would help guarantee her employment for future years.
Our general charitable mission is providing local residents with opportunities to learn or share horticultural skills. The design of the garden allows full use by wheelchair users. Free events enhance social cohesion by providing fun, education and entertainment for all age groups. Anyone can visit the garden which is open every day of the year free of charge for all to enjoy!
You can donate by clicking on the button below or here:
Saturday 9th February 2019 – New Website Launched
Jeremy has built a new website for the garden, replacing the original one that he hand built in 2009. The website address stays the same: grapeshillcommunitygarden.org.
Thursday 31st January 2019 – A generous grant from the Norwich Freemen’s Charity.
We are delighted to announce receipt of £5000 from the Norwich Freemen’s Charity and have now placed an order for a waterless, solar-powered and environmentally friendly compost loo with a secure cabin which is due to be installed in May.
In November the Norfolk Community Foundation granted the GHCGG £2500 which kickstarted our campaign and we received another £25 from Jill Watkinson via the CAF fundraiser that we set up.
Thanks to Fran for her research into all sorts of compost toilets. The one we have decided on, the Kazuba KL1, whilst not the cheapest, looks great and is very low maintenance and we hope will give many years of service.
https://www.waterlesstoilets.co.uk/kl1
Friday 25th January 2019 – Two new tree sponsors
Thanks to Tombland Books for sponsoring the ‘Boskoop Glory’ grapevine – an amusing play on words. Thanks also to Lou Wilding of the Reindeer Pub for being so supportive of the garden since she took over the pub a year ago and for recently sponsoring the ‘Strawberry’ grapevine.
Tree sponsorship helps with necessary funding for annual running costs of the garden. There are now only 4 out of 24 trees left to be sponsored.