Thursday 28th December 2017 – Please Respond to our Survey
We’ve enjoyed a packed year of workshops and events in the garden and we couldn’t have done it without all of you being involved!
If you have 5 minutes would you let us know via this survey how our garden could serve the Norwich community better in 2018? Tell us what we are doing well, what needs improving and what activities or events you would like to see in the garden in 2018 and anything else you think is important to share.
Please inform us of your thoughts here.
Sunday 10th December 2017 – Volunteers’ Christmas party
This was a chance for the community garden group to say thanks to all our volunteers this year including gatekeepers, gardening and events volunteers, cake bakers, leaflet posters etc. The Reindeer pub kindly provided the venue, participants brought some lovely food to share and the group was able to buy everyone a drink from the Reindeer bar. We look forward to working with our volunteers again and welcoming newcomers in 2018.
Wednesday 22nd November 2017 – Wildlife Gardening in the Urban Environment
We are grateful to the Natural History Museum for funding this talk given by Larissa Cooper, who is originally from Paragon Place and was involved in the setting up of the community garden in 2009 – 10. We are also grateful to the Norfolk and Norwich Operatic Society for allowing us to use The Chapel which is a great venue in the heart of the community that we aim to serve. This was a joint event with the No Fear Gardening group and was advertised and aimed at the whole community but the group also spent some time encouraging the elderly within the community to join us by sending invitations to the various sheltered housing and retirement residences in the area.
Larissa is an Ecologist (GradCIEEM) and Wildlife Gardener with ten years’ experience. For the past five years she has worked at the Natural History Museum in London, helping to care for the Wildlife Garden; a living gallery of British lowland habitats, which covers just one acre and home to over 3,500 species in the 25 years since it was created.
Larissa gave a fascinating talk about her work at the museum and about the importance of wildlife gardening in urban environments followed by an interesting question and answer session. Many thanks to Ellen Mary Webster for organizing this community event.
Saturday 11th November 2017 – Armistice Day morning
This was another lottery-funded event which was open to everyone although we targeted the retired community by leaving publicity in the all the nearby retirement complexes, community centres and sheltered housing. It was a morning of poignant readings, histories, and poetry delivered by members of the local community including Simon Floyd of the Common Lot and his friend Owen Evans, who is better known as one of the Nimmo Twins. We respected the two minute silence at 11am, marked by the Last Post and Reveille played by local trumpeter Adam King. Neil Bignall (war historian) was on hand to answer questions in full WW1 military uniform and we put on a small exhibition of local war history. You can see photos of the event here.
Tuesday 31st October 2017 – Family Halloween Trick or Treat
Another lottery-funded event for families with small children who enjoyed hot chocolate, pumpkin soup, pumpkin carving and some safe trick or treating within the garden. Ellen dressed up as a pumpkin was not to be missed! All children went away with a goody bag containing seeds and sweets. We had lots of lovely feedback including this one: “Thanks very much for a charming event – spot on for a toddler who fell head-over-heels in love with the pumpkin lady“.
Thursday 26th October 2017 – Please vote for us in the Aviva Community Awards
Please vote for us in the Aviva Community Fund Awards. This could secure £1000 to pay our part-time gardener in 2018 who would run some extra mid week volunteer sessions for those who cannot make our regular Sunday afternoon tasks. Follow this link to vote now!
Thursday 19th October 2017 – No Fear Gardening Live
We took our information stand to the No Fear Gardening TV event at Epic Studios in Norwich, and our Chairman Richard Bearman joined the garden experts on stage for this LIVE streamed gardening show from the studio. Richard discussed growing and cooking fruit and vegetables, no matter what shape or size, encouraging everyone to grow their own food. This event was arranged by the first year media students at City College Norwich with the help of Ellen Mary and Mr. Plant Geek (Michael Perry). The programme included gardening speakers, gardening films about using plants indoors and creating a jungle garden along with how gardening can benefit us all plus live music and much more! It was a great way to show gardening can be terrific fun. You can see some photos here.
Monday 16th October – Norfolk Community Learning Services visit
Patrick welcomed a small group of 5 adults and two staff from Norfolk Community Learning Services (NCLS), based at Wensum Lodge in Norwich, who are looking to plan their own community growing space. Their Growing Together tutor, Caroline Fernandez, told us they were particularly interested in apple trees and composting. They enjoyed an inspiring question and answer session and went away with some good ideas and a few cuttings!
Saturday 15th October 2017 – Celebration of International Culture
Our ‘Celebration of International Culture in Norwich’ event was part of our lottery-funded outreach to migrant communities in Norwich and was organised by Ellen Mary in collaboration with Roshan Dykes of New Routes.
The autumn weather was sublime, and the event was a great success with over 200 attending from all parts of the globe. With a full programme of music, entertainment from around the world, story-telling and lots of exciting stalls including the Missing Kind, The Feed, Malaysian Food, African Crafts and Henna Tattoos. The garden group served up teas and coffees and put on a language taster stall which was very popular.
A key attraction was the opportunity to sow some wildflower seed balls donated by Seedball a social enterprise, in our wildflower meadow area. We hope that all participants return in the spring to see the results. The afternoon was hugely enjoyable and seeing our diverse community all coming together to support each other and enjoy the garden was such a positive experience for everyone. Thanks to all who got involved in the preparation and on the day! There are plenty of colourful photos on our Facebook page posted by attendees and on our album here.
Sunday 8th October 2017 – UEA Students Join Garden Task
Eight students from the UEA School of International Development joined our volunteer afternoon and got stuck in despite the mud and rain helping to clear an overgrown area to the left of the lawn for new planting. In return for their help, our volunteers answered a short survey to help with their current research project. Photos of the afternoon and the new plants listed above can be seen here.
Friday 6th October 2017 – New Plant Purchases
Fran and Jo visited Urban Jungle nursery and plant centre in Old Costessey and purchased six plants for Sunday’s volunteer afternoon.
The new purchases were: Helenium ‘Mardi Gras’ (Sneezeweed), Rudbeckia fulgida var. deamii (Black-eyed Susan), Ceratostigma willottianum (Chinese plumbago), Begonia ‘Benitochiba’ (Painted lead Begonia), Clerodendrum bungei (Glory flower) and Melianthus major (honey bush).
Monday 11th September 2017 – Little Growers
After a year’s break we welcome back Little Growers, run by Sophie Betts from City and Eaton Children’s centre, for fortnightly play sessions.
Sophie says, “It is such a great opportunity for our families to engage in physical activity and for children to learn about nature. As the setting is so perfect for our outdoors group, we have been able to organise mud play, water play, craft play and physical activities which are all beneficial to children’s development. The children love sowing our range of seeds, from onions to broccoli and sweet peas to cyclamens. And thank you to Richard, Fran and Ellen for all their help in advising me on what seeds to choose for the little ones to plant! Even though it’s early days, we are hoping our children will look after their plants, keep them watered and watch their food and flowers grow.”
Thursday 24th August 2017 – AVIVA Community work team (incorporating a pruning workshop)
Grapes Hill Community garden was host to five keen office workers from the Aviva office in Norwich who got stuck into some physical work for the day. The volunteers were led and instructed by Jon Darby, a pruning expert from Easton college, Jo Rice our part time gardener and ‘hands on’ chairman Richard.
Our thanks go to Calum, Sam, Peter, Wilson, and Paul from Aviva and to Janet Whitehead of Volunteering Matters, a registered charity that arranges volunteering opportunities for office workers.
Wednesday 23rd August 2017 – Summer Workshops
Our series of summer workshops is now finished for the year.
These lottery funded workshops were held in the garden, with free places for low income and unemployed.
Thanks to everyone who attended, and to the knowledgeable instructors.
Permaculture (Saturday 1st July 2017) – Ben Margolis from The Grange in West Norfolk, expertly talked a group of like-minded attendees, through the principles of Permaculture. It was an enjoyable day, and we received excellent feedback. It was a great taster day to get an insight into how we can enhance biodiversity and reduce our impact on the planet. If you are interested in permaculture, Ben runs a design course at The Grange: www.thegrangenorfolk.org.uk.
Upcycling on an Urban Scale (Saturday 5th August) – An activity packed day run by Ed Harkness where everyone got stuck in making old items usable in the garden. From watering cans made from bottles and a fantastic pallet planter along with items to keep birds off the vegetable patch and terracotta pot hanging baskets, it was a hands-on day! We donated the pallet planter to Stepping Stones charity in Norwich. Take a look at their allotment where Ed is the Horticultural Tutor here: www.steppingstonesproject.com/greenfingers.html.
Organic Food Growing (Saturday 8th July) – We strongly believe in organic gardening, so this workshop run by Ed Harkness captured the way we can use items from the household and garden to keep pests away, feed our plants and keep costs low. From Comfrey feed to garlic spray everyone left armed with new ideas to create an organic haven in their own gardens. Plus we ended up with a bucket full of comfrey ready to be diluted to feed the garden. A fun and educational workshop.
Introduction to Wildlife Gardening (Saturday 12th August) – Our gardens can be wildlife havens, so Jeremy Bartlett spent the day with attendees in the garden discussing how to create a garden with wildlife in mind. Topics included planting, providing homes and increasing overall biodiversity in the garden along with meadows and even recording wildlife. There will be many more wildlife friendly gardens out there now! To have read of Jeremy’s blog, go to www.jeremybartlett.co.uk.
Parent and Child Social – The community garden is the perfect place for children to enjoy being outside and with nature. We held an hour session each Thursday for four weeks during the Summer for children to enjoy watering the plants, learning about fruit and flowers plus some even got to taste gooseberries. Friends were made, and there are plans for a possible new schedule again in the future. We are hoping to get some funding for some garden friendly children’s toys as well.
Beginners’ Gardening Course (Thursday 13th July to Thursday 3rd August) – From 13th July for four weeks, Ellen Mary ran a beginner gardening course on Thursday mornings in the garden. Attendees learned how important it is to understand soil and the benefits of composting. The group even propagated Lavender and Hydrangea cuttings along with helping each other with ideas for their own gardens. These friendly and informative few weeks allowed everyone to gain the confidence to get outside in the garden and give it a go.
See photos of the workshops on Facebook.
Monday 26th June 2017 – Goodgym Norwich visit
Thanks to Goodgym Norwich for choosing our community garden for their first venue this evening.
Fran said: “What a great bunch of people! They came, they weeded, they litter picked the surrounding area and shovelled compost, and then they ran off! We loaded them up with squash and cake to keep them going for the run back. We were still smiling one hour later. Wow. Flash mob gardening. I recommend it”.
See photos on Facebook.
Sunday 25th June 2017 – Big Community Picnic
We held a ‘Big Community Picnic’ to provide some free entertainment and fun or the neighbourhood.
The Dulverton Trust funded the event with the aim of carrying out some community consultation to inform the GHCGG trustees on how the garden can better serve the needs of the local community after five years of relatively low engagement.
Nearly 500 addressed envelopes were hand-delivered to the neighbouring flats containing a short questionnaire to be exchanged for £10 of food and drink at this free event. The group advertised the event widely and it was well-attended. Visitors were able to bring a picnic or buy from the two food stalls and our licensed bar while enjoying music provided by The Dirigibles, The Baroness and the Bear and an excellent group of buskers who stood in last minute for a late cancellation.
This was an enjoyable event thanks to our team of wonderful volunteers who stuffed and addressed envelopes, door posted the questionnaire, baked cakes and helped set up and run the stalls.
Despite the large crowds, see photos on Facebook, only three questionnaires were returned and exchanged for goodies on the day. This was disappointing but also convinced the trustees to terminate a very active and long-standing campaign to engage with the residents of the nearby estate. The group will consider new target groups for outreach in the future including children and families and the refugee and migrant communities of Norwich.
Monday 12th June 2017 – Norwich Job Centre visit
Tom Adams from Norwich Job Centre brought ten young people to the garden to look around and consider some volunteering. Our lottery funded part-time gardener, Jo Rice, met them and talked to them about the plants that are growing.
Tom was pleased with the visit he said “Just the education and learning about edible fruit/veg was a learning curve for the group. They loved the tasting and smelling. I know some of them expressed an interest in returning, even if that means learning/exploring a bit more without any physical activity” We would be delighted to host such groups in the future.
Friday 19th May 2017 – Talk at Norwich City College
Ellen and Fran had a great morning at Norwich City College talking to ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) students about Grapes Hill Community Garden and the benefits of community gardening and volunteering. This was part of an initiative organised by Active Citizens Together.
Sunday 30th April 2017 – Nature in the Garden
Our 5th annual Nature Day in Grapes Hill Community Garden was a great success. Yet again we were blessed with dry weather and nearly 400 people attended throughout the day. The baby owls stole the show and all the nature themed stall holders tell us they had a good day.
We sold large quantities of tea and cake baked by several of our volunteers and combined with Susan’s bird game we made a surplus of just over £200. Lots of happy customers returned home with a free window sill salad growing kit funded by the Big Lottery. Thanks to all the volunteers who helped on or before the day to make it such a great success and everyone who donated plants and cakes.
Monday 6th March 2017 – Lottery Funded Job Vacancies Now Filled
We are pleased to announce that we have employed Ellen Mary of No Fear Gardening as our lottery funded part-time Outreach Officer and she will begin work at the end of this month.
We are also pleased to announce that Jo Rice is our new lottery funded part-time gardener. She will be in the garden on Sunday 19th March to lead volunteers and to help the new raised bed tenants with their vegetable growing plans for 2017. If you have rented a raised bed, we encourage you to come and talk to Jo.
Sunday 5th March 2017 – Indoor Spring Fete and community outreach
A big thank you to everyone who helped make today’s fete such a success.
Despite the dreadful weather, which undoubtedly kept more people at home, we entertained a good crowd. Thanks to all the stallholders who joined us, to those of you who hand delivered leaflets to advertise the fete, cake bakers, and all the people who volunteered today on the GHCGG stalls or helped set up and pack away. This event could not have happened without this incredible team effort – so thanks again to everyone who took part!
This was not a fundraising event as the Big Lottery entirely funded it as the start of our 2017 community outreach. However, the various donation buckets, sales of tea and cake, cork competition, etc. raised an extra £198.21.
Saturday 21st January 2017 – Job Vacancies
Following our recent National Lottery bid, we are now able to advertise some paid roles. Full details are on the Job Vacancies page.
Monday 16th January 2017 – National Lottery Award
We are pleased to announce that the Grapes Hill Community Garden Group has been awarded National Lottery funding to expand our work.
We will be carrying out community consultations, putting on more events and workshops, improving our signage and employing some part time positions including a gardener, and an outreach officer / events organiser.
We are hoping to make the garden and the group work better for our immediate neighbours and other users of the garden. Look out for our posts in the next week or so.
If you are interested drop us a line so that we can send you the details direct. If you have any ideas for events that are not listed in our upcoming events section above, then again let us know! Contact us by email on contact@grapeshillcommunitygarden.org or via our Facebook page or Twitter.