There was warm sunshine and bright smiles when the Channel 4 Tool Club team unveiled the amazing DIY makeover of our community allotments. The was a dream come true for the people we support and the staff who came together with families, friends and volunteers with a vision for a space that would bring the whole community together and a project called ‘Plant to Plate’ which we have applied for funding for.
SGCA Operations & Project Manager, Harriet Roberts applied to be on the show in February 2022 after spotting a call out on social media. Interviewed at the big reveal she explained how important the project has been for reconnecting Stanley Grange with our the local area and raising the profile of the incredible three-way partnership we have with Future Directions CIC and the families and friends.’
Harriet said: ‘The presenters and production crew told us that although we were saying a huge thank you to them, they felt that they should be saying thank you to us. Everyone got quite emotional. They had a very special experience being at Stanley Grange for two weeks. Some said that they had been changed themselves by getting to know the people with learning disabilities and working outside in the fantastic surroundings.’
Many relatives of the people we support came to see the finished results and look around the amazing design elements, many of which had been created by the staff and residents. These included a chair, a herb garden and trellising. Children from Brindle St Joseph’s RC Primary school came along with their parents to see their finished plot which they have adopted and the baby vegetables the have planted, complete with a miniature scarecrow. Activities Coordinator, Liam Pemberton even got to drive the Tool Bus when we found out that he used to be a real bus driver!
Because the programme, made by production company, Beezr TV doesn’t air till October 2022, we can’t give too much away before then but here are some snaps of the happy smiles on the faces of some of the people who came along.
A huge thank you to Holland House Nursery and the friends and families who donated so generously to make this first part of the project possible.
We are always grateful for donations to help us buy plants for our allotment: https://www.stanleygrange.org.uk/donate
29 April 2022