Urban Growing
By Abi Sweet and Guy Manchester
An end-of-the-year update by Abi Sweet and Guy Manchester from the Community Gardens Team at Alive Activities growing projects. Alive has been running social and therapeutic horticulture (STH) sessions in care homes and community gardens across Bristol for over a decade.
As the first frosts and blustery winds swept across Bristol, our growing spaces began their well-earned winter rest. Meanwhile, our team and participants have been busier than ever, digging into an array of exciting projects. Here’s a roundup of what we’ve been up to this autumn.
The Wellspring Settlement gardening group has welcomed Harriet, our new Gardening for Health worker, who now joins us weekly to support our sessions. [See photo above by Abi Sweet.]
Together, we’ve launched community bulb-planting activities around the centre, created bug hotels, and are gearing up for a wreath-making workshop using locally foraged materials. The garden is buzzing with creative energy!
Session sizes have been a roller-coaster over autumn. In the middle of November, we had our busiest session of the year, with 26 people joining us. The less busy sessions have been a welcome chance to reflect on the season and make plans for 2025.
Our volunteers continue to make Brentry the success it is by instilling a sense of community through a warm welcome to all, so an especially heartfelt end-of-year thank you to all of them.
Thanks to public donations and the efforts of University Hospitals Bristol and Weston (UHBW) volunteers, we’ve reimagined Sanctuary Square’s living wall at the Bristol Royal Infirmary.
We also brought our insights to UK Dementia Congress 2024, sharing the success of gardening with patients living with dementia in hospital settings. We hope our experiences inspire similar projects across the country.
Our Talbot Road dementia-friendly site has been brimming with life this autumn, producing bumper crops and nurturing a vibrant wildlife community.
This healing space owes much to the support of our volunteers and participants, whose enthusiasm and care continue to make it flourish.
The wildlife garden at Lawrence Hill Health Centre has shone as part of the Trinity Arts Nature in Newtown series. This inspiring video highlights the wellbeing benefits this space offers to local older adults and biodiversity alike.
We’ve been busy improving the garden for local wildlife, hosting green craft activities, and enhancing the terrace to support NHS staff wellbeing.
We’re thrilled to announce our latest venture: weekly dementia-friendly gardening sessions at Weston General Hospital!
We’ve started by rejuvenating the Rainbow Garden, a sanctuary for staff, and are now bringing the joy of gardening indoors to keep patients warm and engaged during the colder months. This project has already shown incredible promise, and we’re eager to see it bloom further.
From crafting wreaths to planting for biodiversity, autumn has been a season of growth, community, and creativity across our gardens. Thank you to everyone – participants, volunteers, and supporters – who have joined us on this journey. Here’s to an inspiring year ahead!
What’s a celebration without bunting and a good brew? The Hoppiness Project concluded with two joyous sessions where we crafted hop-themed decorations and sampled beer brewed with our very own hops.
The project even caught the attention of the BBC and the Guardian, which produced a short film showcasing one of our September sessions. Catch it on Instagram or TikTok!
If you want to get involved, keep an eye on our updates and join us in making Bristol bloom. We have volunteer sessions on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays at different sites. 🌱 Find out more about our work.
To stay updated on future events, job opportunities and news, don’t forget to sign up for our monthly newsletter at bristolgoodfood.org/newsletter.
So, what change do you want to see happen that will transform food in Bristol by 2030? Do you already have an idea for how Bristol can make this happen? Join the conversation now.
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