In April 2021, with support from People and the Dales, we started creating a community garden where we can grow our own vegetables and increase the range of flowering plants to attract butterflies and bees. Our raised vegetable beds were planted up and quickly began to produce fresh rocket and salad leaves, French beans, broad beans, peas, onions, spinach, turnips, radish, kohl rabi, pak choi and potatoes. We hope Centre users will be involved in deciding what vegetables are grown during 2022.
Car park clearup
Before we could make a start on the garden we needed to clear some of the car park. A number of staff and volunteers came together to tackle the job, which included trees being lopped and clearing bulky items by skip. The children were also involved with litter picking in the area, contributing to the huge effort made to change the outlook of the car park and the overall look of this little corner of the Girlington locality. The work has transformed the look of the car park, which is now being maintained and provides a lovely resting spot for staff and the community to use. Further expansion of the garden is planned over time.
The pictures below show some of the volunteers involved in the clean-up, and the fresh organic vegetables ready in just a short space of time.
