There’s a magical acre of land beside the Rochdale Canal in Failsworth where you can find beautiful meandering gardens, a thriving orchard, a handful of goats and a lot of smiling faces.

It's called the GROWE Project, run by Northern Lily Community Interest Company, and it’s one of the incredible Green Spaces Fund projects that are bringing more accessible, nature-rich green space to Greater Manchester.

With our new 'Green Spaces Stories' series, we’re bringing our Green Spaces Fund projects to life so you can find out more about the incredible work they do.

The zen-like vibe of the GROWE Project really must be experienced first-hand so until you can pay them a visit, enjoy this in-depth Q&A with Victoria Holden, Director of Northern Lily.

1. Hi Victoria! Tell us the backstory of your project.
 

Northern Lily CIC took on a derelict site in Oldham in 2022 and, in partnership, created the GROWE Project. The site had lain empty for several years and required an incredible amount of work to make it safe and accessible. 

The orchard needed restorative pruning across its 166 trees, and the area was boggy and unusable for six months of the year. Many of the trees were afflicted by disease and needed replacement. The site consisted of overgrown fruit trees and grass which didn’t entice people into the space. While you could walk through it, there was nothing compelling enough to encourage people to stay. 

We wanted to change that, because we could see the site had a lot of potential and just needed some TLC.

2. What did you hope to achieve with your project? Have you accomplished your goals?
 

Our vision was to create a versatile space that people could use for a wide range of purposes. We aimed to restore the orchard, ensuring it remained fruitful for years to come.

Additionally, we sought to enhance natural features, providing a range of habitats for birds, bats, amphibians, and hedgehogs. Within the orchard, we envisioned rest and relaxation spaces, as well as shelter to allow people to use the area even during heavy rain (and it does rain a lot!).  

We’ve made substantial improvements to the site, including shelters, seating, and natural features such as ponds, woodchip pathways and a wildflower meadow.

These enhancements create a functional space that is open to the public and free to use for various community activities that connect people with nature.

3. Have you any good statistics you can share with us?
 

30 new trees and over 1000 plants have been planted across the site, alongside 30 new features like bat and bird boxes, bug hotels, ponds, a hügelkultur seating area and a forest school shelter. 

So far, we’ve hosted 35 events at the project, showing people of all ages how to grow, harvest and preserve food, make compost, learn sustainable gardening techniques, prune and take care of the orchard, graft new fruit trees, enjoy cooking and eating together, and discover nature. 

We’ve also hosted 10 employer volunteer days with Dentsu UK, First Choice Homes Oldham, Connelly’s, and Bupa over the last 12 months, with over 250 volunteers giving their time and skills to help improve the space.     

Over 1000 people have been involved across all the activities on site over the last 12 months.

4. What has been the biggest impact that your project has had?
 

The project has been impactful in many ways, which is amazing to witness. For example, the orchard’s productivity has significantly improved through restorative pruning and replacing trees in partnership with The Orchard Project. This has restored the orchard to its original purpose: providing food for the local community. 

Speaking of which, it’s had a massive impact in terms of community engagement. The project attracts a diverse range of people and local groups.

People of all ages, abilities, cultures and walks of life access the space from across Greater Manchester.

Our site hosts numerous weekly activities, such as gardening, training workshops, community events, holiday activities, forest school sessions, bike riding, and goat therapy. The feedback from site users has been overwhelmingly positive.

We’ve noticed a particular impact on children and young people. When they visit, they’re often reluctant to put down their devices at first. However, after a short time, they become fully engaged and love playing in nature.

They explore the site, build dens, discover bugs and worms, and generally behave like happy kids. Many don’t want to go home and exhibit a remarkable transformation from overstimulated to calm in a matter of hours. 

Our efforts have noticeably improved the site’s biodiversity, too. We’ve surveyed the pond and discovered newts, dragonfly larvae, water beetles, snails, and spiders. Additionally, the dead hedges attract an array of bird species that serenade us with their songs.  

5. In relation to your project, what are you proudest of?
 

I’m proud that we’ve created a usable, all-year-round space for a wide range of activities that attracts a diverse array of people from across Oldham.

The GROWE project showcases how unused land can be used for creating a space for inclusion, connection, food, wellbeing, biodiversity, and opportunities for the community to learn new skills.  

6. What’s coming next?
 

We’ve just launched a paddle sports centre for canoeing, paddle boarding and kayaking at the project site, which we’re super excited about.

We’re planning to raise investment to create a sustainable café in partnership with Haleh Morevej, an expert nutritionist, and run educational workshops on preserving food skills.   

We’re also expanding our community bike library in partnership with Moston Cycling Walking who lend out bikes, teach bike maintenance and run guided rides around Greater Manchester.

7. How has the funding from the Green Spaces Fund aided your project? Would you recommend it to others? 
 

The Green Spaces Fund has been incredible, not only helping us to restore the community orchard, add natural features and create habitats for wildlife, but also providing networking opportunities, great events and the expert advice of Nina, our Green Spaces advisor.  

This has led to collaborative work with other Green Spaces groups and connected like-minded people who want aid nature conservation and community development in urban areas of Greater Manchester.

8. What advice would you give to a group in Greater Manchester who wanted to launch their own Green Spaces Fund project?
 

Go for it! The Green Spaces Fund has helped us achieve our goals and connected us to groups across Greater Manchester.

Make the most of the Green Spaces advisor for your area (ours was the amazing Nina Agnew) from the application stage and throughout your project - their support and guidance is invaluable!  

9. How can people get involved if they’d like to know more about your project?
 

Connect with us on social media, all our weekly events are listed on these platforms and updated regularly.  

Instagram: @NorthernLilyUK  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.co.uk/NorthernLily/  

Email: northernlilyuk@gmail.com