A disused patch of land behind a cricket club in Bolton has been given a new lease of life after being transformed into a vibrant and accessible community garden.
The Deane and Derby Cricket Club Community Garden Project secured a substantial grant of £15,000 from the Greater Manchester Green Spaces Fund.
Launched by Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, the fund supports community-led projects that increase the amount of nature-rich green space across the city-region.
With the guidance and support of Green Spaces Fund advisors and the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, the funding has allowed the club to create an inclusive garden that benefits the local community, providing growing space and biodiverse wildlife areas, as well as workshops, regular events and green volunteering opportunities.
The project aims to engage individuals who may not have previously had much experience in outdoor activities and encourages people from all backgrounds to actively participate in gardening, conservation, and outdoor education.
Recent events have included a tree and hedge planting day where members of the community were encouraged to muck in and learn about plant maintenance.
One attendee at a recent gardening session said:
“I had an amazing time today planting with members of the community including young children who did a marvellous job!”
Another said the event was
“very therapeutic – I felt connected with nature and got a few gardening tips.”
It’s fantastic to see the garden fulfilling its aim of becoming a place where people can come together to learn, grow, and connect with one another and themselves.
The group has even played host to a team from Enterprise Rent-A-Car for a corporate volunteer day. Colleagues from Enterprise visited Deane and Derby Cricket Club to lend a helping hand in the garden.
They proved a very helpful bunch throughout the day; installing raised beds, painting picnic benches and laying paving slabs to create a new path through the area.
The team from Enterprise got stuck in during their corporate volunteering day
As well as becoming a space for encouraging community spirit, it’s hoped that the garden will attract lots of vital wildlife to the area, such as birds, butterflies and bees. The latest improvement to the site has been the addition of a pond, which is sure to bring even more biodiversity to the garden.
Throughout the project's delivery phase, Green Space Fund advisors remain involved with the development of the garden, actively supporting with project implementation, greenspace management and wildlife conservation.
They have also been working with the group on upskilling, empowering them to take on more responsibilities in the management of the garden.
The Deane and Derby Cricket Club Community Garden Project is a wonderful example of the positive outcomes that can result from collaborative, inclusive, and environmentally conscious projects.
Helping people come together to improve their local environment as well as the wellbeing of their local communities is a key objective of the Green Spaces Fund, so it’s brilliant to see this community garden project going from strength to strength.
