We are excited to announce that we have won the Hampshire Grassroots Action Award for our ‘Alton in Bloom Community Grow Club’ This means that we are now one of four projects that have been nominated for the CPRE Hampshire Choice Award!
Your support means the world to us, and we would greatly appreciate your vote –
The Community Grow Club is a new initiative from Alton Town Council that launched last year and is about more than just gardening; it’s about growing together as a community. Over the past year we have held a series of multigenerational community sessions and have carried out projects that have enriched our town, environment and wildlife while teaching families to grow their own food and flowers like…
Planting new community orchards with the help from residents and local school children. The first was planted at the Hawthorns allotment and the second added to the fruit trees at Barley Fields. The trees for these orchards were supplied from the Hampshire Forest Partnership who said: The Hampshire Forest Partnership were delighted to support Alton Community Grow Club to create two new community orchards in Alton. We are helping make Hampshire a greener place to live and deliver ‘a legacy in leaves’ for future generations. Find out more and how you can get involved: Hampshire Forest Partnership | Hampshire County Council (hants.gov.uk)
Grow Club workshops were held in the Public Gardens in the spring where we taught families how to grow plants from seeds. Sowing a variety of pollinator friendly flowers that were then planted out into the town centre planters and flower beds. Along with vegetables and fruit that were planted into the Community Kitchen Garden beds in the Public Gardens. The children have really enjoyed watching them all grow and then being able to eat them when they visit the park!
We quickly realised that a major barrier to joining in with the Grow Club sessions was that not everyone has access to gardening tools, so Alton Town Council created a ‘Garden and DIY Tool Library’. Where the Grow Clubbers and other community groups can borrow equipment for free. The team at Hampshire Waste Prevention were delighted to support the project and said: Alton’s Garden and DIY tool library initiative was funded by Hampshire County Council’s Waste Prevention Community Grant Fund. To date the library has lent out over 130 items, saving residents more than £4,500 in the purchase of new items.
Alton Town Mayor, Annette Eyre said: We are delighted that the achievements of our volunteers and Town Council officers have been recognised with the Hampshire Grassroots Action Award for our ‘Alton in Bloom Community Grow Club’. We hope that their hard work and dedication to make our town a better place for the community, environment and wildlife is also recognised by the people and ask you all to vote for the Community Grow Club project to win the overall CPRE Hampshire Choice Award!
The Community Grow Club was part-funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund with a grant from EHDC’s ‘Grow Up’ programme. It supports projects growing, planting, education and helps residents reconnect with residents while promoting mental and physical wellbeing.
You can learn more about our Alton in Bloom – Community Grow Club project online, watch our video, and vote for our project to win the award by visiting: www.cprehampshire.org.uk/hampshire-choice-award-cast-your-vote