Northampton allotment awarded £3,600 from National Garden Scheme’s Community Garden Award

The allotment will use the money to create a wellbeing garden and wildlife area with insect homes and hedgehog habitats
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

A Northampton allotment is one of 75 community garden projects across England and Wales to receive thousands of pounds from the National Garden Scheme’s Community Garden Award.

C2C Grows is a social and therapeutic gardening project run by the Northamptonshire charity, C2C Social Action. It is set on a triple sized allotment plot in Northampton and aims to offer a safe, tranquil space for women to learn how to grow fruit, flowers, vegetables and herbs.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The project has received a total of £3,600 in funding from the National Garden Scheme (NGS), following the organisation’s Gardens and Health week.

The C2C Grows allotment in Northampton.The C2C Grows allotment in Northampton.
The C2C Grows allotment in Northampton.

Women’s Outdoor Learning & Support Worker at C2C Social Action, Sophie Griffiths, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded funding through the National Garden Scheme’s Community Garden Award.

“The funding will enable us to improve our project in many ways, including creating a wellbeing garden with pond; installing new seating and developing a wildlife area with bird feeders, nesting boxes, bee and insect homes and hedgehog habitats.”

Produce from the allotment is shared and cooked at C2C Social Action’s Women’s Centre in Northampton and is used to raise awareness about fresh, locally grown food and improve nutrition.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The women referred to the project may have been in the criminal justice system, or may have experienced ill mental health and need support with improving their wellbeing.

Ms Griffiths continued: “Providing a peaceful space for the women we support to spend time in nature will further add to our offer of running a gardening project where women can improve their wellbeing in a social setting, something that is of ever pressing need in post pandemic recovery.”

The funding came from the distribution of £189,617 from the NGS as part of their Community Garden Award scheme, which was established in 2011 in memory of garden writer and journalist, Elspeth Thompson, who died in 2010.

The scheme has since donated around £400,000 to almost 200 community projects.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

For more information about C2C Grows, contact Sophie Griffiths on 07885 685781 or email [email protected].

Visit C2C Social Action’s website to find out more about how the charity supports people in the criminal justice system.