Community Planter Project

OCF’s Thriving in Nature grant aims to improve and enhance lives through green spaces. Our work at Rose Hill Junior Youth Club (RHJYC) over the next three years will focus on developing a range of free support for children, young people and adults, who will have access to wellbeing in nature social groups, exciting nature activities and community initiatives. We have so far focussed on running our allotment which children from local schools and our Youth Club as well as our weekly adult wellbeing group have been nurturing and enjoying our allotment space. We have also offered families and adults trips to visit local green and natural spaces which have been well attended. In the community we have run nature and art workshops alongside a recent Nature Day as part of Big Green Week at the Community Centre. It is through these community outreach activities that we have learnt that there are still barriers from accessing our work and natural spaces more generally. These include mobility issues but also cultural and societal barriers (mental health, accessing language) too. This has given us the idea of working with our local community to create a natural space outside our Community Centre which will be designed to be wheelchair accessible and enjoyed by all.