Timsbury Hall Community Wildlife Garden project

Since the last entry the group have been gathering information needed to apply for a Awards for All grant.

They are working towards converting part of the ground behind the hall into an area that will have a garden area with wildlife area,  In their words -they want to create an area that is a haven for wildlife, a  meeting place and an area where the community can come together. 
As you can see they have big ambitions,  not only to achieve a fantastic physical space but also a space that can be enjoyed in many different ways.
The grant application form was sent of just before Christmas so fingers and toes crossed that they will be successful.

As with all projects such as this even though they have been working on this for a long time , if and when they raise enough funds there is still lots more to do.

They are well under way to achieving there goals. I have been able to assist them by looking at other ways to bring in further resources and offering them the space  to consider what has gone before them as well as thinking about what the future might hold.

The strength of the group stems from the fact  that they have a good cross section of people with different skills and experiences on board .

As my time with them was drawing to an end, I asked them if we could offer them additional assistance as I had a small amount of funds available to them.

They asked if we could buy them a Scrapstore membership for the next year as well as a garden hose and some children's gardening tools , we were happy to assist. along with the things they had asked us for also we treated them to a bird bath, some bird feeders and bird seed to encourage the children to think about ways to attract the wildlife.

Its been lovely working with this group Its a great community project and I wish them every success in their endeavours

Awbridge Wildgrounds Group getting ready for the spring

The weather being the way it has, it has been difficult for me to meet with the group, so as per usual much of our correspondence has been via email . As my time with them was now coming to an end I asked if there was anything else I could do to help them out after all being a pretty resourceful bunch they hadn't needed much  financial help from me and I still had a little left in the kitty to assist.

The main things they wanted was one  years Scrapstore membership  and some children's gardening gloves and tools to help them get going in the new year and of course we were happy to help with this request.   

So on Wednesday I finally got the chance to meet up with a couple of them as well as some friends to try out some of the equipment and to check out how the soil conditioning was going..

We should of brought our wellies

I still haven't found any treasure 

So this is it my time with the group has now come to end ...and it is great to know that they are already planning ahead and have arranged to meet up again this friday to plan for the coming months and they are already talking about seeds

Over the last year people have come and gone however the group is now made up from  a strong core group of seven  with plenty of people willing to lend a hand when needed and knowing how resourceful they are I am sure they will be planning some great activities in the future.
The well known saying - Mighty oaks from little acorns grow seems very appropriate.

Writing project at Hurstbourne Tarrant

The CB project have been working in a rural village on a family writing project. This was the 2nd session of what is proving to be a very popular and enjoyable project. Storyteller Claudia friend and CB outreach worker Stuart, have teamed up to help the school produce a book of creative writing about life in the village.

This week the group produced imaginative maps of their surroundings, pointed out their favourite places and landmarks.

Awbridge Wildgrounds group planning for the spring

Several members of the group along with myself and a new member Colin a local resident and a enthusiastic gardener all came together last Friday to decide on the next step for the community garden.

After some discussion about the direction and focus for the future taking into consideration the time that people are able to contribute to growing this project ( excuse the pun)
The plan of action was agreed to be the following :

• To concentrate on getting the new raised beds ready for the spring and to get a composter on the go
• To look at ways of involving the children for example  asking them to explore what ingredients need to go into making good compost, for each class to plan for what vegetables could go in their plot thinking about slow growing and fast growing fruit and veg, maybe link this to other themes e.g historical periods etc , also maybe to help by planting seeds etc.
• To look at ways of involving families for example holding sessions to learn more about growing vegetables and sharing skills and to consider what plants are needed in the wild grounds area to help attract creatures that will keep the slugs and nasty beasts at bay
• Maybe to start  a gardening club or arrange a number of activities

With all of these plans in mind we decided that we needed to focus on the things that need to happen before the Christmas break,  namely organising a composter which Colin  kindly offered to donate to the project and to set a date to prepare the soil in the raised beds ready for the spring.

The other things to consider was how we were we going to find the organic materials we needed to prepare the soil.

The provisional date for digging (subject to good weather) has been set for this Sunday morning, a tight schedule indeed,  however its amazing what a group of enthusiastic people can organise in a short time.

As to the  donations of well rotted manure, personal approaches combined with a leaflet out to the parents has brought in lots of offers of help which is great because they are going to need at least 25 bags of the stuff.

Mr Barnes the headteacher has also offered to write a article for the village newsletter asking people for donations of tools and useful implements.

Aviary Community Garden Planting Afternoon

The rain held off just long enough for the members of the Aviary Community garden group to start planting some winter vegetables!

Tony and Anne from the Allotment society joined us to offer valuable advice as well as bulbs to plant. As it was a cold afternoon, we brewed hot chocolate for everyone using a couple of storm kettles which don't require electricity or gas - they boil by burning

dry twigs and paper underneath!

Bird and butterfly feeder activities with families at Timsbury Pre School

This week I spent a morning with parents and children at Timsbury Pre School near Romsey.
The Pre School are part of a bigger project at the community hall to develop a community garden they were really keen to take part in a activity where they could learn how to make feeders to attract wildlife into the garden.
Everybody had lots of fun learning how to make two different types of butterfly feeders  ready for next spring as well as a  bird feeder to put out now ,  local birds are now benefiting in the area by getting a little more help when they most need .
The adults and children were really pleased to learn how to  make feeders from materials that they could easily collect and also do their bit when it came to recycling .

Bishops Sutton Family Art Workshops

October and November saw two more workshops run by Scrapstores, Stuart Jebbitt and local artist Melissa Simm.

Free taster sessions in making ‘art’ with scrap have been held at Bishops Sutton’s village hall for children and parents.

Where dragons roared in September ghoulish ghosts materialized in October, just in time for Halloween! November’s workshop saw many a strange creature and they all had blue fur!

Fun were had by all, kids and the adults! and to the delight to those who have already been to the last three, one more taster session will be going ahead on 6 December, a Christmas special, where an opportunity to make decorations to hang on your tree (or wherever else you may choose to hang them!)

The sessions are from 3 til 4.30 at Bishop’s Sutton village hall, so bring your imaginations and come on down!