No.93 Gardening Group

Working together to create a community garden for everyone.

Gardening benefits

Exposure to green space can have a positive effect on both physical and mental health. Studies have shown that gardening can reduce depression and anxiety and local green space has been linked to improved mental health and wellbeing. For older people, gardening can be a useful source of physical activity, while supporting independence and reducing loneliness. Living in areas with green spaces is associated with less income-related health inequality, weakening the effect of deprivation on health. Urban green spaces can contribute to social cohesion, but the quality and maintenance of green spaces is important to make them appealing.

Location

No.93, 93 Church Lane, Harpurhey, M9 5BG

Project team

No.93

Sow the City

Aim

The aim of this group is to bring people together with an interest in gardening, to make a community space for everyone to use and enjoy.

This project is being delivered at No.93 in Harpurhey every Tuesday morning following community conversations at different events, groups and locations across Harpurhey.

A consultation took place after delivering the community conversations at No.93 to see if people would be interested in joining, and also where they would like to see the garden progress, 10 people attended.

When the project officially started there were 3 people involved, however due to commitments they had to stop attending. The group has now slowly developed over time through promotion in the community.

“The group started with just 2 people but has started to grow which is great. There is a nice social aspect to the group and it is helping me to earn new skills."

Evaluation

This project has resulted in increased participation in the community and the new centre, creating a safe environment for people to interact and exchange skills, knowledge and passion, reducing social isolation, improving wellbeing, and offering opportunities for people to learn new skills.

We now have 8 people attending on a regular basis and have started to develop plans and look into different funds for the garden.

We are now planning working at a social distance and moving forward with the garden after lockdown. With the help of Sow the City, we are creating plans for the garden and look forward to seeing the group and garden expand and grow.

We hope that by next summer we will have a beautiful space for residents and service users to spend time in and socialise.

Strategic Links to local/national policies

Benefit	Policy
Increased mental wellbeing	Manchester Health and Wellbeing Strategy
Supports older people	Taking Charge of our Health and Social Care in Greater Manchester (GMCA, 2015)
Reduces income-related health inequalities	Fair Society, Healthy Lives (Institute of Health Equity, 2010)
Improves local area	Our Manchester Strategy
Increased social cohesion	NHS Five Year Forward View (Department of Health, 2014)
Can be used for social prescribing	General Practice Forward View (NHS England, 2016)