Bringing people together in Salford
Gardening with others can help to combat loneliness and social isolation – discover how we worked with a women's group to help them connect and grow
On a pouring day last September a small group of women, dressed head to toe in waterproofs, were determinedly tapping out pots of primroses and heuchera. They were busily transferring them into their new garden at the Salford Foundation’s St Mary’s Centre in Eccles.
To say they were proud of their work is an understatement. These women, who have multiple and often complex needs, are part of Salford Foundation’s Emerge project, which aims to reduce loneliness and social isolation, by developing peer support programmes.
Renovating an unloved space
A study commissioned by the RHS highlighted that more than half of adults in the UK suffers from loneliness. But taking up a new hobby or joining a community group can go a long way to combat these feelings.
The women in this group were brought together to renovate the unloved and underused garden at the Centre, with the support of the RHS Greening Great Britain programme. The Centre already had an allotment project off-site, however, staff wanted further outdoor opportunities so that more women could enjoy the benefits of community gardening.
A sense of ownership
RHS Regional Development Manager, Claire Drury first met the women in the spring and while she'd been facilitating the project she’d been encouraging them to make all their own decisions so that the finished garden was truly theirs.
Claire showed the group how to do a simple site survey, to map the existing space before they started transforming it. Then, gaining confidence, they each created a mood board, pooled all their suggestions and added a selection of everyone’s ideas to the site plan.
“They wanted it to be colourful,” said Claire “with something in flower every season. They also wanted it to be wildlife-friendly, and those things actually go hand in hand. If you’ve got something flowering in all seasons, you’ve got something for wildlife, as well.
A place for women
Back out in the garden Phil, the Foundation’s CEO braved the weather. Through the rain, he watched how confidently the group were bedding in lady’s mantle (Alchemilla) and other herbaceous perennials, and said he was more than a little surprised by how much they had embraced the project, as they could often be hard to engage.When the garden was planted up and the rain cleared, the site was transformed. It’s a place for women, created by women, where they can sit together and have a chat over a cup of tea.
The Centre is on a popular thoroughfare and the site of the garden had previously suffered problems with fly-tipping. Staff were worried that it might be prone to vandalism, but as one of the women said, “local people can see how hard we worked on it and how important it is,” so that hasn’t been an issue.
Giving people a joint interest
Working together to weed and plant borders
Planting out heuchera in different shades
“This really brought them together,” said Claire. “They created friendships here. It’s not just a garden.”
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