Community Garden

 – The Community Garden is a shared space within the Castle Vale Allotments. The area has been developed to increase the local community’s accessibility to gardening and food-growing activities in a safe and friendly environment.

We have tried, where possible to create a garden that is accessible to people of all abilities in our community by providing features that facilitate its use. The garden entryways and paths are wide, easily manoeuvrable, well-maintained and free of obstacles making it easier for people who use wheelchairs and walkers, those with limited mobility and elderly members of the community. There are also 12 growing beds that range from ground level to 1,5m height to suit different generations/all our users.

The garden has several permanent features that help enhance the activities we deliver on-site, including long sitting areas, picnic tables, a homemade clay oven, a reflection area and a polytunnel. The polytunnel was built with the invaluable support of a very experienced plot holder, and it allows us to propagate plants for the ‘mother garden’ and ‘local flora’ projects and extend the growing season. In addition, homes and feeding stations for birds, mammals and invertebrates attract and provide protection for wildlife, increasing their overwinter survival prospects.

Our community garden serves many beneficial purposes: it allows community groups to have access to the site to learn how to grow vegetables, it enables a wide range of educational-based activities, and it brings together different generations, allowing the creation of social ties and a greater feeling of community.