Grozone is the Community Garden of the Month in April's Garden Answers magazine, which is on sale now.
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Our latest visit to Grozone saw us establish another 2 posts which, being where the ramp takes a turn, required more careful positioning and furthermore coincided with an area with a deep hole left after the extraction some time ago of a tree stump. Sarah M. put her dignity at risk by going into the hole and did a valiant job baling out, and , more joyfully, rescuing 4 frogs that had made their home there. We found new projects being developed all over at Grozone, most noticeable being a new vegetable plot, rodent protected and heavily manured, ready for the growing season. We were pleased to have a visit from Norman and to hear his recovery from his eye operation is going well and that he is hopeful of returning to us fairly soon. This week marks the first anniversary since Grozone started opening six days per week. There have been so many highlights, but we've picked out just a few. As part of the Grozone Learning Adventure Project, pupils from Years 10 and 11 at the University of Chester Academy Northwich (UCAN) have been visiting Grozone on Thursdays to work towards their John Muir Awards. Pictured are Shane, Zack and James from Year 10 receiving their certificates with project leaders Andy Martin and Sarah Barnes. The project is supported by The Rudheath & Witton Together Big Local Partnership and the Cheshire Community Foundation. Watch our video to find out more about the project. *Story taken from the Vale Royal CCG website. A local horticultural therapy project for people experiencing mild to moderate depression and anxiety is proving to be a huge success with local residents. Commissioned by NHS Vale Royal Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), the project takes place at Grozone community garden in Northwich. Andy Martin, Project Manager (pictured left), said: “Grozone is a welcoming oasis for wildlife and people in the heart of Northwich. The horticultural therapy project has supported people living with mental health conditions to access the garden, make new friends and learn new skills whilst receiving support from the Grozone team.” To celebrate the success of the Horticultural Therapy project, residents who have taken part in the scheme were invited to take part in a series of short films to share their experiences and encourage others living with mild to moderate depression or anxiety to come along and get involved. Jonathan (pictured above), a local resident who has taken part in the project said: “Grozone has helped me a lot; I was finding it difficult to get out and meet people and feeling quite socially isolated. “The staff here are really friendly and helpful and you get to meet people with similar experiences as you.” NHS Vale Royal CCG will continue to fund the horticultural therapy project until September and has been able to offer Grozone additional funding to help upgrade the outdoor cooking area at the site. This will enable Grozone to expand their already popular cooking sessions and involve more people in activities. Dr Jonathan Griffiths, GP Chair of Vale Royal CCG, said: “Grozone are always looking for new faces to join their thriving community project. If you’re living with a mental health condition and are registered with a GP in the Vale Royal area the project is free and could benefit you. You can take yourself along or apply for a place by asking your GP to refer you.” The Grozone horticultural therapy project takes place every Wednesday and Friday afternoon, 13:00 – 15:00 at Grozone Community Garden, Old Danes Nursery, Northwich, Cheshire, CW9 5QA. Grozone is open to everyone and does not exclusively focus on people who have depression and anxiety. If you have any questions about the project, contact Andy Martin on 01606 723160 or email [email protected] We've had all sorts of things going on at Grozone this week. Last Friday we were making a 'Bug Hotel' out of donated pallets as part of our Family Club activities: On Saturday we had a wet day but were very happy to welcome new visitors who had braved the elements to come to the Vickers Way Park Open Day and came to have a look at Grozone while they were there. We had fun making some dens and wood shelters - the waterproof qualities of both were severely tested...! Tuesday was one of our regular, fortnightly Outdoor Cooking with Fresh Seasonal Produce sessions and we cooked 'Bubble and Squeek' using Grozone potatoes, cabbage, onions and herbs, with afters of Courgette Chocolate Cake; one of the BBC Good Food recipes, specially designed to use up some of that seasonal glut of courgettes! On Wednesday we had a Dementia Awareness session led by Julia Tickridge, our local 'Dementia Champion' for Dementia Friends. Julia was very keen to run the first outdoor session of the programme here at Grozone! We learned how Dementia can be a result of brain diseases of many kinds and how it doesn't only affect older people. People with dementia can have good, happy lives, especially if the people around them appreciate some of the difficulties they face and are able to provide support and understanding. Grozone volunteers and staff are proud to be Dementia Friends.
We would like to say a massive thank you to Norton Priory and Paul Quigley at the Walled Garden for a fantastic day out enjoyed by all. We would also like to thank them for generously allowing us to cook pizzas in their cob oven. We have come away thoroughly inspired, not only to build our own cob oven, but to shamelessly borrow many of their best ideas for ourselves at Grozone!! We look forward to welcoming Volunteers and staff from Norton Priory back to Grozone to enable us to return their hospitality. Lunch will be provided!! Here are some of the photos from a wonderful day: Today we learned about the benefits of a Mindful approach to day to day living from Jan and Jo from Mindful Outlook. Some very though provoking ideas emerged, along with some really valuable techniques for dealing with stress and anxiety in daily life and at times when we face our most serious challenges. We are considering running a full 8 week Mindfulness course and welcome any expressions of interest from anyone who would like to take part in this. Please message us at [email protected] Today at Grozone we had numerous activities going on, including fence weaving, levelling ground and a visit from one of the Forest Schools.
Groups also planted out a number of brassicas that were ready to leave the greenhouse and the last bits of the soon-to-be shed office were painted. India, a student on work-experience at Grozone, says 'I'm thoroughly enjoying my time at Grozone, and I love the range of activities that are being opened to me.' |
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