support us on Your Fund Surrey
Can you spare a few moments to help us? We're taking part in Your Fund Surrey. Surrey County Council is giving local communities up to £100m over the next five years to spend on projects to improve their local area. We'd love to secure funding for space2grow under this initiative so please click the link below to the funding map, click on Farnham, find our pin in the middle of space2grow and the relevant comments and scroll down to agree and show your support! Please feel free to share on your social media too.
https://yourfundsurreymap.commonplace.is/comments/5ff8b35d869a882122182eb3
We had some lovely responses to the announcement of our award from Jeremy Hunt MP as one of his Community Heroes 2020.
Eileen from Nottingham joined our mailing list and had this response to our last newsletter:
"Congratulations space2grow! And so well deserved. It always sounds amazing there. And how lovely to hear Lou’s history and how she started the therapy sessions in the talking shed. Everything about space2grow glows warm, fresh and fun. And that’s just from your newsletters!
Well done again for your award."
And Sarah wrote:
"I am so very glad you won this award as it is so well deserved!! What could have been quite a miserable time for my children was made so much happier by our afternoons on the acre, so thank you so much xx"
Transform Housing & Support clients would like to say a huge thank-you to space2grow and Coral for their recent cookery course. The course was run over five weeks for six clients. Many Transform clients find it difficult to engage in new activities and learning/group environments due to anxiety and lack of confidence. One of the many benefits of Coral’s course was that Transform staff were able to be involved at the beginning to assist clients to overcome their fears. Transform staff were soon not needed as our budding chefs developed a confidence and enthusiasm for cooking, built a trusting rapport with Coral and found themselves looking forward to the course each week. For most, it has been the only structure and contact with others that they have been able to reliably engage in since Covid restrictions first hit us in March 2020.
One client stated “the course got me out more in the last five weeks than in previous months. It gave me something to focus on other than what was going on in my head. Coral is an amazing teacher and I learned some simple recipes I can make for myself having only eaten ready meals before.”
We at Transform were delighted to see such enthusiasm, and pleased that every client cooked the recipes again after each week’s course. The recipes learnt included bread, soup, lasagne, and sausage rolls – all of which looked delicious in the various photos we were shown!
Six clients have had the opportunity to develop confidence both socially and in cooking, something that they would have been unable to do without Coral’s amazing skills as a teacher and mentor and without the relaxed, safe environment that space2grow provides. We hope to be able to continue offering these six clients, and many more in the future, the opportunity to learn such valuable skills that so many of us are lucky enough to take for granted.
Work on the pond continued this week with re-positioning of the liner. Leaves were raked and added to the leaf mulch and Frank kept everyone busy throwing his ball!
In this week's reflections from the acre Nicola, trustee, shares her thoughts....
"I've been involved in space2grow since the very beginning when a small group of us set about clearing and creating just the right amount of order from the overgrown acre. With very little gardening knowledge but a sturdy pair of wellies and my dogs in tow I soon came to love spending time on the acre, learning about tending a garden, meeting new people and also learning about myself.
I've helped shape what we have today through working on the admin that goes on behind the scenes, working with the trustees to find the best way to make the most of the acre for the people who come here. Achieving charitable status last year was a big development in our story and something I'm very proud of. Seeing people enjoying the acre and the help it gives in overcoming personal struggles is a real joy. I love seeing people's reactions when they first visit the acre and experience it's magic for themselves, especially in the summer when the wild flower meadow is at its best and the vegetable and flower beds are brimming with produce and colour. I feel very lucky to be involved in this special charity and look forward to welcoming more people to reap the benefits space2grow offers in the future.”
If you would like to share what the acre means to you please email info@space2grow.space - we love hearing everyones reflections.
As always, we are working hard to ensure that space2grow remains a Covid safe site so please email info@space2grow.space prior to your visits, bring your own food and drink, take any rubbish home and please adhere to social distancing.
Thank you and see you soon!
