The Journey so Far
At the beginning
Growing Sudley is the result of many years of community work and consultation. A number of groups and individuals have been integral to its development since 2012.
The current plans for the project are based around ideas the community have had on how to bring the walled garden back into constructive use, which have been collected and documented at public events.
Engaging the community
An early activity by the group around historical food production was delivered as part of the city wide Mr Seel’s Garden project, another initiative saw a community garden established with raised beds plus a mini-orchard (since vandalised). Seasonal community events such as Halloween, camp fire cooking and family forest events were well attended and allowed us to discuss and consult on ideas for the garden. We have over 200 community members who drive the organisation, and hold at least two seasonal gatherings per year as well as the regular projects and activities.
Growing A Therapeutic Garden
A number of public events and consultations were held during Growing Sudley’s early development and a website and social media presence were established to provide a forum for discussion about the site. The collages (below) visually represent many of the ideas the community had for the space: from allotments to star gazing to a viewing tower that would take in the fabulous vistas of the city, the Mersey and the Welsh hills beyond. A public consultation and questionnaire circulated to residents and park users showed some kind of horticulture project as being the most popular use of the walled garden by far.
During Spring-Autumn 2017-2020, we ran 4 years of pilot projects funded by Big Lottery Awards For All. These consisted of regular gardening and outdoor sessions with adults with disabilities and health conditions, and outdoor nature-themed holiday clubs with local children aged 5-11yrs, as well as various community events and activities in the garden. The pilot projects were invaluable in holistically developing our thinking about the garden and the organisation as well as continuing to grow community involvement at grass roots level. They allowed us to build up a good picture of how the garden might work for the local community whilst developing plans for longer term sustainability.
