Volunteers take over Q Gardens

Local councillor Richard Farnell gets dug in with volunteers Ruth Sillence and Brian Yates

A group of gardeners has taken over the Q Gardens allotments on the Kirkholt estate and Councillor Richard Farnell visited the gardens to meet the volunteers at a special launch party.

Councillor Farnell said: “Q Gardens has been growing for a couple of years, helped along by the Council, Groundwork Trust and Boroughwide Housing.

"Now, a dedicated bunch of volunteers are taking over and running the site themselves.

"It’s a great example of residents coming together and making a real difference on the estate.

“They are already around 20 strong and they are so skilled and enthusiastic. And in the true spirit of a co-operative, the fruits of their labours are divided equally among the members. It’s great to see the project thriving and people enjoying themselves. The volunteers are great people and I know the gardening club will be a huge success." 

Volunteer Jill Hughes said: “We are a really friendly bunch and more people are joining every week. It’s a great opportunity to get out the house, meet new friends, learn new skills and also get fit. You can bring along the kids too.

"We grow lots of things, and also run cookery lessons so people can eat more healthily with all the food we are growing. We also run arts and crafts for the children.

“We also have the local Brownies taking part, local schools are joining in and the homeless charity Petrus helps out too.”

If you would like to join up – just turn up to Q Gardens on Queen's Drive any Wednesday or Sunday between 11 and three – and get dug in.