Projects
We have a number of on-going projects at Hammersmith Community Gardens Association:
Local Foods...
Get Growing is an exciting new three year project funded by the Big Lottery Fund's Local Food scheme.
Get Growing was launched in Ocotber 2009 and will work wth pre-school nurseries, children's centres and parent and toddler groups scross the Hammersmith and Fulham borough. We will facilitate fruit and vegetable growing, cooking and eating. Ongoing INSET training days and visits to Ravenscourt Park Glasshouses will help give staff confidence to grow their own plants with children.
Our Get Growing co-ordinator will also visit the early-years establishments to give technical growing advice and support and draw up garden maintenance schedules. A selection pack of unusual fruit and vegetables seedlines will be sent out in the spring.
Activities...
The Get Growing project includes:
- INSET training for staff teaching under fives
- Pre-school site visits and individual action plans
- Advice on growing fruit, vegetables and sourcing materials
- Monthly email of 'What to do in the garden'
- Trips to Ravenscourt Park glasshouses and 'Pick your own farms'
- Composting advice and guidance
What they said about us...
'At our nursery the aim is to use vegetables and fruit grown in our, soon to be created, allotment to cook seasonal recipes. Being part of the 'Get Growing' project will ensure that we have the support and expertise to realise this aim, and to gain skills that will enable us to continue the learning and teaching beyond the length of the project. We are therefore very much looking forwards to participating in the project.'
More information...
If you are interested in the Get Growing project, please email us here or call 07875 492 814.
We have a Get Growing brochure, that you may download here.
Get Out There! is an exciting new 3 year project launched in March 2010. We will work with local people across the Hammersmith and Fulham borough to provide training courses for adults and day trips away for families. The project is funded by Natural England through Access to Nature, as part of the Big Lottery Fund’s Changing Spaces programme.
What will trainees get from the project?
Through our 12 week training course (one day/week) you will learn a range of useful and rewarding new skills in basic environmental management. Gain practical conservation management skills, experience in tool use, improve your wildlife ID and lots more! You will get the opportunity to visit larger more varied sites across London such as woodlands, wetlands and meadows, as well as our own sites and gardens in Hammersmith. Our courses are open to adults who want to try something new and Get Out There!
We are particularly interested in recruiting people who have been long term unemployed. You don't need any experience to join in.
The first Get Out There! Training course will start Thursday 29th April and run for 12 weeks.
For more details and an application form, please contact Anna (details below).
What will families get from the project?
The Get Out There! project will deliver a programme of fun seasonal visits and activities for local families throughout the year. Trips and activities could include pumpkin picking in the autumn, bushcraft and wild food in the spring and pond dipping in the summer! Get out and about with Get Out There!, meet other families
and visit new places in a supportive and relaxed environment.
Get Out There! includes:
- Regular and meaningful voluntary training placements for adults
- Access to variety of local sites and large sites across and outside of London
- Training and support based on personal aims
- Information on additional training and further volunteering opportunities
- Fun, seasonal family activities throughout the year
- Enjoyable trips and celebration events
For more details about the Get Out There! project and to find out how you can get involved, please contact Anna:
Tel : 07969 754564
Email: getoutthere@hcga.org.uk
Post: HCGA, 1 Melina Road, London, W12 9HY
You can download our information leaflet here and an application form here.
What is Herbal Haven - Thyme to Get Together?
Herbal Haven - Thyme to Get Together is a project centred around growing herbs and making simple cosmetics, home remedies and household products from herbs. The activities create the opportunity for the younger and older volunteers and participants to develop positive relationships across a practical learning platform and to share their knowledge and experiences.
The project, which is funded by the government through the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, will be launched in April 2010 and run through to January 2011.
What will participants get out of the project?
Participants will be able to learn and garden alongside different generational groups, in various informal settings, transforming what they grow into useful herbal products. They will have at least one herbal product to take home with them after the individual workshop, to use and enjoy! They will also be able to visit a variety of herb gardens through organised trips, and be able to learn more about the herbs themselves through specially-designed study days.
Programme of activities
Weekly sessions will be held at various venues, including Phoenix School Farm, the Ravenscourt Glasshouses and the Old Oak Community Centre. Sessions will include growing herbs from seed, developing the existing herb plots, and discovering how to use herbs for health and healing within all cultural traditions (Western, Ayurvedic, African, Chinese). Workshops will include basic aromatherapy massage, herbs in practical cooking and 'lotions and potions' making activities.
A series of trips to venues that have herb collections and botanical gardens will be organised. Kew Gardens, Chelsea Physic Garden, The Geffrye Museum, the Royal College of Surgeons and Bishops Palace are amongst these places to visit.
During the course of the programme there will also be 5 inter-generational study days, open to new participants too, that will go into greater depth over the history, cultural diversity and uses of herbs, providing more information and an opportunity for participants to further their interest (see the events calendar for details).
Who is delivering the project?
The project will be delivered by various members of the HCGA staff team, as well as medical herbalist Maria Vlotides.
Herbal Haven will be commemorated through the production of a and printed calendar / cookbook, highlighting the contributions from all the participants.
More info?
Download our Herbal Haven leaflet here.
