Being a Community Connector

“The idea for it was born in my head after taking a short course in practical skills in horticulture. I enjoyed it so much and got so much from it. I was amazed by how simple it was to grow food and literally woke up a few days after the end of the course with the idea that I wanted to pass on what I had learned to people like me, people with autism and other learning difficulties, in my local community”.

Pam has taken her time to develop the project over several years and took advantage of the workshops and support on offer through the community connector programme to build on her existing gifts, strengths, and passion.

She set her project up as a Community Interest Company (CIC), applied for and secured some initial funding through the national lottery which helped her begin to turn her idea and vision into a reality, and she opened her first gardening space in 2022.

The project, which is by a small crew of volunteers, has recently been awarded another grant from the National Lottery Awards For All fund which will be used to pay for ongoing admin costs and some for essential equipment. There are plans to develop a children's vegetable garden, a flower garden, and to begin providing organic produce to a local food bank by next year.

This is the very beginning for this exciting project, the intention is to be on site for an initial period of 7 years and to take this model which was piloted on a small scale successfully last year to other settings to give people in other locations the same opportunities.

Pam continues to be an active member of the Community Connector programme attending events and workshops, as well as leading workshops for other members of the RISE community. She has led a seed planting workshop at a Communities Rising network event and will also be delivering a workshop as part of the ageing well festival in 2023 with support from RISE.

To ensure privacy and maintain anonymity, the name of the individual has been altered in the text.