Mylander - Issue 85

25 From inside the community We set a date of mid September for a celebration of achievements, a garden party, food and plants education session. Thankfully we could still go ahead due to the vulnerable support groups we had set, and the education and wellbeing focus, plus the numerous community volunteers present, (all rule of 6 exceptions!) We set up a festival kitchen; we ate, we talked, we picked from the garden and made food from the produce brought in by ‘Friends’ of the project. Our WhatsApp group is hugely active, sharing information amongst friends. This is not a one time project as we have learned so much about delivery during lockdown which we will take forward. We want to ensure we can fund this every year for new cohorts. We funded the project early in lockdown, via the ELDP as a crisis response. We knew this was the time to step up to the mark and assist. The ELDP turned funding around in roughly a week. See some feedback below from some of our supporters: “I was blown away by the project, growing food and cooking it together in a celebration of bringing everyone together; amazing. I was also inspired by the work that Together we Grow CIC has been doing and continues to do.” Gail Cardy, Transformation Project Manager – Mental Health “Thank you both very much for inviting us along yesterday. We both had a really, really wonderful time. Everything about the afternoon was perfect. Incredible food, wonderful people and all underpinned by an amazing spirit of friendship and collaboration. This didn’t feel like ‘helping people’ it felt like just being together. Sally Shaw, Director, Firstsite Covid came with its huge affects on our friends’ lives. By the end of March the woods and public places were closed and we had to consider how else we could encourage contact with nature and something which could take place outdoors. Growing and gardening seemed to be one solution and I invited Wayne Setford of Together We Grow CIC to our next meeting. This proved to be the best thing we could have done as with his knowledge of how to package and distribute growing kits and where to order such things as loads of compost and growing bags Wayne was an invaluable colleague.