PP Presentation Garden Clubs

Editor's Notes

1. Garden Clubs were established in 2006 following requests from residents to take over parts of their communal areas for gardening
2. Garden clubs meet regularly at coffee mornings organised and chaired by Barnet Homes. They usually take place at one of our sheltered schemes. Gardeners have a cuppa and pastry and share advice and experiences related to gardening. For the first time we also had some workshops and away day this year including a workshop on composting in July 2016 which focussed on sustainable gardening.
3. In March at Drummond House
4. In May
5. Being new to managing the garden clubs, in April 2016 (on their annual assessment) I undertook a little survey with all garden clubs that had been in existence for more than a year. This was to give me a better picture on the impact, expectations, aspirations and needs of our garden clubs and also their priorities. On this occasion, the garden club leaders were the ones who answered the questions, as it is very difficult to get of some of the regular members.
6. To establish their priorities, I asked the garden club leaders, which of the three benefits of gardening above do they think their garden club has most impact on. They were only allowed to pick one.
7. A quarter of all members asked said that the greatest benefits of their garden club are related to health. A lot said that gardening keeps them fit and young. Our oldest gardener is 95 years old and going strong, so there must be something to it.
8. Next to keeping them healthy, garden clubs give residents the opportunity to take ownership of their homes and environment, which ties in nicely with the Barnet Homes business plan.
9. Almost all of our gardeners agree that gardening has a positive impact on their health
10. A third of our gardeners think that connecting their community is the most important side effect of their gardening activities.
11. A lot of gardeners said, that they got to know their neighbours through gardening, which has contributed to an increase of their quality of lives in their homes. Many said that neighbours and strangers involve them in chats and even show their support by serving tea and biscuits. Some of them become garden club members themselves
12. Almost 90 percent of people asked said that their gardening efforts are highly appreciated by their neighbours and help connecting their local community.
13. Gardeners put in their time and hard work to make our estates look more attractive. They replace plain grass and void areas with beautiful flower beds and brighten up hard surfaces with flowering pots and containers. Having a garden club makes all the difference for most estates and for 42% of our garden club leaders – this is the single main benefit of having a garden club.
14. It also adds value. The hard work of the garden clubs is worth £217,800.00 yearly with a current investment of only £5000.00 I calculated this as follows: So the investment is £5000 this year, as this is what the budget is. The clubs receive grants depending on their size, which can be anything from £50-£200 (Max). We had to cut the maximum allowance from £250 to £200.   So if we take a humble estimate of 10hours per week invested by each garden club and we assume that they work in their gardens from March till October it would look as follows:   10h x £20 x33 weeks = £6600 per club For 33 Garden Clubs this should be: £217,800.00
15. Almost all garden club leaders agree that a garden club adds beauty to estates.
16. This is a picture of back garden in Robeson Court that used to only have grass. The gardening here is done by 3 adults and 3-4 neighbour kids.
17. Of course gardening has a positive impact on the environment. More and more of our garden clubs are interested in supporting wildlife.
18. Barnet Homes therefore arranged a composting workshop for the last coffee morning in July at Christchurch Close (sheltered scheme at Summers Lane). The workshop was resourced by Hubub and run by OrganicLea. There was record attendance of 30 gardeners, who learnt why composting is so important and how to build a well-balanced compost that does not smell or attract flies and vermin. The feedback was overwhelming and especially our smaller gardeners thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
19. There are some interesting facts about the garden club. These will give the solution for the garden club quiz .
20. Most garden clubs are very happy with the support given by Barnet Homes. Points of criticism where: Not enough financial support (I did: since then I have improved information on the FTA Fund and we have received 4 application from garden clubs for green houses, garden furniture and water buds) Too much red tape for putting up greenhouses and other constructions. (I did: unfortunately I had to explain to these members that due to H&S we need to undergo certain procedures to grant permission) Not enough appreciation from Barnet Homes senior management level. No presence on estates, no personal meetings, thank yous etc. (I have included Grahame Ambler as a judge in the Finest Flower competition and he visited a number of garden clubs on the 24 July (day of the judging). I also made the case for a separate Ff and garden club anniversary event to celebrate their hard work. Presentations help by Troy and yourself will raise the profile of the event and show appreciation.