All being well, the People’s Garden and a neighbouring site at The Hub, on Shaw Bank, will be transformed into a small nature reserve as part of a project aimed at getting people over the age of 50 involved with their community.
The idea is the brainchild of Dr Anne Barmby who started the Veg Out in Barney scheme. The scheme allows for people to help themselves from a number of fruit, vegetable and herb planters around the town.
Dr Barmby said: “There are a lot of people who get to 50 and find they don't have anything to do. We would like to employ skilled sessional workers and the idea we would work with the Hub to turn this area into a nature reserve.”
An application has been made for a £20,000 grant from a pot of money that is dedicated to the purpose of getting older people involved in community activities.
Dr Barmby hopes that people with skills such as bee-keeping, willow-weaving and other talents will get involved and that these people can ultimately be trained to be trainers thereby transferring their skills to others.
Further into the future, the Rotarian wants to get children involved to make it a more intergenerational project.
She said: “I think older people have a lot to give to younger people and younger people have a lot to give to older people.”
Dr Barmby hopes to have the scheme running by April. It is hoped that sessions will be hosted weekly and will be free for people participating.
Sessions could range from garden art to conservation activities. If the grant application is successful, the sessions will be presented free of charge.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.