Community Gardening Group Blossoms

A group of green fingered residents have got the gardening bug at the Resource Centre, as part of an initiative to unite the local community by growing produce and flowers.

The gardening club has recently began meeting at the Meath Street facility each Friday afternoon to plan projects in the Linthorpe and Gresham communities, and grow an array of produce in the centre’s greenhouse including tomato plants, courgettes, broad beans, French beans and more. 

The club, which comprises a core group of eight residents, is an offshoot of the alleyways co-operative established five years ago to encourage people to take pride in their area. The gardening club hopes to support the homeless café and is currently planning community improvement projects including a hanging basket scheme in the Essex Street and Harford Street alleyway, entering the annual Gresham in Bloom initiative and a partnership with the local Police Community Support Officers to develop an allotment garden and alley space to help tackle anti-social behaviour and provide residents with a safe and beautiful shared community space.

The gardening club is led by Catherine Howell who previously worked with Middlesbrough Environment City’s One Planet Middlesbrough project, which was designed to engage Middlesbrough residents in actions that promote sustainable living and behaviours.

Commenting on the Resource Centre gardening club, Catherine said: “The Resource Centre is an ideal base for the gardening group to meet. The outdoor space and centre facilities are fantastic and the staff are very welcoming and supportive. Not only that, the centre’s location in the heart of the community works really well for us.

“We look forward to meeting at the centre each week to grow produce in the greenhouse and to plan projects designed to enhance the communities where we all live and to bring people together by growing food.”

Angie Kelly, assistant facilities manager at Actes who looks after the Resource Centre, said: “The Resource Centre’s community gardens and greenhouse are ideal for the local gardening club to meet. We’re pleased to provide them with a base to plan projects and grow produce that ultimately benefit the local community. At the same time their work helps to maintain the gardens here which are available to hire for all kinds of events and functions.”

The gardening club also meets and grows plants and different types of produce at Newport Community Hub and at the People’s Park Community Allotment in Gresham to encourage people from across the area to engage with shared spaces for growing fruit and veg in their local communities.

For further information about the gardening club contact Catherine Howell by emailing barefoot.bellis@gmail.com or visit the gardeners’ Facebook page Alley Pals Middlesbrough or visit the Gresham Community Garden Facebook page @greshamcommunitygarden for more about growing spaces in the ward.

For further information about the hiring the Resource Centre’s interior and exterior space contact 01642 255001