The Community Garden Project
The Community Garden Project is open 10.30am to 4.00pm Wednesdays and Fridays. It is a friendly environment open to all, particularly beneficial to anyone going through vulnerable circumstances, those with lived experience of mental health recovery and people with learning disabilities. Each session is led by our professional garden team, Julie and Kate.
The Community Garden Project continues to run via support from funding and charitable donations. Donations towards the costs of each session are gratefully received. For more details please refer to the Participant Handbook.
We welcome people from all walks of life – please do get in touch if you are interested in participating.
What’s involved?
Each session offers you the opportunity to learn, develop new skills and engage with the garden environment. You’ll be helping to look after our organic garden and share lunch together, while enjoying time-out in the peaceful, natural surroundings of West Town Farm.
Practical activities may include:
· Growing vegetables for our shared lunch, in outdoor beds and a polytunnel.
· Helping to prepare our shared lunch.
· Hand-weeding and hoeing our growing areas.
· Watering our veg and plants.
· Maintaining and harvesting raspberries and other soft fruits for our cakes.
· Learning about the composting process and maintaining our compost area.
· Maintaining our fences, gates and paths and helping to build structures for our veg and other plants.
· Helping to develop wildlife-friendly features around our site such as bug hotels and pollinator-friendly planting.
how do i become a participant?
Please contact us to arrange a time for an informal visit, when you will be able to see our site and meet the team, after which you’ll be able to decide if being a participant is for you.
Contact Philippa for more info by email info@organicarts.org.uk or phone 01392 811080.
How do I get there?
We encourage people to arrive by Active Travel. We are 3 miles from Exeter city centre, have cycle racks on site and are a 15 minute walk from the local bus stop.
We have limited parking if you need to come by car, and offer a mini-bus service (donations kindly received) between Exeter and our garden at West Town Farm in Ide. For full details see the Participant Handbook.
Where we are:
https://goo.gl/maps/ZJ3a4pwX3DEseNzt8
What our participants say
“It helped me learn about horticulture, to communicate with other persons. It has helped with my personal development if you like.”
“It’s given me self-confidence, it’s built my fitness up, [I’m] communicating with people outside my comfort zone.”
Find out more in The Handbook
Please email info@organicarts.org.uk for our handbook whilst we update our system.