trees need space2grow
We were delighted to welcome some new faces to space2grow recently for a tree pruning workshop with our gardening expert and trustee, John Negus.
It was a hands-on session, with everyone having a go under John's watchful guidance. One of the main take-outs from the morning was that fruit trees need space to grow too!
We learnt how to identify the right branches to shorten or remove, as well as clearing suckers from the centre of the tree to increase air flow and reduce the risk of disease.
A big thank you to John for being so generous with his time. We are so grateful for his knowledge and experience in all things gardening.
thumbs up for our nurturing course
Schools out for our most recent group of mums and dads completing the Family Links Nurturing Programme and these smiling faces say it all!
"Fun and interactive," was one comment about the eight week programme, "... making time for something like this course will repay that investment back in spades, not only immediately but over the course of the rest of your life as a parent."
The Family Links Parenting Puzzle Nurturing Programme helps parents and carers of younger children get the best out of family life. The course offers practical, positive ways to guide children so that they can learn to handle both their feelings and their behaviour.
The Nurturing course has run simultaneously with two shorter Talking Teens courses for parents of teenagers. We'd like to thank Farnham Lions, the Hedgehogs and The Truemark Trust for sponsoring these sessions.
If you or your organisation are interested in funding future parenting courses, or you are a parent or carer and would like to find out more, please get in touch with the team info@theparentingspace.space.
advent on the acre
With Christmas on the horizon, the last garden volunteering session of the year will be on Thursday 15 December. We've fingers crossed for a dry day as we're planning a bonfire, mince pies and non-alcoholic mulled wine at the end of the session. Garden volunteering will restart on Thursday 12 January.
And we're looking forward to a very special visitor later this month as we hear Father Christmas will be making an appearance for some lucky local school children when they visit the acre.
in our garden
Our volunteers have been braving the weather to continue the winter jobs, including clearing brambles and tidying around the hazels.
At this time of year, a tea break is essential for warming up hands!
There's been great excitement as we've watched the start of the construction of the new, larger greenhouse. The base is now finished and the building will go up very soon.
reflections from the acre ...
This week, we hear from one of our trustees, John Negus, on what makes space2grow so special ...
"From the moment you enter this magic kingdom via an ancient and very heavy wooden gate near St Andrew's Church, you find yourself in a very special place: a realm of mature and very special trees, a wild flower meadow, borders glowing with blooms, vegetables in profusion and greenhouses full of seedlings. There's a pond too, in which fish have appeared. How? The story is that eggs were attached to donated water lilies and quickly hatched.
That's not all. So popular has this place become with school children - nearby St Andrew's in particular - and with youngsters from London who enjoy visiting and camping out that, in their young minds, space2grow is a glorious wild area where birds and butterflies abound and imagination knows no bounds. What better than searching for mini-creatures that are rarely found elsewhere in the middle of Farnham.
I am also in awe of many other activities that draw youngsters to this wildlife haven. And for young mums and dads it's a wonderful place to learn parenting. Always, I am aware of how safe the garden is. Indeed, wise group leaders have covered every aspect of what one can and cannot do.
A fun and enjoyably wet project is keeping a stream free from fallen branches that separate the garden from adjoining Bishop's Meadow.
Winter is a time for tidying, when trees and shrubs are dormant and bonfires dispose of dead branches.
Being a charity, we are very fortunate to have a group of volunteers who dedicate much of their time to fund raising. One tends to forget that services - lighting, heating and many other necessities - are costly items.
There's no doubt about it. What was once a patch of grass has, over the years, become a warm and friendly wildlife reserve to enjoy and stir the senses. Long may it continue."
If you would like to share what the acre means to you please email info@space2grow.space - we love hearing everyone's reflections.