christmas cheer at space2grow
We've had a lovely end to the year at space2grow with some special seasonal celebrations.
Last week, Santa dropped into the garden just in time to read a Christmas story to local children from St Andrew's Infant School.
Our group from Farnham Heath End School had a fun end of term session making willow wreaths and decorating them with berries, dried oranges and even some hardy green beans! The morning was topped off with hot chocolate with marshmallows and cream and mince pies.
And the garden volunteer group had their final session for 2022, celebrating Christmas with a bonfire, mince pies and Libby's delicious mulled fruit drink. Thank you to Waitrose Farnham for kindly donating the mince pies.
It was great to see volunteers, supporters and trustees round the fire, taking a break and enjoying being outdoors in the sun despite the sub-zero temperatures!
round up of 2022
What a busy year we’ve had! Before wishing all our volunteers, visitors and supporters a merry Christmas we wanted to take a quick look back at some of the highlights.
The start of 2022 was dominated by mud and water – our big pond restoration project. Our volunteers got stuck in, removing the old liner and digging deeper, introducing gradual slopes opposite the decking area. They also recycled some old carpet into a soft planting ledge that wouldn’t damage the new liner.
We are so grateful to everyone who helped, showing us once again that many hands make light (er!) work.
This year there’s been a renewed focus on children and families in the acre, with St Andrew’s and Potter’s Gate pupils regular visitors to the garden. Activities included growing, harvesting, cooking, sculpting, painting and generally running around having fun and letting off steam outdoors.
More recently an older group from Farnham Heath End School has been busy building their recycled bottle greenhouse.
Local children have loved learning in nature this year and we think this glorious painting sums it up!
In April we welcomed a new group for mums and babies to space2grow. And afternoons on the acre continued to be popular throughout the summer with local families and friends booking out the garden for picnicing and exploring.
Still on the theme of families, our Family Links parenting courses have been really well attended this year. Since we started delivering the programmes, nearly 200 parents and carers have come through the doors of the talking shed to share experiences and learn from each other. A big thank you to Farnham Lions, the Hedgehogs and The Truemark Trust for sponsoring a number of these sessions.
Back to the garden, and, after a very wet start to the year, we were in for a hot, dry summer, which meant our gardening volunteers were kept busy watering and nurturing our plants, veg and fruit.
It's wasn't all hard work though. There's always time at space2grow for a cuppa, a biscuit and a chat.
The glorious weather meant that the garden was especially bountiful, with excess fruit and veg being gifted to local passers-by so nothing was wasted.
More recently, our garden volunteers have been dismantling the old greenhouses to make way for a new, larger building that will provide more indoor space for potting, growing and gardening craft activities. We are really excited about the new greenhouse and look forward to sharing an update in the new year. A big thank you to our friends at The Hedgehogs, Farnham Lions and the Farnham Round Table for supporting this project.
Over the summer we also teamed up with Farnham Town Council to host weekly English conversation classes in the garden for recently-arrived Ukrainian families wanting to get together and improve their spoken English.
And we've welcomed back local organisations Creative Response and FADEG for craft activities, exhibitions and meetings.
In August we hosted 52 school children from London Fields Primary School for a two day camping trip. They especially loved splashing in the river, making fresh pizza, and hot chocolate and toasted marshmallows round the fire.
The children were also given wooden ‘medals’ made by Farnham men in sheds, a collaboration with Farnham Maltings, which they decorated with memories from the trip.
Our partnership with Farnham men in sheds mirrors our focus on the community as the twice weekly group has embarked on a number of projects this year to support local charities and organisations. This included widening the space2grow bridge so we can get the tractor over the stream; building a fireplace for Santa’s grotto at St Andrew’s School; the creation of a mud kitchen for St Michael’s Junior School in Aldershot and repairing a carillon for St Andrew’s Church.
Most recently, the big news was in the form of a hazel tree, gifted to space2grow by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth as part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations and The Queen's Green Canopy. We were delighted to welcome the Lord-Lieutenant of Surrey, Michael More-Molyneux, and the Mayor of Farnham, Councillor Alan Earwaker, to help us with the tree planting.
These photos are just a flavour of what's been going on in the garden this year. Along the way we've also picked up a few awards, which are testament to the hard work and enthusiasm of our volunteers who make this little acre of wild garden such a magical place for the local community to enjoy.
We would also like to thank all our funders and supporters, without whom all these activities wouldn't be possible.
We wish all our readers a very merry Christmas and a happy and healthy new year. If you haven't already been to visit, why not make a note in your diary to come and see us in 2023.
reflections from the acre ...
For our final reflection of 2022, we hear from one of our readers, Eileen, who discovered space2grow during the lockdown. She doesn't live locally so keeps up to date on all the activities through our newsletter and gets in touch from time to time. It's lovely to think of the ripple effect that events in the acre can have further afield ...
"This email has gladdened my heart. Just reading it can make me feel happy and relaxed. Thank you for all you do and for taking the time to write this newsletter. I love the bit by John at the end. What a lovely picture of your exciting, relaxing, healing place he paints."
"I just love the sound of all the events and the comments from everyone. The usefulness people feel and the healing of the mind. It comes across. So not just the place - which is obviously magical - but wouldn't work without the people."
If you would like to share what the acre means to you please email info@space2grow.space - we love hearing everyone's reflections.