Wellness, Community Gardens & Engagement
Projects
Over the years I have been involved with many outdoor projects, most of which promote well-being and encourage communities to embrace nature.
Please scroll down to learn more.
Five Rivers Health and
Well-being Centre Community Garden
This is a community pollinator friendly garden, planted at the main entrance of our city leisure centre. It's a project for those who like the traditional herbaceous perennials and developing year round interest, with my usual organic, pollinator friendly ethos. The keen amateur gardener volunteers tend the space for the enjoyment of it, at the weekly meet up. There are thousands of visitors to the centre every week and lots of them tell us what a joy it is to come past the planted spaces when they arrive for their morning swim.
The volunteer group (the 'Friends of Five Rivers' group) are always keen to hear from anyone who would like to help tend the space and have an interest in organic pollinator friendly planting.
I hope this can be a pilot project for many other local authority sports centres, I believe it will bring the exercise offer of each organisation into the outdoors to complete the picture of healthy lifestyle opportunities! Funded by the Wiltshire Area Board and built during the Covid pandemic of 2020. To get involved with the 'Friends of Five Rivers' amateur gardeners volunteering team, get in touch.
Location using What3Words App: clocks.stays.yoga
Salisbury Cathedral
Eastern Garth Project
This is my latest project (July-Oct 2023) and I am leading on the design, project roadmap and engagement action plan for a wildlife friendly planted area in the Eastern Garth of Salisbury Cathedral Close. This is part of their ongoing Eco-Church ambition and aims to transform a shaded corner of the Cathedral close into one that serves wildlife. More information coming as the project develops.
St Clements Church Yard
Secret Garden Community Project
Originally set up by myself as a C.I.C and self funded through fundraiser open days, part funded by Area Board grants and an array of locally given donations. This project is currently closed to the public but to get involved with the volunteering team, who now run themselves independently as the 'Friends of St Clements' group, get in touch and I will send you one of the volunteers for a chat. More volunteers with an interest in wildlife and green spaces, ecology and history and a bit of good exercise, are always needed!
Location using What3Words App: reject.influences.sentences
or find it on Google Maps
Arundells House
Community Garden Project
This is a traditionally designed community garden, located in the grounds of the residents of former Prime Minister, Sir Edward Heath. Set within Salisbury Cathedral close, this stunning house and garden now reaches out into the local community and offers a chance to engage within a beautiful walled space. With sustainability as one of the project goals, I was honoured to get involved.
This is Arundells House first foray into community outreach, after forming a charitable foundation. Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, I started this project in 2022 when I was asked to lead on all aspects from design, roadmap and delivery. This project has been executed with the kind assistance of the Alabaré charity and their 'Boots on the Ground' veterans volunteer group who continue activity at the space every week. If you have been in the armed forces and wish to join the veterans group please get in touch with me and I will send you to the team leader, to discuss the essential Alabaré induction process.
To get involved with the GOGA community Weds team, please go via the Arundells website, who will also set up a meeting to talk about joining the small group. (The groups are not 'drop in' groups and both have induction processes)
The Salisbury Bee Trail
This was my flagship engagement project while I was just setting up St Clements. This award winning Bee Trail, which has additional AR technology and can be used alongside an App. It is installed around Salisbury parks and other spaces, for anyone to learn about pollinators in a deeper way. More info on how to do the trail, links for downloading the FREE App, where to get paper maps and so on, here.
Harnham Slope Project
I was able to come along to look at the marvellous work that the 'Friends of Harnham Slope' group had done, to clear some areas of the slope to enable light to get in and wildflowers to grow. I spent some time assessing the site and advising where bee habitat may be encouraged or created.
I also helped with an interpretation board for visitors to understand the ongoing work and all its ambitions for pollinators.
Castle Hill Country Park
and the Salisbury Bee Trail
I worked on a new Bee Trail point for this wonderful city development. The project was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and steered by the Land Trust, Natural England and Laverstock and Ford Parish Council. This expands the 14 point Bee Trail which can be followed around Salisbury green spaces, inviting you to explore each one. News: New Bee Trail maps are being printed and will be available from Salisbury 5 Rivers leisure centre and Salisbury library, from May 2024
Longhedge Community Garden
This is a community garden I got involved with both behind the scenes at the conceptual stage and then again on the big 'plantathon' day to launch it within the community. This brand new project consists of a series of raised beds, in the heart of a new housing development just outside of the city.
This was an interesting project for me as I got to look at how a very open garden would bring a community together, in a very open public space, I am pleased to say that after the initial shuffling around of roles, people getting to know one another and so on, the project thrives!
St Andrews School - The Bee Trail
This project, was funded partly by the Heritage Lottery Fund as part of the wider Whitebridge Spinney project. First I created some outdoor bee safari workshops for children at St Andrews primary school, to learn about and understand some common bee species, in particular the common carder-bee (not the species shown in the photo, which is a red mason bee!)
The children then produced some wonderful interpretive art work in a second workshop; which now appears inside the Bee Trail App. When you get to Whitebridge Spinney for this additional stop on the trail, you will be able to use the App to see the children's work. Please click here to learn more.
Swift Project
I was able to initiate and set up the very first swift walks in and around Salisbury as a way for one of our St Clements team, Daniel, to have a specific part to play in our outreach offer to the community. Daniel who has a love of all things avian, later took this idea and ran with it; using the BTO Swift project template to go solo with this project.
At this point I helped with advice around volunteers and fundraising, and other practical 'setting up' help. The project now helps people put up Swift boxes around our city, giving new nesting opportunities for these wonderful enigmatic but frighteningly threatened birds and the talks that kick started it all; still remain a solid fundraising element of the project to this day.
Species Recovery Trust
I have trained with this very special local charity, in the many wonderful courses they run and this time it was my turn to give back. I am in the unique position to have various plots of land under my care and Dominic Price, the Species Recovery Trust founder and director, asked me if I would be able to plant and nurture some exceptionally rare plants in one of the more protected sites. The plant is the Starved Wood-sedge (Carex depauperata) *not the plant shown in the photo!
This is a real privilege and I continue to nurture the plants while at KEW gardens; they carry on with some scientific study of how this plant may produce seed and germinate. Please click here to learn more about the Species Recovery Trust or to book a course.
Contact
Email: beckybeesknees@gmail.com
Rebecca Twigg
Wildlife trails and workshops
Community garden planning
