Bulwell Forest Garden has received £5,000 to fund a Food Growing Project with local volunteers in Bulwell.
The donation was provided by the Santander Foundation, which offers Discovery Grants to UK registered charities for projects that help disadvantaged people in local communities.
Bulwell Forest Garden is a charity which supports a community garden, developed and managed by local volunteers who grow fruit and vegetables to be shared in the community. The charity offers those at risk of social isolation an opportunity to meet like-minded people and get involved in communal activities. The gardens grow produce organically, use water butts and recycle wherever possible to reduce their carbon footprint, with the aim of being as sustainable as possible.
Bulwell Forest Garden provides volunteering opportunities three times a week in the summer and delivers adult learning courses on topics including: how to grow produce; how to compost; how to care for and graft fruit trees; and healthy cooking with fresh produce.
The grant has enabled the charity to extend its volunteering programme, increasing the amount of fruit and vegetables it is able to donate to the community. The additional funding will also help increase the amount of sessions that take place, acting as a social network for people who would otherwise be isolated.
Barbara Bates, Development Worker at Bulwell Forest Garden, said: “We are thrilled to receive this grant. Many local people rely on the Community Garden to increase their confidence, improve social skills and feel valued.”
Sheila Ahmed, Branch Manager at Santander’s Arnold branch, said: “The Santander Foundation makes hundreds of donations every year to good causes throughout the UK. We are committed to playing a key part in the community and we are delighted to be supporting Bulwell Forest Garden, and hope the donation makes a real difference to local people.”
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Notes to Editors
Media Contact
Leonora Burtenshaw at Santander
Email: leonora.burtenshaw@santander.co.uk Tel: 020 7756 4543
Barbara Bates at Bulwell Forest Garden
Email: barbara.bates@bulwellforestgarden.co.uk
About Bulwell Forest Garden
Bulwell Forest Garden is a community garden, developed and managed by local volunteers, growing fruit and vegetables which are shared between volunteers and the local community, as well as providing produce for a weekly Lunch Club, enabling people at risk of social isolation an opportunity to meet people and get involved.
It provides volunteering opportunities for all abilities and deliver adult learning courses in how to grow your own produce, composting, different methods of gardening (containers, vertical), caring for and grafting fruit trees, healthy cooking with fresh produce, and craft workshops.
For more information please visit: www.bulwellforestgarden.co.uk
Santander Foundation
The Santander Foundation is at the heart of the Bank’s community activities, providing grants to small charities and social enterprises working with disadvantaged people to fund skills, knowledge and innovation projects across the UK. Discovery Grants of up to £5,000 are available to support three types of activity:
- Explorer: improving people’s knowledge
- Transformer: supporting skills and experience
- Changemaker: innovative solutions to social challenges
Over the last five years, the Santander Foundation has provided £26 million in funding to 13,914 UK charities through Discovery Grants and Staff Matched Donations. For more information please visit: www.santanderfoundation.org.uk
Santander UK is a financial services provider in the UK that offers a wide range of personal and commercial financial products and services. It has brought real competition to the UK, through its innovative products for retail customers and relationship banking model for UK SMEs. At 30 June 2018, the bank has c24,200 employees. It serves around 15 million active customers, via a nationwide branch network, telephone, mobile and online banking; and 64 regional Corporate Business Centres. Santander UK is subject to the full supervision of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) in the UK. Santander UK plc customers are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) in the UK.