Community Garden gets ‘Ground Force’ style makeover

A team of budding gardeners have transformed the entrance to a community garden with the help of one of Britain’s best-loved gardeners, Charlie Dimmock. The ‘Ground Force’ style transformation of the Shirley Warren Community Garden in Southampton was made possible thanks to Lottery funding - part of the £25 million raised every week by Lottery players for Good Causes across the UK. 

Volunteers from the garden in Southampton rolled up their sleeves and planted bright flowers and shrubs to complement the fantastic work they’ve already done, changing a derelict area of wasteland into a beautiful garden space for all the community to enjoy.

Jean Sartain, 66, volunteers at the Lottery-funded garden and knows more that most how important a community project like this is. She said: “A few years ago I had a very difficult time when I was diagnosed with cancer. Going through the many emotions that come with discovering you have a life-threatening illness is hard enough, but two weeks later my husband collapsed and died. Then six months later, recovering from my cancer treatment, my son was very seriously injured in an accident and my world just fell apart.

“It was then that I found out about the idea of creating a community garden on a derelict piece of land in Shirley - I remember going to see it and thinking it looked impossible but I rolled up my sleeves with a whole group of other committed volunteers and we made the impossible possible! It was, and still is, a real team effort and gave me the confidence to go out again. I thought ‘you can stay in and stare at the wall or you can go out and live life’, and that’s what the project helped me to do.”

Since 2004 the volunteers, led by local resident Phoebe Ross, have spent hours meticulously clearing, digging and lovingly creating what is now a tranquil haven in a deprived area of the city. Lottery funding paid for a landscape gardener to design the project, for the site to be cleared and for tools and equipment.

Charlie Dimmock opened the garden officially in late 2007 and was delighted to come back and help design the new entrance as part of the UK-wide National Lottery Good Causes roadshow: “Having an open space like a garden to enjoy brings so many benefits to people’s health and wellbeing and gives people like Jean a real reason to get out and embrace life - it’s something many people take for granted but it’s not always possible to have access to a garden at home. The volunteers at the Shirley Warren Community Garden had the vision to transform a derelict piece of wasteland into a beautiful space for the whole community, and Lottery players have helped to make this and many other projects like it a reality.”

The special gardening event is part of a UK-wide roadshow campaign, which aims to bring to life the diverse range of projects that benefit from Lotteryfunding. Giant Lottery balls will be popping up at various locations around the South East during the week, so local residents can see how Lottery funding benefits their area. Look out for them at The Quay’s Swimming and Diving Complex in Southampton, Oxford Botanic Garden, the Lightbox in Woking, The East Brighton Healthy Living Centre and at the Strood Leisure Centre in Rochester; the home of the Lottery-funded Kweik Korfball Club.

Matthew Mansfield from The National Lottery explains: “We think it’s important that Lottery players know about all the fantastic projects, both in their region and across the UK, that are made possible thanks to the money they help raise each week. We hope that Jean’s story, and the giant Lottery balls at projects across the South East, will help make people more aware of how Lottery funding has benefited their local community.”

Ten Lottery funding facts you might not know:

1. Each week Lottery players raise £25 million for Good Causes across the UK

2. Last year alone, more than £155 million was invested in projects in the South East

3. More than 27,500 grants have been awarded to projects both big and small across the South East since the Lottery began

4. The Lottery is 15 this year! The first Lottery draw was on 19 November 1994

5. Since its launch in 1994, more than £22 billion has been raised for Good Causes

6. Over 300,000 Lottery grants have been given out across the arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment since 1994. But they all have one thing in common, they make a positive difference to communities across the region, helping the lives of local people and improving the places they enjoy

7. Over half of all Lottery grants are for under £5,000, helping local projects make a big difference to people in their communities

8. Since the Lottery began in 1994, over £1 billion has been raised for projects that support people’s health and wellbeing

9. A total of 436 Olympic and Paralympic medals have been won by athletes funded by the Lottery, with Beijing 2008 being Team GB’s best medal haul for 100 years

10. Over £10 billion of National Lottery funding has gone to projects that benefit children and young people

For more information/photography please contact: Lynsey Barry at the Red Consultancy on 020 7025 6593 or email: lynsey.barry@redconsultancy.com