Have a Grow Day 5th June 2021
Announcement of Grant from Aberystwyth Town Council by Penglais Garden Volunteers
On Saturday 5th June 2021 the Penglais Community Garden Volunteers invited members of the public to ‘Have a Grow Day’ and announced the news that Aberystwyth Town Council had awarded them £875.00 for their work.
The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted early on the need for people to be active outdoors and to connect with nature. The Garden, which is situated near the Arts Centre on Penglais Campus and is open to the public, provides a place for reconnection and addresses volunteer well-being, community activities (such as seed and seedling swaps), education and encouraging more people to enjoy gardening.
Jane Powell said ‘We are delighted to receive this money from Aberystwyth Town Council as it will enable us to invest in the garden, secure the vegetable beds and purchase tools for volunteers to use.’
Have a Grow Day was part of a national celebration across the UK organized by Social Farms and Gardens, with local support from the Ceredigion Association of Voluntary Organizations. It offered tours of the garden, bug hunting for children, refreshments for volunteers and an opportunity to bask in some beautiful sunshine.
Volunteers were invited to plant out peas, cabbages, beetroot and broccoli and also label different varieties of tomatoes as well as helping with lots of weeding. Lettuce was available for sale along with tomato plants that people could take home to plant at home.
Marc Welsh said ‘Our recent ‘seedling swap’ event demonstrated the desire and enthusiasm people have for growing their own and sharing their gardening passion. Throughout the pandemic the community garden was maintained by a few dedicated volunteers but as we unlock it needs a bit of renovation and refocus on involving people in growing together.’
He added: ‘The grant from Aberystwyth Town Council will really help us to play our part, for things like repairing the polytunnel, building raised beds and rabbit proofing and also develop volunteer skills both as growers and in marketing any excess produce.’
Iain Place and Lauren Dunkley from Aberystwyth Conservation Volunteers were also on hand to give tours, and the Students Union helped with publicity.
The volunteers plan to build on the excellent work done last year that included supplying materials for community growing activities as featured on ITV's Coast and Country (https://www.itv.com/walesprogrammes/articles/coast-and-country-episode-8).
The Garden is open to all, whether students, staff or the public. Anyone who wishes to get involved with the Garden can e-mail us on garden-project@aber.ac.uk, or look us up on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tyfuaber
Notes for editors
The Garden has a website here: https://aberystwyth.wixsite.com/penglaisgarden
Information on Have a Grow Day UK is here https://www.farmgarden.org.uk/events/have-grow-day-2021
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