Volunteers transform community centre garden space

Volunteers have created a garden and social hub in four days on underused land at a community centre in Leicester.

A total of 130 colleagues from food firm Samworth Brothers built the sustainable and accessible garden earlier this month at Eyres Monsell Community Centre and a ribbon was cut on Monday to officially open it.

The design features sheltered seating areas, a potting shed, raised planters, picnic benches, a barbecue and compost bins.

The transformation will allow the garden to support the centre's food education and cooking projects, while providing a social space for those who need it.

The project was part of an initiative by the company to instigate positive change in the area around the centre.

"The garden is more than just a space - it's a symbol of what can happen when people come together with a purpose," said Karen Holdsworth, group community engagement lead at Samworth Brothers.

"It was a great team building experience. Everyone enjoyed pulling together to meet the tight project deadline."

The Conservation Volunteers charity will manage the garden.

Project officer Julie Richards added: "We can now grow more, give more away, and cook more for the community. This project has saved us years of work."

Pete Simmons, project manager for Splash Projects which facilitated the project, said: "This was a challenging build, we gave them a lot to do, and some of the participants had never used tools before.

"Their work ethic was exemplary, they all grafted from the moment the safety briefing ended until it was time to down tools at the end of the day."

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