“We’re growing together, we’re harvesting that food together and then we’re making meals out of that food together.”The Beehive
Building a vegetable wildlife garden for the community
The Beehive Community Centre approached us in 2022 about working with us as part of the Nextdoor Nature Project. They wanted to improve their garden for people and wildlife and get out into the local community. Two years later, Amber, the community manager, explains how the project has developed and the impact that it has had.
The Beehive Centre aims to reduce isolation and loneliness in the community by bringing people together for various activities. One such activity is a gardening group that meets every Thursday to work on the centre’s community garden.
Amber, Community Manager at the Beehive Centre said: “I’ve been managing the Beehive Centre for around eight years now and I absolutely love working here, however, it’s been really building-focused.
“Everything we do has been inside the building, so we’ve had to ask people to come in to get involved in activities.”
Amber wanted to bring this ethos outside. She and her team had a “useless” space beside the building so they decided to build a garden which is now used for activities and as a place to socialise and connect with nature.
The garden is filled with flowers and herbs that attract bees, birds and other wildlife. It is designed for wheelchairs and frames, making it accessible to all. “We have a lady who loves the garden,” said Helen, a volunteer at the Centre. “She can sit here in the summer and she likes being here in the sun and looking at the flowers.”
The gardening group also grows vegetables which the community centre chefs use for their weekly lunch club, where older people can come together for a three-course meal.
“We grow vegetables and herbs that our chefs can use in the food and that can go back into feeding our community as well,” Amber said. “It’s a really nice full circle that we’ve got.
“We’re growing together, we’re harvesting that food together and then we’re making meals out of that food together.”
The Centre has befitted from the support of Avon Wildlife Trust, who helped them run an open day, offered advice and supported funding applications for the raised beds.
“It’s enabled us to get further out into the community,” Amber said. “We have a bed that we maintain and populate in the park as well and that’s got loads more people from the community involved in gardening with us.”
If you’re based in Bristol and want to get involved with the community garden, please speak to Amber or Jack. Contact details can be found here.