Grow Batheaston
Grow Batheaston
Grow Batheaston Community Group
Grow Batheaston is a community group that has grown from strength to strength. They work towards improving the lives of local residents by working towards these 4 aims:
- Strengthen Community
- Create Food Security
- Encourage Biodiversity
- Promote Sustainable Living
The group started up during lockdown by giving out free seedlings boxes to those who had done little or no growing before and has expanded from there. It is all about empowerment of local people to live better lives.
Grow Batheaston talk at Wildlife Champions launch event (https://youtu.be/o6uQAlm8O2w)
Wildlife Champions Avon Wildlife Trust - Grow Batheaston
How the Group Started
The group began as an unincorporated association and is currently in the process of becoming a charity, which will enable them to achieve even more. Grow Batheaston have a core Steering Group of 7 and 6 Trustees and a growing database of local residents, who are interested in what they are trying to do.
Always coming back to their aims, events and activities are created according to community needs and requests. They have cleverly combined existing skills from the community and trustees to work together and create something truly inspirational. They include all residents, actively encourage local businesses, traders and practitioners to make suggestions to improve the local area and work together to strengthen local networks and boost the local economy.
Local councillors from Bath and North East Somerset, as well as support from local organisations have help develop the capacity of Grow Batheaston.
Grow Batheaston Ali Rogers
Grow Batheaston
Grow Batheaston
Grow Batheaston
Grow Batheaston GBFC
Grow Batheaston
Grow Batheaston
We believe that doing these things will strengthen local connections and has the potential to raise the standard of living for us all and bring health and wealth to our community.
Grow Batheaston
Grow Batheaston
Funding Advice & Key Organisations
- Bath & North East Somerset Council were supportive, in particular our two local councillors. Money from the council’s Ward Councillors’ Empowerment Fund helped develop their website.
- Coop 'community cause' has provided funding more than once.
- Funding and partnerships were formed with: Curo Group, Manage My Website, Carbon Copy, Bathscape, Plunkett Foundation.
- Wildflower meadows on the Elmhurst Estate were funded by Love Your Park.
- Bath University Action Project partnered up to hold a water festival, to research local opinions of 14-21 year olds of the village.
Inclusion at Larger Events and Conferences
Grow Batheaton had a stand at the 3SG Charity Conference and Expo at Bath RaceCourse on 19th May 2022, they spoke at the 2021 BANES Climate and Biodiversity conference and have been invited to speak at the BANES Great Big Green Week 2022.
Listening to Locals is Key
At the heart of creating events, activities and groups/clubs, Ali and the steering group members listen to what the local want and need. This is done at local events, such as the local church fate event, at the existing groups such as the football groups.
A community shop was set up due to limited availability eco-friendly products. An affordable pre-school toddler group was set up for local parents to socialise and connect with nature.
Grow Batheaston
The emphasis and motivation for the groups are not always directly environmentally friendly and nature conservation focused – but the groups always link back to this via their original aims, which ultimately improve standards of life.
Communal spaces, such as the forest garden, have also been created which invite people to enjoy the area and also increases the chances of interacting with the community. It also provides the ideal space:
Grow Bathesaton worked with Bath University on a project to engage 14-21 year olds with nature, a statistically proven age group to disengage from wildlife. To research this, a Water Festival event was set up which included a mass water fight, to appeal to this age range and whilst at the event and having fun, surveys were carried out to find out what they wanted to see in the area.
To help educate residents on how they can grow more of their own food and make their gardens more wildlife friendly, and show people that there is a way to grow food by working with nature.Grow Batheaston
Grow Batheasrton
Grow Batheaston
Grow Batheaston
Grow Batheaston
Grow Batheaston
Communication Tips
As mentioned above, listening is key. Then Ali uses the following channels to communicate what is happening.
Grow Batheaston
- Website
- Social media
- Emails
- A local magazine – Batheaston Times
- Word of Mouth
Grow Batheaston have good skills in speaking to a variety of people from different backgrounds and levels of income. The community and events are intergenerational and inclusive of all.
The steering group also communicate with influential people in different roles, such as the BANES council, the local Parish council, business owners, local housing authorities and other stakeholders in the local area. They are as clear as possible and keep up regular contact to build relationships. Plus actions from Grow Batheaston can, in theory, help organisations achieve their environmental and biodiversity goals.
Their aim to strengthen the community means that they actively pull the community together and offer a large variety of interests to cover as many bases as possible.
A Variety of Events Appeal to More People
It is truly amazing how many events and activities have been created by Grow Batheaston! Refer to the Grow Batheaston and social media for updated event details. Developing events and activities are based on the needs and interests of the community, inviting locals to get together with the underlying values of the group.
By spending time in nature, through activities relevant to personal or family needs, it encourages a pride in the area and highlights the importance of green spaces indirectly.
Grow Batheaston
- Growers Club - ran via a WhatsApp group sharing seeds, plants and advice and working together to supply plants and seeds for the seed and plant swaps and plant sales for fundraising events.
- Bee Club - advice on keeping bees and opportunity to borrow a hive.
- Wildlife Club - exchange pictures or what we've seen and help to identify them,
NB Sharing sightings of wildlife is one of the number one things you can do to help protect nature – the more people are aware and interested, the more likely people will collectively enjoy and protect habitats.
Grow Batheaston FC
- GBFC Junior Football every Saturday 9-11 on Rhymes Field.
- Walking Football for Over 50's on Wednesday evenings 5.30pm-6.30pm.
- Netball fun and fitness every Monday evenings 7pm-8pm.
- Wellbeing Club - more of a signposting role, but they have done a hypnotherapy taster and wild swimming.
- Community Planting group – they have 2 set days a month for community planting on the 2nd Saturday and last Sunday of each month and sometimes Good Gym come along and help.
- Affordable parent-toddler groups with Holly Dabbs of Foxgloves Forest School with a sliding scale of fees dependent on what people can afford.
Grow Batheaston
- Batheaston Art Trail and will be running this again on the first week in October 1&2 11-5 (this year to also include a suffragette exhibition and a sculpture trail across part of Bathampton meadows wish sustainable natural materials and with an ecological message).
- Pop-up markets thanks to a grant from BWCE / Quartet 9-12 on 16th July, 10th September, 1st October, and a Christmas event on the 3rd December (Evening) 2022.
Increasing Biodiversity in the Area
- Grow Batheaston have created wildflower meadows and planted 500 native trees.
- They have also planted nearly 50 fruit trees around the Elmhurst Estate and in the playground.
- Several patches of wild flower meadows on the Elmhurst Estate have been created - funded by Love Your Park, and permission from the land owners Banes and Curo.
- Forest Garden creation in the back section of the Secret Garden by the riverside car park, thanks to the parish council offering this space on a 3 year lease. To help educate residents about growing their own food by working with nature and benefits of making their gardens more wildlife friendly.
Grow Batheaston
Key Learnings for a Successful Community Group
- Listen and talk to the community about how their lives could be improved.
- Offer a wide spread of activities and events for maximum appeal. Start small!
- Utilise local existing skills and interests. Not everyone will want to join in.
- Create community spaces and events that benefit people and wildlife.
- Share local wildlife sightings, to raise awareness and chances of protecting it collectively.
Resources
Funding and partnerships were formed with the Curo Group, Manage My Website, Carbon Copy, the Plunkett Foundation and Coop Community Cause
