Jardin Blanc at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show welcomes the Garden Army Team
Yet another great achievement by the Garden Army at the Chelsea Flower Show this week.
After a busy week last week of dropping all of our plants and tractor at the show, we can now enjoy the fruits of our labour.
A number of our volunteers were invited to enjoy the show, meet Raymond Blanc, and explore the exhibits. Tom gave a talk to over 200 people with Raymond Blanc about the importance of supporting local farmers, buying produce locally, and what we can do to support the environment.
Once again the Garden Army has really relished being involved in this project, having the opportunity to grow flowers and vegetables that are displayed at Jardin Blanc is a real honor, it allows our volunteers to get involved in a unique opportunity and it is something that we as an organisation are very proud of, Roll-on 2023.
NHS Giving Back Day.
This week the Garden Army was able to do a little something for those who have done so much for us.
We have all celebrated and praised the NHS during the pandemic and we have all relied heavily on them to deliver services 24/7. However how many of us have stopped to think about them as individuals.
30 health care professionals from Lindfield and Haywards Heath in West Sussex joined us to concentrate on their own wellbeing. We take it for granted that the doctors, nurses, and administration staff all have things going on in their own lives, however, they have continued to support our local communities day in and day out over the last two years.
Unfortunately, as we come out of COVID, things are not getting any easier for our local Doctor’s Surgeries within the UK. With the need for doctor appointments at an all-time high and the number of GPs in positions at an all-time low, it is easy to see why our local health care professionals are also struggling with their own health and wellbeing. A receptionist visiting the farm stated,
“There are only so many hours in the day and only so many appointments that Doctors can attend in one day, The abuse I get from patients when I cannot book them in to see someone is increasing daily”.
Although the Garden Army does not have the answers or powers to change the growing pressures on the NHS, we were however proud to offer these staff members time and space to think about their own well-being and discuss how they could support each other while in the workplace.
Why are Corporate Volunteering Days benefichial?
The Garden Army welcomed Tapestry back to the farm for their second corporate volunteering day this month.
80 of Tapestry’s London office employees have spent time with us over recent months. Every time the groups have got off the coach in the morning everyone is excited to be in a different environment, away from their desks and in the fresh air.
So why is corporate volunteering so important to businesses and their employees?
We all have busy lives and many people like the idea of volunteering but struggle to fit it around family life, school runs, and work commitments. Companies are beginning to recognise that giving their staff a day or two off a year to volunteer on a project that is close to their hearts has a massive impact back in the office. Volunteering days give employees the chance to build connections with their local communities and give back to society whilst working as a team and learning more about their colleagues in a unique environment. Employees gain the opportunity to develop key soft skills in areas such as coaching, leadership, and communication.
Businesses may question whether taking their staff out of the office for the day to plant vegetables, dig duck ponds or renovate barns for the Garden Army is cost-effective. When businesses embrace the concept there are many benefits. Volunteering can support your corporate social responsibility objectives and can provide employees with unique learning and development opportunities. Evidence shows that when young people are looking for future employers it is important to them that the company supports its local community and offers diverse opportunities both in and out of the office. Thales UK recognises this. They have booked their newly recruited graduates and apprentices to join us in June after successful visits by other teams at the beginning of the year.
With training budgets reducing and traditional learning development opportunities not what people want anymore, corporate volunteering is possibly the way forward for many businesses.
BBC Escape to the Country
For some unknown reason the camera cannot get enough of Tom Morphew these days. This week has seen the arrival of another film crew, this time from the TV programme Escape to the Country. Watched across the UK by over 2 million viewers, the programme wanted to showcase some of the interesting things you can get involved in our local West Sussex area. Tom talked to Alistair Appleton about the Garden Army and the impact it is having in the community.
The programme is set to be aired in July and we hope that it will highlight the beauty of our local area and the opportunities available at the farm.
Lights, Camera, Action….
Another busy day at the farm today as Marcella Whittingdale from the BBC Politics South East programme came to interview us.
We were contacted by the BBC to share our experiences of setting up the farm and how we are supporting the NHS. We work closely with the NHS Social Prescribers in our area. They connect people to community groups and statutory services for practical and emotional support. Social prescribing works for a wide range of people, including those:
with one or more long-term conditions
who need support with their mental health
who are lonely or isolated
who have complex social needs which affect their wellbeing.
People can access their Local Social Prescribing Link Worker through their doctors’ surgery. As more and more pressure is building on the NHS to support people with mental health and wellbeing needs, evidence is showing that services like the Garden Army are becoming invaluable.
We are so proud to support our local community and even more impressed with our volunteers who have taken part in the filming today. Tom, as expected, did not shy away from the camera, however some of our other volunteers, who do not find talking in front of people easy, were amazing.
It is estimated that by 2024, 900,000 people in the UK will access a Social Prescriber and will be referred to a project like the Garden Army within their local area.
Chickens…..
At last, 48 Chickens have joined the Garden Army, to start a new life with us.
Re-homed from an intensive egg farm in East Sussex, the Garden Army are excited to welcome our new feathered friends.
Our volunteers have been working hard over recent weeks to re-purpose a donated shed into a chicken house and fencing has been erected to keep the foxes out. This space will be their first taste of the outside world so we wanted to ensure they had plenty of space to roam and things to peck at.
The Garden Army welcomes it first corporate volunteer day.
30 Staff members from Thales UK, Crawley joined us on the farm in November for our first of many corporate volunteering days that we now offer.
Like many organisations Thales has a volunteering programme where teams of their employees can escape from the office for the day and give something back to their local community.
We welcomed Thales to the farm as they bought with them masses of energy to help us clear areas of the farm ready for planting and helped us to build our second poly tunnel. The tunnel will be used as a classroom for our visiting schools throughout the year to grow their own vegetables. It is fair to say that a lot of cake and tea was also consumed and everyone left with some freshly harvested vegetables as a thank you.
Volunteering days are becoming hugely popular as they cultivate team building, network opportunities and staff retention within organisations. The Garden Army are happy to hear from any organisations who would like to discuss corporate events and volunteering opportunities for their teams. Please email Eve@garden-army.com for more information.
Thales UK Corporate Volunteering Day
School enrichment programme up and running on the farm.
October sees the arrival of our first two schools visiting the farm on a weekly basis.
We are proud to be working with two Alternative Provision schools from our local community on a weekly basis. Our enrichment programme gives young people aged between 8-16 years old the opportunity to develop new skills and learn where their produce comes from.
Over recent weeks the young people have had the opportunity to grow seeds, prepare raised beds, harvest vegetables, plant spring bulbs and learn basic DIY skills. Many of these young people are really thriving in natures classroom.
RHS Chelsea Flower Show and Jardin Blanc Success.
The team at the Garden Army finally got to see the fruits of their labour at the Chelsea Flower Show this week.
Six of our volunteers and Tom were able to attend the show and visit Raymond Blanc’s restaurant Jardin Blanc to see our vegetable display. We maybe a bit biased but it looked amazing and it was a massive achievement for the team to see all their hard work on display at such a prestigious event.
Our CEO Tom also had the opportunity to talk with Raymond Blanc in front of 200 guests about the Garden Army, the importance of sustainable farming and what we are achieving in at our farm in West Sussex.
We cannot wait to be part of this project again in 2022.
RHS Chelsea Flower Show delivery day.
September 15th has been circled on the Garden Army calendar for many months now. 200 hundred pots of vegetables have been nurtured, loved and talked to by our amazing volunteers to get to the point that they can be delivered to Raymond Blanc and his team at the Jardin Blanc restaurant today.
Onions, cabbages, chilli’s, Kale, artichokes, chard and sweetcorn where just some of the vegetables that were loaded into our van and trailer and delivered to Chelsea this morning. It is fair to say that the pride and excitement amongst our volunteers has been huge as we are all aware of the honor it is to showcase our hard work at Chelsea. All our vegetables will be used as part of a display at the entrance of the restaurant to create the perfect atmosphere for dining and unwinding.
Many of our volunteers will have the opportunity to visit the show this week and see their hard work on display. Thank you to Raymond Blanc and Sodexo for giving us this great opportunity.
RHS Chelsea Flower Show plans underway..
At the beginning for this year we had the opportunity to work in partnership with Raymond Blanc to support the official hospitality restaurant Jardin Blanc at this years RHS Chelsea Flower show.
The volunteers at the Garden Army have been working tirelessly this year to grow 200 different varieties of vegetables which will be used at the entrance and around the Jardin Blanc restaurant to create a backdrop of outstanding horticulture and emphasis the incredible works of art that will be on display.
At present chilli’s, artichokes, peppers, cabbage, lettuce, kale, onions and many more are all underway in our greenhouses and kitchen garden. Fingers crossed the weather will be kind and the slugs will stay away until September.
Poly tunnel fun…
June saw the arrival of our new poly tunnel, it was fair to say that it took all hands on deck to get it upright and built. The tunnel is a great addition to the farm as it gives us and cover all year round and more space to grow our lovely vegetables.
Some of our volunteers have spent the last week or so building raised beds in the poly tunnel which will help us to keep the weeds to a minimum and grow our produce in foot wool compost which is organic and peat free.
Our first Volunteers Day was much fun and a great success…
The Garden Army completed its first volunteering day on Friday 7th May. Nine volunteers work tirelessly throughout the day shifting tons of hoggin (gravel, sand and clay) to lay an accessible pathway around parts of the therapeutic garden. This whole process gave our new wheelbarrows a run for their money!
In the green houses seeds were planted and potting on of a number of different veggie plants was completed, this will give us great variety of vegetable for the kitchen garden that is being developed in the coming months. A large number of hanging baskets were also planted to brighten up The Garden Army’s HQ green house.
After a long day it was great to all get together at the Missing Link Brewery for a drink and celebrate our success. It is amazing to see things coming together and we cannot thank everyone enough for all their hard work.
Volunteering days are run on a weekly basis, please contact info@garden-army.com if you are interested in joining us. we can now accommodate overnight stays on the farm including breakfast lunch and dinner .
