Case Studies
Breckfield North Community Centre, Liverpool and Friends of the Churchyard, Torre Churchyard, Torbay
Breckfield North Community Centre, Liverpool
In an area with some of the highest incidences of health problems in the country, such as heart disease, breast cancer and asthma, creating a community garden that encourages healthy living has proved to be the lifeblood for local residents.
The Breckfield North Community Centre in the Everton district of Liverpool was built in 1996 on the site of the old Gas Board. The large area of land at the rear of the building contained a mixture of concrete slabs, old mattresses and even some discarded engine parts. Through wide-reaching community involvement, the land has been transformed into a garden that includes an interactive nature trail, greenhouses brimming with salad crops, vegetable patches, a wealth of fruit trees, as well as a memorial garden.
According to the Community Centre Project Manager, Frank Prendergast, the garden has helped to keep community spirit alive and well in the area.
“In collaboration with our local PCT, we provide clinics here at the Centre for pulmonary heart disease care, a baby inoculation clinic and a ‘Walking Back to Health programme’. We wanted to encourage Centre users to go out into the garden, stay a while and talk to other visitors and get some interaction going. Some of the older men involved with the walking club had previous experience working on allotments and by combining this with the men's health programme, we decided to develop the derelict land at the back of the community centre into a healthy living environment and tapped into funds from ‘Living Spaces’ to help us do it.”
Franks says that by harnessing the talents of local people, they feel that they have more influence over their surroundings.
“The nature trail was created by the probation service as a way for offenders to carry out their community service; 10 volunteers run the allotment project; our vocational college sends young horticulturists once a week to work on the garden as part of their coursework and 12 young people working in an environment project designed the colourful wooden dragons that feature in the nature trail.”
“The design of the nature trail focussed on educational benefits. We wanted to create a path that would stimulate all the senses, so we’ve planted aromatic plants such as lavender and rosemary that release their scent when you brush past. There are buddleias to attract bees and butterflies, stepping stones embossed with images of wildlife such as squirrels and foxes, and the local school children have come to take rubbings off them as part of their classwork. Hedgehog boxes, bird boxes and feeders are paced along the trail to try and educate the school children about living in harmony with wildlife in this urban setting. The decking and paths make the whole area accessible to disabled users.”
“Taking part and getting recognition for all the community work through the Britain in Bloom Neighbourhood Awards has been absolutely vital”, says Frank. “The young people involved in this project may have never had a certificate for anything before, so being presented with this gives them a real sense of achievement and we have the certificate on display in the Reception area for everyone to see.”
“We try to give people a sense of pride and get them involved. It makes you feel fantastic to be part of something like this that is giving so much back, and we want everyone to feel that way about their community.”
More photos of the Liverpool project
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Further Information
For further information about Breckfield North Community Centre or for more stories contact Renee Dodds at the RHS on 020 7821 3657.
More photos of the Torbay project
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Further Information
For further information about Torre Churchyard or for more stories contact Renee Dodds at the RHS on 020 7821 3657.
Friends of the Churchyard, Torre Churchyard, Torbay
The Torre Churchyard is in the centre of Torbay and surrounded by lots of houses. Although a public footpath ran through the middle, residents felt unsafe using it and the whole place was overgrown and full of rubbish.
Margaret Forbes-Hamilton, one of the members of the Torre Community Action Group, describes the motivation the group had for initiating the improvements, “When I moved here the churchyard was really unsafe, nobody would walk through it, there was ivy climbing all over the walls and the stones, it was full of drug users and loitering gangs. My house backs onto the churchyard and you couldn’t hear yourself think for the dreadful screams and noise that came from outside."
“We would find stolen goods and drugs, and coathangers under the trees… We couldn’t figure out why there were so many coathangers at first, but the community safety officers told us that when thieves stole clothes from the shops they would come here and quickly dump the coathangers!”
In July 2005 Margaret Forbes-Hamilton formed a group to rejuvenate the ancient churchyard of Torre. People immediately signed up to get involved, showing how much they were concerned about its rundown state.
At the end of October on National Volunteers Day, there was a grand launch, and a strong group of helpers turned up with gardening gloves and tools at the ready. Every Saturday since October there have been volunteers working to overcome years of neglect. The ivy is under control, the brambles are being managed to produce fruit for both residents and wildlife, while the bindweed is yanked out as soon as it sticks a leaf through the soil! Nearly 1,000 daffodils have been planted, and these will become a Marie Curie Field of Hope.
The shrubberies beside the church tower have been pruned and underplanted with primroses, violets and other native flowers being put in little pockets, while the memorial crosses are being looked after with respect. After a lot of pressure being brought to bear, waste bins were placed at either end of the church path. The council lighting department were persuaded to adapt two new light standards so that they were appropriate for the environment.
Margaret says the community has come alive now that the churchyard has been reclaimed by the residents, “Because it is right in the middle of the community, cleaning up the churchyard has made such a difference to everyone. It feels so much safer, everyone feels comfortable walking through the churchyard. With all the overgrown ivy and rubbish removed everything can be clearly seen so there is much less crime taking place there. I haven’t called the police in six weeks! I used to call them three or four times a day when I first moved here."
“The greatest achievement of the group has been to change the atmosphere and mood of the churchyard. It was always a beautiful place, but in becoming so overgrown it was a magnet for alcoholics, drug users and dealers. Many local residents were too intimidated to even walk through it on the church path. Now it is clear, open and well looked after. There are no dark corners to lurk in, and antisocial behaviour is nipped in the bud. There is a constant stream of people strolling through, and more tourists are also coming in to look around. Younger children now play here, and dog walkers stop and chat with each other.
“In other words, this treasure of a green space, with its hundreds of years of history, in the centre of Torquay has been reclaimed for the people who surround it, and value it.”