RHS Community Grants awarded

We are supporting community groups and schools with the RHS Connected Communities and Sustainable Futures Grants, to help create new connections and address sustainability issues in local areas

More than 50 successful applicants

In October 2022, we launched the RHS Connected Communities Grant and RHS Sustainable Futures Grant to help our growing network of schools and community groups increase social connections and future-proof their projects to ensure longevity. We are pleased to announce that 51 applicants have been successful and will receive £2,500 each to kick-start their gardening journey or take an existing project to the next level.

Building new connections

Gardening is a great way to reach out and build new connections within a community, whether it’s promoting new volunteering and skill-sharing opportunities, creating spaces to socialise in or helping people discover their green fingers.

Projects supported by the RHS Connected Communities Grant include workshops for young people to showcase the range of opportunities in gardening and horticulture careers, green social prescribing programmes, a new partnership to run gardening sessions with adults with learning disabilities, and an inter-generational project for people with dementia.

A diverse range of projects

We know that in a rapidly changing world, community and school gardeners must adapt to ensure their work stays relevant and sustainable. The successful RHS Sustainable Futures applicants will seek to address these challenges and cover a diverse range of projects across the UK, from planting to tackle extreme weather conditions, to a school aiming to double its growing area to provide more fresh produce for their onsite food bank.

The successful applicants for the RHS Connected Communities and Sustainable Futures Grants are:

Creative Minds (Khawateen Creative Minds), Birmingham
D’Eynsford Estate Secret Garden and Grounds, Southwark
Dig In CIO, Preston
Fairoak Housing Association, Kendal
Falmouth Food Co-op, Falmouth
FARE Scotland, Glasgow
Friends of Thornybauk, Edinburgh
Friends of High Park’s Green Spaces, Southport
Growing Matters at Gilmerton House Kitchen Garden, East Lothian
Mafwa Theatre CIC, Leeds
Martineau Gardens, Birmingham
Meanwhile Gardens Community Association, North Kensington
MHA Communities Cheshire West, Ellesmere Port
St Ives in Bloom, St Ives, Huntingdon
St Johns Parochial Church Council, Workington
The Shelthorpe Garden Steering Committee, Loughborough
Yusuf Youth Initiative, Dundee

All Saints Catholic Primary, Liverpool
Aylsham High School, Norfolk
Belville Community Garden Trust, Greenock
Bersted Green Primary School, Bognor Regis
Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses, Lambeth
Cultivate London, Ealing
Godwin Junior School, Newham
FARE Scotland, Glasgow
Food4Families – Lavender Place Community Garden, Reading
Friends of Castle Parks Berwick, Berwick-upon-Tweed
Friends of Stretford Public Hall, Manchester
High Blantyre Primary School, Blantyre
Hirwaun Primary School, Aberdare
Holycroft Primary School, Keighley
Incredible Edible New Mills, High Peak
John Masefield High School, Ledbury
Lampard Community School, Barnstaple
Littlecoates Primary Academy, Grimsby
Phillimore Primary School, Sheffield
Queenborough Town Council, Isle of Sheppey
Ramsgreave Parish Council, Burnley
Richard Cloudesley School, Islington
Rishton Methodist Primary, Lancashire
Roundwood Bloomers / Forest & Family, Islington
Seven Kings School, Ilford
Stanford in the Vale Church of England Primary School, Oxfordshire
St John the Baptist RC Church, Rochdale
St Mary’s Lewisham CE Primary School, Lewisham
St Mary’s Primary, Glasgow
St Mary’s Special School & College, Bexhill-on-Sea
Stepney All Saints School, Tower Hamlets
Swiss Valley Community Primary School, Llanelli
The Broadstairs Town Team Ltd, Thanet
The Turning Tides Project CIC, Crediton

“This grant will help The Salopian Garden become more resilient to summer drought conditions by improving water capture and storage, enabling the local community to continue to produce food and train garden volunteers to use water effectively.”
Sally Tillson, Cultivate London

Pupils harvest their crops of vegetables

Flowerbeds with sustainable and drought-resistant plants

Sally Tillson from Cultivate London harvesting mizuna

“We want to create a culture of connectedness within communities and enable schools and groups to adapt and future-proof what they do. Throughout 2023, we’ll share the inspiring ways our school and community gardeners tackle common challenges to help the wider community do the same.”
Kay Clark, Community Development Manager

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The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.