Tuesday 29 June 2010 at Mudlarks
As a carer living near St Albans I rarely have the opportunity to visit Mudlarks but each time I do I am struck by the enthusiasm, drive and progress made by Vic, her team, the trainees and volunteers.
Tuesday 29 th June was full of activity with the large compost heap being sifted and distributed around the site to even out the bumpy ground, the delivery and erection of a temporary shed, the first phase of the dismantling of the existing sheds (to make way for the new eco shed), several dozen tomato plants being potted on, copious amount of watering by hand, and the arrival, in the afternoon, of a group of children from Amwell View School on the second of five hands-on educational visits.
There were eight trainees, three volunteers, and four staff on site.
Hannah, a regular trainee on Tuesday said her best jobs are sieving the compost heap, watering, dog walking, potting plants and building bird boxes. She is willing to get involved in all the activities, including wheel barrowing but says her worst job is ‘going home’. Hannah is particularly adept at finding comfortable places to crash out.
I met up with the lads who have been trainees at Mudlarks from the start. Their confidence, social and gardening skills have all improved. Robert is now keen to look around at the jobs and pick the one that takes his fancy. I witnessed his first planting in a pot a couple of months ago, and he has moved on and upwards since. James and Mark mentor the children from Amwell View School in planting and potting up, they clearly love doing it.
Robert and Kate
Allan is a tireless worker who has made a tremendous impact in digging, sorting moving soil, weeding and countless other strenuous jobs He dug out a huge amount of soil while I was drinking a cup of tea.
I had not met Steve, Matthew, and “little’ Steve before but they have settled into Mudlarks and enthusiastically enjoyed the challenge of helping Keith, Mac, and Vic in erecting the temporary shed and dismantling one of the old sheds in double quick time.
A new volunteer to Mudlarks is Harriet who is working on site until starting a new job in a couple of week’s time. She is a local resident who has walked through the site, watching it develop and one day plucked up the courage to volunteer. Harriet said that she felt completely welcome to a very friendly community.
James, Jackie, Mark and Harriet potting up tomatoes
Jackie, a former SEN Assistant at Amwell View School, has been working at Mudlarks since January this year. Her ‘best job’ is working with the trainees. She loves to see how they improve and develop their gardening and social skills and how they interact with other trainees, the staff, volunteers and the numerous visitors. There are no walls or fences shielding the trainees from the outside world but the Mudlarks ethos provides a safe and protective environment for vulnerable people. Trainees are aware of and interact with people around them, other allotment holders and people who walk their dogs. There is a tangible feeling of empathy shown by visitors, which we all really appreciate, and this reinforces the trainee’s self-confidence.
Jackie says that the ‘more people there are, the better it becomes’. Each new person brings something new to the Mudlarks mix. It is a ‘win/win’ situation, everybody gains.
The provision of Individual Plots for trainees was one of the main features that all of us at the start of Mudlarks wanted. Jackie says that the ability to choose which crops to grow empowers the trainees and has proved to be a great success. She would like us to produce picture cards to help the less vocal to be able to express their opinion more clearly.
If you were to gift Jackie £1000 to spend how she wished at Mudlarks she would set up a contingency fund to produce laminated picture cards so that trainees could select the job they wanted to do in a session, buy some watering can roses, which apparently go missing on a regular basis, and be able to buy plants when required.
Kate’s ‘Best Mudlarks Day of the Year’ was when she joined Jackie, Patrick, James and Rob to create the pea and bean alleys out of reclaimed twigs and saplings. It was a fantastic day and everybody got a real buzz out of producing structures which should be in use for several years.
Kate has found the new greenhouse to be a real asset to the site. It has extended our planting season and means that we can now plant a much wider range of fruit and vegetables. We have spent many happy hours this spring gathered around a bag of compost, pricking out and potting on. It’s a great job in which everyone can partake, regardless of ability. “You have to keep your wits about you though. When James gets bored, he simply throws all the seeds into one pot, covers them over and hopes you don’t notice. Peter is much more proactive, taking great delight in throwing soil down the back of your neck, all the while cackling with laughter.”
I quote ‘Working at Mudlarks is the best job in the world. I have never got up in the morning and not wanted to go to work’. Given that Kate has been on site for over two years through snow, rain and cold, this is some recommendation.
Patrick could not pick one day to be better than another and is really pleased and proud when a trainee achieves something that they did not believe they could do. He has been responsible for much of the building and construction work around the site which includes; bird boxes, fences, compost bins, shuttering, gates, wire netting, wheel barrow store, wood store, plant signs.
All the trainees get involved in the jobs that Patrick initiates and although he may complete the more difficult tasks it is always done with trainees helping and learning.
If volunteers like Keith, Kevin or Mac are available to take the lead on construction Patrick takes the opportunity to work on the horticultural jobs on site.
Give Patrick £1,000 and he would provide areas of shade, particularly around the seating areas. Some of the less mobile members of the Mudlarks community need to be able to rest in comfort at key points around the site.
The shade could be provided by a mixture of fruit trees and arbours or trellis with fruit yielding plants growing up them.
If you could stretch to another £1,000 gift Patrick would love to lay pathways suitable for wheelchair users in the large Community Plot. There was one wheelchair user on site today; he would like to encourage many more.
Mike Donoghue
