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SUMMER OPEN DAY
Saturday
19th June 2010
12 - 4pm
Come down to Mudlarks for an afternoon of activities for all the family or just join us for tea and cakes in the lovely surroundings of our community allotment garden.
3pm - talk by local author and permaculture expert Mike Guerra
Transition Hertford Link
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Mudlarks Community Garden , Cromwell Road Allotments, Hertford SG13 7DP |
Where plants and people grow
- Enabling people of all ages and abilities to work together.
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- Raising awareness of the need to protect and conserve our environment.
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- Offering training, education, recreation and personal development.
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For further information please contact:
Vic Hobson on 07835 714766 or vic@mudlarksgarden.org.uk
Thanks to East Herts District Council for funding our summer scheme, the Hertford 10k runners who kindly raised funds for Mudlarks, particularly Rupert Tapin for organising everyone.
A huge thank you to Alan Fitzjohn who yet again let us borrow his truck and gave us 2 loads of manure and straw bales for the site.
Registered Charity Number
1132403
Volunteers
Wanted
We welcome everyone to join in at Mudlarks as a volunteer.
We are making progress in enabling people with physical disabilities to participate in this community project. There is no compulsion to do heavy digging.
If you are able to help in anyway whether it is for a day, morning, afternoon or a couple of hours your help will be greatly appreciated.
There are many projects that still need completing, and many more to be started. Horticulture and gardening is 80% maintenance so there is always something to be done.
You may wish to start by following pages from the PEOPLE or HELP US buttons on this website, drop in on a Tuesday or Friday or contact Vic by phone or email.
Jack, Mac and Keith Mouse Proofing the Greenhouse
An Invitation to Visit the Herbal Spiral
Keith and Hannah
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I must start by thanking the town council for the two tremendous water troughs. They have transformed the lives of all the allotment holders at our end of the site. No more back breaking journeys with full watering cans!
One of the new water troughs
Much of the site is now developed for wheelchair access. The tool and toilet sheds are both wheelchair accessible, and we have completed the railings along the ramp this week. This was again carried out by college students, and provided them with valuable work experience. Our aim is to acquire more raised beds in the coming year for use by people who have limited mobility, and to level our paths.
Kevin and his team
This year Mudlarks will be open throughout the summer, thanks to a grant from East Herts which is funding staffing for our summer scheme. We will be providing places for 16-23 year olds with disabilities and mental health issues for the summer.
You may have noticed that our mound of earth, created when we cleared the communal plot, is gradually decreasing. This is the result of extremely hard work by a number of our gardeners, sieving and sorting the soil and putting it back onto the beds.
Colin and Steve sifting soil
We are also experimenting with straw bales. We have watered the bales heavily for the last month, and have now planted them with cucumbers and courgettes. The theory is that as the bales rot down they will provide enough nutrients for the vegetables. We’ll see!
Straw bale experiment
Our summer fair is on the 19th June from 12 - 4pm, and is again linked with Transition Hertford. If you have time, please join us for tea and cakes.
Vic Hobson
Building Runner Bean Arches Using the Saplings Recovered by the Garden Team
Mudlarks Trainees, Volunteers and Families Testing the New Ramp
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HOLIDAY SCHEME
Mudlarks is a community allotment site offering horticultural therapy as well as training and work experience in horticulture, conservation and environmental awareness.
This summer we are running a holiday scheme for 16-19 year olds with a learning or mental health issues.
Please contact Vic for more details.
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THE GARDENING TEAM
The main aim of the gardening team is to allow people from Mudlarks to gain work experience and extend their skills. On Wednesdays, a team of four people go out to a garden that needs a little T.L.C. These are mostly private gardens but we have also cleared a paddock. The jobs we carry out range from trimming hedges and weeding flowers beds to planting new ones and general tidying of overgrown gardens.
The reason this project is so important to our gardeners is that it allows them to really put to use the skills they've learnt at Mudlarks, and thus provides a progression from horticultural training into employment. It gives each individual self-confidence and discipline to work towards gaining employment.
The diary for 2010 is filling up very quickly. We now have a list of regular customers and continually receive calls for one-off jobs such as putting up a fence or laying turf.
If you are thinking of having your garden done and can't decide on a contractor, here are some reasons why you should choose us:
- you will be helping to breakdown social prejudice towards people with learning difficulties and mental health issues.
- you will be helping people acquire real work experience to help them gain employment.
- all payments to us go straight back into helping run the project; there is no profit made.
- we use only organic, natural gardening methods, for example, we weed instead of spraying.
- we never use harmful chemicals.
- we act responsibly by recycling garden waste through composting and burning logs in our wood burning stoves in the winter and only burn branches when necessary.
Here is a list of just some of the work we have had the chance to get involved in:
- Designing and planting new beds
- Building a child’s garage
- Paddock clearance
- Tree and shrub planting
- Grass seed sowing
- Fruit tree pruning
- Dismantling old sheds
- Building fences
- Hedge cutting
- Tree and shrub pruning
- Weeding, edging and mulching
- Dismantling old decking
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The Garden Team Clearing Jackie's Paddock in Two Days
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