Heysham gardeners growing community impact with £2,500 OnPath Energy grant backing

An award-winning community allotment project in Heysham is looking to keep growing after securing a four-figure grant from a renewable energy firm.

The Greenfingers Community Project makes 48 plots of different sizes available to local gardeners of all ages and abilities at the Daisy Bank Allotments on Smithy Lane, and aims to create an inclusive environment where anyone with a passion for gardening and the outdoors will feel welcome.

The mesh fencing and wooden posts surrounding the allotment area has been progressively damaged by the weather, as well as by several break-ins to the site.

But now, a £2,500 grant from the community fund linked to renewable energy firm OnPath Energy’s nearby Heysham South Wind Farm has enabled Greenfingers to replace it with a new security fence with metal posts, with a team of project volunteers clearing the site and carrying out the required groundwork themselves.

It’s the organisation’s second grant from the Heysham South Wind Farm fund, with the powered lawnmower that was purchased with the first one helping the gardeners keep the grass roadways around the site in good order.

Founded in 2012 by a group of local gardeners who took responsibility for the land from the local council, the Greenfingers Community Project now has around 70 members, and has been recognised in the national Britain in Bloom awards in both of the last two years.

Resources are always scarce for community projects like ours, so to receive a second grant from the Heysham South Wind Farm fund makes a huge difference to what we can do.

Alongside the individual plots, which include 11 raised beds for gardeners with mobility issues, the site also includes a range of communal facilities, including a large polytunnel, a barbecue area, an orchard, a greenhouse for plot holders who don’t have one of their own and a community shed that can be used for meetings, social gatherings and events.

The project acts as host for the mental health support group The Bay: A Blueprint For Recovery, which offers small group sessions for adults which help to improve well-being and confidence through connecting with nature.

Greenfingers has also recently started a community composting project, and after holding an introductory workshop for local people, it is now looking to encourage local hospitality venues and care homes to bring their green waste to the site for reuse.

Peter Morgan, treasurer at the Greenfingers Community Project, says: “We’ve been able to turn an underused patch of land into a thriving community asset where local people can enjoy time in the open air, share their passion for nature and nurture the wide variety of flowers, fruit and vegetables that they grow from seeds through to harvest.

“Replacing the old fence with strong metal fencing and posts will make the allotment a much safer location, and will help us to keep it as secure as we possibly can.

“Resources are always scarce for community projects like ours, so to receive a second grant from the Heysham South Wind Farm fund makes a huge difference to what we can do.”

Robin Winstanley, sustainability and community director at OnPath Energy (formerly Banks Renewables), adds: “Greenfingers has such a positive impact on its local community and environment in lots of different ways and we’re very pleased to be extending the support that we’re providing to their excellent work.

“This is an excellent example of the value that community funding can create, and we would encourage other groups in the area to apply for funding if they are looking to improve or expand the services they offer for local people.”

Environmental and community projects in the vicinity of the Heysham South Wind Farm which are interested in applying to its community fund should first contact the fund manager via apply@onpathcommunityfund.co.ukor on 0191 378 6342 to confirm that their group or project is eligible.