April 15th started with a bang! Nine fantastic young people arrived at the Triangle Garden for our three-day Branching Out Easter Scheme. Some knew each other from College, others did not. Their ages ranged from 17 to 22 and they were excited and a little bit nervous to try something new in unknown surroundings. Our staff and volunteers immediately put them at ease and got them started on some of our planned activities – this was to be a taster for them to see what coming to Growing Ability would be like when the time came for them to leave further education. Luckily we had fair weather for the week, although Wednesday was quite windy which is always a challenge – ask any teacher!
We covered a huge range of activities over the three days including –
- painting pots as gifts with a seed planted in them,
- helping to build a raised timber manger bed,
- filling it with logs hugel-style for moisture retention and slow-release nutrients,
- digging up a load of soil to fill the raised bed, then adding a layer of compost
- planting a manger bed up with herbs
- doing a bug hunt with Woodand Trust nature discovery sheets
- litter picking in the park
- yoga in the park
- adding to the planting in the raised beds at the community nature garden
Here’s some of the feedback we received from the parents of the young people, a testament to our amazing staff and volunteers and to the young people themselves:
“After just three days at the gardening project, I’ve seen a remarkable change in my son. His confidence has visibly grown as he masters new skills in a supportive environment designed for adults with learning disabilities. The programme provides structure and purpose whilst nurturing his independence in ways I hadn’t thought possible. The sense of accomplishment he feels when showing me what he’s planted and learnt is invaluable. This programme isn’t just about gardening—it’s developing life skills, social connections, and genuine joy. Regular attendance would provide consistent growth opportunities that would benefit him tremendously in all aspects of his life. The community you’ve created gives both him and our family hope for a more independent future.”
“[My daughter has] had the best time at Branching Out at Easter. Thank
you so much for having her. She would definitely be interested in attending some sessions in the summer so keep us on your list. Thank you and the team so much for all your great work. We are so lucky to have you!”
“I just wanted to give you some feedback from the three days [my son] attended in April. I was a little bit apprehensive about [him] joining a group of young adults, and spending three whole days gardening with strangers and how he would cope. I couldn’t have been so wrong. It was so lovely when I came to pick him up after the first day and hear him laughing, it just pulled at my heart strings.
When at School/college he is a confident young man, in other settings he can become very quiet and step back from the attention and not get involved.
From day one, he absolutely loved it. He got involved and came back covered in dirt and loved every minute of it. In the car on our return journey home he was non stop talking about his day which I absolutely loved to hear.
He felt so comfortable with all your staff and volunteers and loved spending time with them. This has been the first time that [he] has wanted to return to a club and actually ask to go again.
I wanted to say a massive thank you, to all your staff who made his three days absolutely fun and special memories for him. Thank you for taking such good care of my boy.”