A NEW ‘garden sharing scheme’ is to be launched in Melksham.
The new scheme will help bring together residents that are struggling to maintain their gardens with residents that are keen to get gardening but have no access to one.
Promoting the scheme is Melksham Town Council, who are planning to collaborate with ‘Lend and Tend’ – an organisation that aims to “save unloved gardens with garden sharing”.
It is hoped that the garden sharing scheme will also help tackle loneliness and isolation in the community, through the social connection of pairing garden owners and gardeners together. The town council also say that the scheme will benefit the environment by increasing areas in Melksham that are planted and cared for.
“During lockdown many people turned to gardening as a way of keeping busy, being creative and keeping active, amid a national increase in gardening,” said the town council’s community development officer, Miriam Zaccarelli, in a report to councillors. “Over 3.5 million people started gardening for the first time in 2020 and Melksham has also seen a rise in gardening, with a surge in interest in allotments so that there are now 44 on the waiting list for Melksham Town Council plots.
“While there are those who have a desire to be gardening, but have no garden, there are also those people who have gardens but do not have the time to maintain them. A scheme to bring together the gardenless with available gardens could address the need for finding gardening space for people without gardens, as well as potentially providing new social connections and support to people who are living on their own.”
The new scheme received the backing of councillors at a recent meeting of the town council’s asset management and amenities committee.
“I think this is a charming idea and has a fantastic capacity to work to people’s mutual benefit,” said cllr Simon Crundell.
Echoing cllr Crundell’s support, mayor cllr Jon Hubbard praised the scheme as a “cracking project” adding that in his role at Melksham Community Support – the volunteer service set up in response to the pandemic – he was aware that a number of residents were in need of support to maintain their gardens.
The scheme will be launched in the coming weeks. Anyone interested in taking part can email Miriam at the town council: MiriamZaccarelli@melksham-tc.gov.uk
