Work to develop a new community garden at the back of the Canberra Children’s Centre has begun, with the digging and pathway laying now underway.
The project is the idea of two local charities, 4Youth (South West) and Spurgeons Children’s Charity, which both use the Canberra Centre based on Spa Road, and have joined forces to create the space.
4Youth (South West) runs youth clubs, a TeenTalk counselling service and various activities for young people while Spurgeons Children’s Charity provides parental and family support services for children and young people.
The new garden area is due to be a space for both charities to carry out their work and enable the people they support to enjoy the benefits of nature and the outdoors, as well as being open for the wider community to enjoy.
Plans for the space include a community orchard, a sensory area, open seating, a wildflower garden and a small copse with bug hotels.
Tree planting due to start next month and it is anticipated the garden will be finished by February next year.
“I am absolutely delighted that we have finally started work on the new community garden,” explained founder of 4Youth, Jon Hubbard. “This project has been a long time in the making and it is wonderful to see the first steps being taken with the digging and pathway laying now underway. Our whole team is incredibly excited to see this space transformed into something that will bring joy and benefit to the entire community.”
Helping to fund the project is Melksham Town Council, which recently agreed to give £7,988 towards the installation of pathways and any additional equipment needed to complete the project.
Jon said, “We are immensely grateful to Melksham Town Council, Tarmac, and the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust for their generous contributions to make this vision a reality. Without their support, this project wouldn’t have been possible.”
