The B&NES Carers’ Centre has been awarded ‘Outstanding’ for the Bath in Bloom and Royal Horticultural Society’s ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ scheme for their carers’ garden on the Lower Bristol Road.
‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ is a grassroots community gardening campaign, supporting community groups in ‘cleaning up and greening up’ their local environment.
The Bath Carers’ Centre was gifted the Garden through The BBC One Show and it was installed with the help of volunteers in the summer of 2014.
The garden is maintained by a group of dedicated volunteers who meet once a week.
Carers’ Centre deputy chief executive Janine Woodward-Grant said she is very proud of the award: “It really is down to the volunteers who have done such a wonderful job keeping the garden looking lovely. Now we just have to keep up the good work!”
The garden provides a much needed green space for people who otherwise may not get to spend time outdoors.
Carers are welcome to use the garden to have a hot drink, enjoy the sunshine or read a book during weekdays.
It is also used to host the Carers’ Centre family days with games for children, and other breaks and respite opportunities for carers.
The garden features a log cabin, stone pizza oven and homemade ornaments and figures weaved from willow.
The Centre supports local families who are looking after someone who is ill or disabled. Becoming a carer can be very isolating, stressful and exhausting so the Carers’ Centre provides support, advice and respite to enable people to carry on looking after the person they care for.
The Carers’ Centre is also part of Tesco’s ‘Bags of Help’ campaign, and following a vote the charity will win between £8,000 and £12,000 to continue to develop the garden.
Tesco customers can vote in Bath and Peasedown stores for the Centre until 13th November 2016.
