Broadwater Youth Centre Wellbeing Garden Project

The garden is located within a walled area at the youth centre (as can be seen from the attached garden design by RHS Wisley and photographs) accessible internally from the youth centre and through 2 external gates that are appropriately secured for a facility where young children are present.

The project will involve the creation of raised garden beds, the installation of irrigation systems, and the planting of a variety of fruits, vegetables, and herbs.  Existing paved paths at the perimeters will be retained whilst new paths around the beds will be grass. 

The original design of the garden was undertaken by RHS Wisley who also contributed some of their time and plants.  Co-design is integral to this project, with young people taking a role in overseeing the project from its infancy to completion before tending to and maintaining the garden, with support and guidance from youth workers, gardening volunteers and local experts. 

Gardening can be a fun, healthy and educational activity that can benefit young people in many ways.  The community garden will serve as a space for young people to learn about sustainable agriculture, healthy eating, and environmental conservation whilst providing opportunities to develop creative and social skills, improve mental and physical health and learn about plants, animals and the environment.  In addition to the gardening activities, the Wellbeing Garden will offer opportunity to provide workshops on healthy eating, food preparation, and the importance of environmental conservation. 

The young people and staff at the youth centre would like to create a small memorial garden as a celebration of life for the loved ones they have lost.

Secrett Garden Landscapes kindly replaced a dilapidated shed with a purpose-built garden room that will provide a private consultation area for the councillors to talk to the young people.  This offer was free of labour charges and the cost of the materials was covered by a grant from Surrey County Council‘s Your Fund Surrey - Small Community Projects.

Alco Properties have offered to build a pergola at the garden free of labour charges.  The owners of Alco Properties also run the Godalming Staycation music festival and chose the wellbeing garden as one of their two charities for last year and donated £1,900 to the cause.

The Rotary Woolsack club has funded the garden furniture and some of the plants together with the furniture for the newly built garden/consultation room.

More recently, Birchgrove (who are building assisted living homes with support at hand for the independently minded on the old Scats site in Godalming) ran a stall at the Godalming Spring Festival with a raffle for a bumper hamper and face painting for children of all ages (including some well over 21!).  They raised a total of £300 in aid of the Wellbeing Garden 

Our thanks go to all the organisations and individuals who have helped in this project, and we look forward to seeing you all at the grand opening in the near future.