All the profits from our 5p charge for food carrier bags are donated to the environmental charity, Groundwork. Woodhey Road Community Garden Project in Plymouth is one of the Groundwork projects to have benefited from this money.
All the profits from the 5p we're now charging for food carrier bags at M&S are being donated to the environmental charity, Groundwork. One of the Groundwork projects that's benefited from this money is the Woodhey Road Community Garden Project in Plymouth.
The Woodhey Road Project.
Woodhey Road is the headquarters of North Prospect Partnership, a community organisation that brings residents and service providers together. Groundwork have been working with the Partnership to develop the garden space of the house, which was run-down and a hive of anti social behaviour, to turn it into a space for everyone in the community to use.
Groundwork had already received some funding from a local arts group for a graffiti project on the community garage wall overlooking the garden, and to clear the land. Through the M&S bag charge donations, Groundwork were able to award more funding to the project, so the garden could be completed.
The young people involved in the graffiti project wanted to carry on and help transform the garden. Groundwork's Youth Worker, Danny Simmonds, worked with them and others in the area to brainstorm ideas for the garden.
Danny took the group to the Eden Project in Cornwall to inspire them and to stimulate discussion about how best to make the garden a safe and well-used community space. They worked with the Eden Project's Playspaces Architect who helped them get their ideas into a professional garden design format and plan.
When they got back to Woodhey Road, the children mapped out the designs in flour on the garden - a great way for them to see how things might really look.
As you'll see in the film, the project began to take shape over the Easter holidays when many children from the area spent the two weeks helping with the building work and creating the garden they had designed. Much of the money from M&S has gone towards transforming the structure of the garden, including building a sand pit, a willow tunnel and a wooden shelter.
We will showcase other Groundwork projects where M&S funding has helped make a difference in local communities throughout the year, so do come back and see how your money is helping.
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