May Project Gardens CIC

Community Interest Annual Report MAY PROJECT GARDENS CIC Company activities and impact MPG has continued to manage its programme of community work in 2023, plus continues to provide a community garden providing workshops under the banner Natural City Living. The ‘Natural City Living’ (NCL) programme is one of May Project Garden’s flagship offerings and runs throughout the year in harmony with nature’s seasons. NCL is delivered from a large communal garden located at May Project Garden’s headquarters in Morden, Surrey, and the space is available to the local community without a formal booking. The primary aim of the programme is to engage local communities living within urbanised environments and introduce them to the benefits of interacting with nature. Through an approach that is both interactive and encourages participation in cultivating nature, NCL demonstrates how nature can be a conduit to improved mental health and overall wellbeing, and also educates participants to the benefits of sustainable living. NCL delivery includes a wide range of activities such as planting and growing fruits and vegetables, cob oven building, restoration and general garden maintenance. The garden is also utilised as a teaching resource from where sessions on creative writing, sustainable fashion and herbal remedies can be delivered. The programme structure mirrors nature’s seasons and features a ‘closed loop’ approach. By closed loop we mean programme design, delivery, receiving participation feedback and amending the next iteration of delivery based upon the feedback received. This approach is underpinned by one of our guiding principles which is to be resource-led. Figure 1 demonstrates the cycle of events delivered in 2023 Over 300 people were engaged across the 24 NCL programme activities delivered in 2023 and post session data gathered from participants is overwhelmingly positive. The data strongly suggests that participants’ expectations and needs were surpassed, that the garden environment was peaceful, and that the welcoming and helpful nature of MPG staff helped to facilitate the learning of new skills. Twice as many participants were female, compared to males that participated in NCL last year, with over 80% of participants surveyed reporting increased confidence and an even higher percentage having a better understanding of the connection between food and health Hip Hop Garden (HHG) has continued to provide support for marginalised individuals with workshops in local communities and has partnered with Bristol Drug Project working wigth people recovering from drug and alcohol addiction. HHG provides coaching and gardening and the engagement of young people has increased and continued. May Project Garden’s ‘Hip-Hop Garden’ (HHG) is an awarding winning programme that can be defined as an alternative education model that uses Hip-Hop to educate and empower young people to be healthy, entrepreneurial and grow their communities. The Hip-Hop industry is estimated to be worth over $10 billion and is a globally recognised culture that strikes a chord with younger generations and people within their 40s and 50s that grew up within the culture. Given its universal appeal, ability to transcend language and cultural backgrounds, we chose Hip-Hop as the most appropriate means to maximise engagement with the core audience and implement impactful learning for the benefit of individuals and the community. By establishing an innovative delivery model, HHG continues to make meaningful contributions to how people see themselves and wider society understands issues around the environment and sustainability.