Community group case studies

Hear from local community groups about what they're doing to help transition to net zero, and how YOU can get involved...

Case Study: Edwinstowe in Bloom

Residents identified an opportunity to make the village more attractive for residents and visitors by entering the RHS Britain in Bloom competition.

Hear from a spokesperson from Edwinstowe in Bloom:

"We wanted to revive the community spirit and create an eco-friendlier village to do our bit for climate change to help protect pollinators and wildlife habitats. We were committed to taking on the challenge with an emphasis on not only formally planted beds but also considering the ecological impact by planting using wildlife and pollinator friendly plants and wildflower seeds creating wildflower meadows on waste land and in the grass verges.    

We formed partnerships with the Parish Council and other local organisations and groups such as the RSPB, Sherwood Forest Friends of the Earth re-wilding team, local shops and businesses, Hope Springs gardening project, Inspire learning, and the Woodhead Group.

Some of the other behind-the-scenes activities included sessions supported by the RSPB Sherwood Forest  Community and Volunteer Development Officer, Guiding and Scouting groups, the Nursing Home, local schools, village hall, cricket club and the Church. The sessions covered building bird boxes and bug houses, pebble painting, and flower paintings to be laminated for bunting, and supporting a gardening group in the Churchyard. The Scouting groups sowed seeds, planted potatoes and made flower paintings. The Brownies and Rainbows created their own flower bed and built birdboxes and bug houses. Other groups made posters. flower brooches and lots of bunting. We didn’t just restrict ourselves to gardening and craft workshops, in partnership with Feel Good Gardens, and Ecologic we also provided training sessions for adults on creating wildflower meadows with a special session for schools.

The Annual EMIB Awards Ceremony took place in mid-September. Edwinstowe was classified in the Town category and much to everyone’s delight and against all expectations we were awarded a silver medal.

In the first year we had to rely on volunteers, generous donations and some small business sponsorship for money and the residents for donating plants. In our second year we have formalised the organisation with a constitution and policy and procedure documents. As well as sponsorship money which has continued, we have been successful in obtaining grants from Just Giving National Grid and NCC Community funding. This money has enabled us to purchase a water bowser and water butts so that we will be able to maintain the planting during the hot weather and reduce the time spent watering in an eco-friendly way. We will be using the remainder of the grant money to purchase the tools we need and to make our group more self-sustaining and able to propagate plants from seeds."

Find out more about this project by visiting EdwinstoweinBloom.org.uk

Case Study: Jigsaw Support Scheme

Jigsaw has served the community of Mansfield and the surrounding area for over 15 years. During that time, its activities have expanded to meet the needs of those who become isolated within our society. Community funding has helped establish their allotment, they supply local food banks with the grown produce, and horticultural projects.  

Hear from a spokesperson from Jigsaw:

"With funding from the Nottinghamshire County Council Local Communities Fund and other funding sources, we planted lots of fruit trees on both sites to offer shade and the opportunity to pick fruit. We also looked at drought resistance crops and companion planting to attract wildlife into our settings and created composting areas and water stations. We recycle old food bank items and leftover vegetables in the composting area. With climate change, we realise we have a longer growing season and this can be beneficial for our aim to gift access produce to local food banks. We run sessions on the allotment every Thursday from 1 to 3 pm which members enjoy getting involved with. In the future, we want to roll our project over to other doctor’s surgeries and spare space in Mansfield." 

Find out more about this project by visiting JigsawSupportScheme.org.uk