Moving Forward – Arbury Court Community Garden Project.

We want to co-create an inclusive and healing green space that encourages nature-appreciation and social bonding. We would like to add artistic landscaping features and add colour all year round to a high traffic and under appreciated part of the local community. We would like to install raised flower beds on the large green space outside Budgens. This will allow for seasonal plants and flowers to be grown. We are using locally bought spring bulbs, perennial grasses and small shrubs to make the space colourful for the next flowering season. The plants will be selected low maintenance according to factors such as sunlight exposure and water use. The proposed planter layout will allow cut-across paths with spaces wide enough for wheelchairs or walking comfortably. Benches under the trees, wildflower and a bug hotel corner are crucial features in the plan. We would also like to decorate the planters and benches (with permission with the council) to engage the local community and schools and raise awareness for the project. Arbury Court Community Garden will be situated in a very visible area with heavy foot traffic throughout the week. In an area which is typically considered less well-off when compared to other parts of Cambridge, this project will improve the mental wellbeing of residents and engage the community in appreciation for public green spaces. We would also like to raise awareness of local council initiatives such as pesticide free Cambridge and seasonal community events. The main applicant is the Cambridge volunteer group of the charity Tzu Chi Foundation UK. We started the initiative in January 2022 with spring bulbs planting and a commitment to weekly litter picking, weeding and sweeping around the area. We are in close contact with Councillors Alex Collis and Hilary Cox who have given their strong support and been helping us connect. The City Council Community Engagement Team kindly provided tools and materials to help us start. Our friendly community partners include the Nightingale Garden and On the Verge. We have also recently worked with gardeners Garden Gnomes for professional landscape planning and advice. For the new project we would propose an estimated budget of £2600 as below to enable the proposed project and further the vision for the green space at Arbury. We would like to use the budget this year to purchase evergreen shrubs and provide more flowers in autumn and winter months and build wooden benches and planters for the garden. The estimated total costs are as follows: Plants and bulbs: £450, Materials for raised garden beds: Wood planks: £900, Soil: £30, Nutrients: £50, Materials benches: Wood planks: £180, Path pavers: £200, Wood chips: £400, pebbles: £200, Gardening tools: Water cans: £30, Garden shears: £30, Large broom: £15, Large rake: £15, Community outreach: flyers, space hire…: £100