We are delighted to give support to community groups in the form of a modest grant. Hartcliffe Health & Environment Action Group is a charity based at the Gatehouse Centre in the Dundry View area of South Bristol. Established for 24 years, the group works to improve the health, wellbeing and environment of local people. They aim to achieve this by providing a range of services and activities for residents. All projects are led by professionals in their field, and most are supported by teams of volunteers. Last year they had 3750 hours of volunteer support. As with many such organisations their funding has been cut.
Among their activities is Greens@HHEAG – two community gardens where food is grown by volunteers, sometimes learning a new skill or for therapy, as part of ‘Plot to Plate’. The produce is often for sale through the Food for All Co-op shop or stalls. I went to visit the gardens on a sunny day in March and saw the efforts being made to keep the allotment site going with a minimal labour force. I spotted a polytunnel looking torn and leaky – polytunnels enable the growing season to be extended for salads during the winter and to start up seedlings early in the year. The dedicated people who run the programmes are fully deserving of our support with a new cover for the polytunnel.
Wendy Pollard