Community Garden on a Winning Streak
Women's Charity Community Garden on a Winning Streak with new Health and Wellbeing Award!
Local charity Tomorrow’s Women (TW) has been awarded an ‘Outstanding’ achievement and Health and Wellbeing Award in the recent Wirral In Bloom Awards 2021 for their community garden.
The charity works with adult women 18+ to prevent offending and support women to make positive lifestyle changes through targeted interventions such as courses, activities and support. The onsite community garden, which has been described as an “Oasis in Birkenhead” is inspired by, and made for the women. It is used as a tool for women to build upon their physical skills of horticulture and homegrown produce, as well as serving women’s emotional wellbeing in providing an outdoor, safe and serene space that they can enjoy and take ownership of.
Britain In Bloom is a national gardening competition facilitated and judged by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) aimed at “building communities and tackling local issues” through outdoor spaces and gardening projects. The Wirral arm of the In Bloom competition is held each year and recognises local leading outdoor projects led by individuals and organisations, and has for the last three years consecutively judged the women’s charity as “outstanding”. This year the charity garden was also recognised for its wider benefits, winning the first Health and Wellbeing Award of the competition.
Senior Empowerment Advisor and Criminal Justice Coordinator at the charity, Nicola Boughey said upon receiving the award:
“[Working on our] community garden is not about being recognised, it is about the women being part of something. It has been really difficult for us all throughout the pandemic, but the community garden has provided women and volunteers, who have come through different avenues to the service including the criminal justice system and mental health and wellbeing, an opportunity to continue engaging and have a focus”.
In spite of the pressures and restrictions of the pandemic, Tomorrow’s Women has continued to provide a support service for both adult women 18+ as part of the main charity, and more latterly for young women 14 -17 as part of a young women’s project Tomorrow’s Young Women. The charity has for the last 20 months adapted its approach to work virtually with women in the absence of in person interventions and has supported women around issues including mental health, domestic abuse, and substance misuse; all of which were exacerbated by the national lockdowns and social isolation.
Angela Murphy, CEO of Tomorrow’s Women shared her pride at the recognition given by the RHS:
“It is an incredible honour to be awarded an Outstanding level of achievement for our community garden, and to be the first recipient of the Health and Wellbeing Award, highlighting the incredibly passionate, dedicated and creative work of member of Tomorrow’s Women, volunteers, and women on community payback.”
