Just in case you haven’t spotted this, we are recruiting for a Therapeutic Horticulture lead.

Despite the cold weather, our brilliant volunteers have been turning up and doing their bit to look after Martineau Gardens – compost has been turned, tools cleaned and ordered, winter prunings dealt with, bird feeders topped up. There’s plenty to do and the icing on the cake is sharing a tea break in the January sun or around the fire.

Thank you Stewart Holmes for over 20 years contribution to Martineau Gardens. In his time with us, Stewart has touched so many people, bringing his warmth and friendliness, and spreading his passion for gardening. He’s been such an important part of creating this space – and we wish him all the best. We had a goodbye party around the fire, with staff and volunteers from across the years and in true Martineau spirit, a bring and share feast which we enjoyed together.

We have a favour to ask! If you feel as passionate as we do about all the good things that happen at Martineau Gardens, would you please vote for us here, in the MarshCommercial ‘For the People Awards 2022’:

We are runners up to win £5,000 in the Passionate Awards category – we just need to have as many as our supporters as possible vote for us. After you have voted, we would be so grateful if you could share the link with family, friends and colleagues, the more people who vote for us, the greater our chances.

Please share this link: Martineau Gardens (marshcommercial.co.uk)

Voting closes midday on Saturday 20 November 2022

“This is the only place I feel safe now, I hadn’t realised how important the gardens were to me ”

Help us to continue caring for our community – vote now!

At Martineau Gardens we are hugely passionate and enthusiastic about the work we do to improve the lives of our local communities. We are a 2.5 acre community garden close to Birmingham city centre. We are open six days a week, as a tranquil place that is free to visit.

We are a place of sanctuary for 80-100 volunteers each year, that includes people with mental health issues, acquired brain injury, Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Special Educational Needs and those living with dementia. Volunteers come together to access our Therapeutic Horticulture programme, which builds community, relationships and has been proven to boost their sense of life satisfaction.

Lockdown, fear of the virus and social contact, inability to access normal support services, isolation from support networks and lack of access to safe outdoor space all had a massive impact on our volunteers wellbeing. When we temporarily closed in March 2020 we kept in regular contact with our volunteers. It soon became apparent that people’s mental health was deteriorating, so we reopened in smaller groups with increased staff ratios. In total throughout 2020 we only closed to volunteers for eight weeks. During the disruptions we dedicated hundreds of hours to staying in touch with volunteers who were unable to attend in person.

One volunteer said: “I was like a pressure cooker; I could feel myself building up ready to blow.As soon as I came back to the gardens, I could feel my heart rate drop, it was like the stress was just oozing away”.

Another said “This is the only place I feel safe now, I hadn’t realised how important the gardens were to me until I couldn’t come”

Knowing how important the gardens are to our volunteers it is vital to us that they ensure they know how much they are valued here. Volunteers built brick barbeques this year, that we used to hold two thank you barbeques, which were very popular. Next week the Lapal Trust are taking our volunteers on a canal boat trip locally to enjoy the autumnal scenery. We were also nominated for and won the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. This recognises the dedication of hundreds of people over the last 25 years that has made Martineau Gardens an exemplary community garden.

When asked to describe what Martineau Gardens means to them, many volunteers used words such as “heaven”, “calming” and “safe” to positively express their gratitude towards the gardens. Additionally, some volunteers described the gardens as a second home and somewhere they can feel comfortable being themselves:

“I feel really comfortable, yeah, I felt at home, erm, immediately really yeah”

“It is a place of tranquillity and to me, it is like a haven and as soon as I come into that archway I feel like I’m just safe, it just feels really safe.”

This week, it’s Trustee’s Week – an opportunity to shine the spotlight on our terrific board of Volunteer Trustees, who work tirelessly, often behind the scenes to support the work of Martineau Gardens. In 20022, we’re celebrating twenty-five years of Martineau Gardens – with their constant dedication Martineau Gardens has weathered the storms and is looking forward to the next 25 years.

Thank you Peter Arnold, Tim Bruton (our Chair), Liz Hensel, Felly Nkweto Simmonds, Cathy Powell, Peter Townley MBE and Tom Walkling.

We are very grateful for your support of Martineau Gardens at this time of year – the therapeutic horticulture project continues across the winter months, bringing a sense of purpose and joy for our participants – and your donations mean we can continue to be the haven in so many people’s lives.

Festive gifts

Christmas is just round the corner, it’s a time for giving, with this in mind, the team at Martineau Gardens have been busy preparing and creating wares inspired by the beauty of the gardens. Pop in Monday to Saturday (until Wednesday 21 December) to pick up an unusual handgrown, handmade present.

Subject to availability we have jams, chutneys, honey, seasoned logs for the hearth, compost, alpine and succulent plants in terracotta pots.

On-line gift cards

Or alternatively, you can also purchase gift-cards on-line. Follow the link below to our Sum Up Gift Card platform – you can buy a gift voucher for any amount you like, and personalise it by picking from a selection of designs. You will be sent an e-voucher to pass on to your recipient. They can visit the gardens at any time across the next year, to redeem against plants, produce, logs, compost or jams. If you’d like to have something to wrap up when you present the gift card, pop into Martineau Gardens before 3pm on Wednesday 21 December to collect a Robin postcard and a small token, with which to present it.

Give a gift

To support the work of Martineau Gardens directly, you can donate one-line here, via justgiving

Or alternatively:

pay by card (call 0121 440 7430)

pay by BACS: Martineau Gardens, Account No: 50117516      Sort code: 08-92-50 Ref: Gift/insert your surname Our bank address is: The Co-operative Bank plc, PO Box 250, Delf House, Southway, Skelmersdale, WN8 6WT