A glow of spring sunshine illuminates the bunting at Redcatch Community Garden as people, old and young, move between polytunnels, the play area, raised beds, workshop areas and the coffee station. Whatever their purpose, all are here as part of the Garden’s work to connect people in the community through growing, cooking and sharing food – an ongoing success achieved despite the literal and metaphorical storms thrown their way.
The Garden started in 2017 when Kate Swain teamed up with another local resident, Mike Cardwell, to convert a disused bowling green into a community garden.
“I came from the corporate sector,” Kate, who is now CEO of the organisation, said. “I went to the city centre for work and was disconnected from the community I live in.
Through months of hard slog raising support and funding from the local community and securing a license on the land, Kate and Mike set up a social enterprise dedicated to growing food and supporting the health and wellbeing of their community.
Today the organisation has 20 staff and over 40 volunteers. It runs a range of programmes from art therapy for people living with dementia, to cooking classes to support those living with the cost of living crisis, gardening and woodwork workshops designed for Disabled people, and a youth climate project. The Garden also works with 150 primary pupils many with SEND needs from different local schools.
They’ve faced many challenges on the way, not least when the Covid pandemic hit. They had to act quickly to keep revenues coming in and decided to set up an outdoor community shop.
“We found our cafe staff were listening to the problems people were facing. So we trained everyone up on mental health and first aid,” Heather, Engagement Lead said. “As well as the programmes and other activities, sometimes the help we offer can be low level. Sometimes it’s just about asking how a person feels and listening to them over a cup of tea and a biscuit.”
Building a sense of belonging has immediate rewards. During fierce storms in autumn 2024, winds ripped off the roof of the polytunnel, Kate, said.
“A local windowcleaner lent us some ladders and the volunteers rallied to help fix it,” Kate said.
As well as the time and skills of volunteers, a key to the Garden’s survival has been partnership with other local businesses. Among these is the Bristol Beer Factory. By donating beer for the garden to sell at summer pop-up events, the business has helped raise £8,000, enough to run a year-long art therapy programme for people living with dementia and their carers.
The running costs of keeping the Garden going can be challenging. As part of their efforts to switch to renewable energy, the team has built more efficient biofuel heating thanks to funding from engineering consultancy firm Hoare Lea. In 2024, they won a grant from our Megawatt Community Energy Fund, which they are using to install solar PV on their cabin, office and meeting space.
“The grant is helping us to financially and sustainably futureproof the Garden,” Kate said.
The team has to be nimble and creative to keep the Garden going. The latest example of this is the extension of their free Community Lunch, a sit-down event which feeds around 45 people a week through grants and donations. To raise funding for this and other work, the Garden are now selling frozen meals “cooked by the community for the community”. They are also raising funds to build an indoor cafe to improve accessibility and to build their resilience for a sustainable future.
“Food and growing is such an important way for people to connect,” Kate said.
The work of the Garden is certainly bearing fruit.
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The next round of our Megawatt Community Energy Fund, which we share with Low Carbon Gordano, opens from 1st April to 29th May.
You can find out about events at Redcatch Community Garden and donate to their fundraiser here.
