Last weekend saw a very special community event held on apatch of land next to Claines Parish Hall. The party at the patch was theofficial opening of a community garden which has been established thanks tofundraising by the Little Friends playgroup, Claines church and a contributionfrom the Kingdom People fund.
The land belonged to the church and for many years wasrented out as an allotment. When the gentleman who tended the site had to giveit up, it became very overgrown, but the playgroup saw the potential and havefundraised to turn it into a useable garden space.
The garden was opened by Councillor Andy Stafford, who hasgiven 600 so that a willow walk can be developed. He said: We dont have manycommunity spaces in the area and this is a fantastic project which I waspleased to support. It has the potential to be used by a range of people andwill definitely add to the functionality of the parish hall.
Jennifer Chaw runs the Little Friends playgroup whosuggested the garden and raised most of the money. She said: We could see thatthe patch would be an ideal outdoor space so fundraised over a number of yearsto transform it. Weve already held sessions outside and its a great resource,not only for us, but for the whole community. The opening today is theculmination of a lot of work by lots of different people weve had so muchsupport for the project and holding a party is a nice way for everyone to comeout and see what weve done.
At the opening, the Revd Paula Honniball blessed the newspace and guests were able to sit on a bench which had been donated by ClainesMothers Union. There were lots of stalls and games, an opportunity to makeprayer flags and enjoy a BBQ.
Paula said: Its just brilliant to see everyone here thisafternoon. The hall is becoming a real community space as well as the toddlergroup, we have a community caf regularly so theyll also benefit. The gardenwas really overgrown when I first came and its been turned into a beautifulspace which lifts peoples spirits. It is a useful and useable space and willalso be a place of quiet refection.
