ECL Loughton customers thanked for their hard work at community garden

The GROW Community Garden is an inclusive food-growing project, which brings people together in a supportive and safe outdoor space to grow fruit and vegetables. Customers from ECL Loughton Day Centre volunteer weekly at the garden alongside pupils from Oakview School and other local residents.

The hard work and dedication of these volunteers was recognised at the annual volunteer appreciation lunch where they were presented with thank you certificates by special guest The Mayor of Loughton, Councillor Barbara Cohen.

The Mayor, Councillor Barbara Cohen said: “It was wonderful to be able to give out certificates to such a great group of volunteers. It was nice to see first-hand how rewarding working in the garden is for all involved. The GROW Community Garden is a fantastic initiative and it I enjoyed being a part of the volunteer appreciation celebrations. Thank you to Matt Chow at Restore Community for inviting myself and Cllr Sebastian Fontenelle to be a part of this special day.”

Councillor David Wixley and Councillor Stephen Murray also attended the celebration which included a delicious picnic lunch that was kindly donated by Morrisons.

Matt Chow, Community Engagement Advisor at Restore Community said: “The ECL group thoroughly enjoy attending each week and we really love having them here. They have achieved great things here at the garden, working on specific projects as well as helping with day to day tasks such as watering and weeding. Some of the ECL group were instrumental in the creation of our bug hotel which is now very popular with all our insect visitors and is attracting a lot of bees this summer. The garden wouldn’t exist without our wonderful volunteers, and we hold the appreciation lunch each year on the anniversary of the project to let them know how valuable they are to us.”

The GROW Community Garden is a beautiful and functional outdoor space and where every person’s contribution is valued and where friendships and social connections can be developed. This is especially important for people with disabilities or people who experience social isolation or vulnerability in the community.

The group welcomes people of any age, background, or ability and holds volunteer days twice a week for people from across the community. The project is run by Restore Community and is funded by Loughton Town Council, Epping Forest District Council and Essex County Council.