In August 2020, we made a grant to the Hammersmith Community Gardens Association (HCGA) to help them adapt their activities to Covid-19. Many of their volunteers and visitors had been asked to shield and HCGA had asked for funds to strategise, train new volunteers and run modified sessions with visitors.
We’re happy to report that HCGA ran 29 sessions with volunteer gardeners and surpassed their target of 10 workshops, eventually running 17 gardening – photography – and beekeeping workshops in the gardens and glasshouses with over 200 young people, older people and refugee groups.
HCGA had been concerned about losing touch with their corporate volunteers as well, but through a savvy combination of monthly online and in-person professional tours, they kept connections alive and have held six team-building days since April 2021 and received pro-bono support offers from corporate partners as they take on their next major project: replacing a glasshouse in Ravenscourt Park.