News on In Our Nature

Our ambition: break down some of the barriers preventing communities, including school kids, the Kurdish community, Muslim women and young ex-offenders from engaging with environmental issues, using nature to inspire climate action.  

Read all about the four successful projects and their plans below. We can’t wait to help bring these projects to life and to see the impact that they have in their communities!

Providing opportunities for young ex-offenders to discover alternative ways to make a positive contribution to their local community, building green skills and spending time in nature, while receiving mentoring support.   

The Play & Grow Project was developed in consultation with local services and local people, looking at the impact of the pandemic on local communities. As MAV UK begins to open services again, we will use our newly fitted outside terrace to expand outside areas of our community hall, and create a living moving garden space, where we have naturally grown vegetation. Young people will lead the project with the help of our volunteers. The funding secured for this project will allow our young people to visit local green spaces and outdoor areas, to learn, see and feel the values of a clean, safe outdoor spaces.

The aim is for young people to bring these experiences back to our local community, creating a green outdoor play and learn space which will support the learning of nursery aged children. Find out more about Mothers Against Violence’s work at https://www.mavuk.org/ .

St. Chad’s RC Primary School is located in inner city Manchester with limited outdoor space, in an area with only 3% occupied by trees.

There is green space within the school grounds, but it is currently overgrown, so this project is about turning neglected land into outdoor learning opportunities, encouraging children and families to take part in activities to welcome wildlife back by revamping the ponds and natural habitats, plant trees and an organic garden maintained by a gardening class, as well as upcycle materials to encourage recycling and reusing. 

In addition, we have a piece of land next door to school that we wish to develop to encourage our families to grow fruit and vegetables by adding raised beds and a greenhouse. This will be accessed after school and during the holidays and would encourage community involvement in sustainable living. 

As this is a huge project that we are undertaking, we are aiming to start the gated garden project in autumn 2021 and the community garden in spring 2021 ready for the planting season.  Visit http://www.st-chads.manchester.sch.uk/ for more information about the school.

Growing food is an impactful action for the climate, and a powerful way to celebrate the myriad cultures living in an area. 

The ‘Garden of Love’ project will help local Pakistani women and residents to create a publicly accessible communal herb and fruit garden in the grounds of the British Muslim heritage centre. The women will create the garden in memory of lost ones during Covid-19 but also learn key gardening, planting skills.

We will also deliver a range of free education sessions in Urdu and Punjabi where women will learn how to grow vegetables and fruits at home on a shoestring budget.  Visit https://flowhesionfoundation.org.uk/ for more information about their work.

Taking part in greening activities can tackle social isolation and build a stronger sense of community.  The ‘Plot to Plate’ project, in partnership with Manchester Urban Diggers, will bring the local Kurdish community together to produce culturally appropriate crops affordably and sustainably, while serving as a testing ground for a new approach to creating growing spaces which reflect the diversity of Manchester communities. 

In Spring 2022, we will be providing a space for the Kurdish community living around Platt Fields Park to get involved with their local community by growing and cooking their own food on Platt Fields Market Garden. We're really excited to exchange cultural knowledge around plant varieties, growing techniques and especially excited to taste some yummy Kurdish food! Visit https://www.wearemud.org for more information about their work.