24/07/2026
Some kind words from one of our adults on a Monday ‘Growing Together’ sessions .
I came across the Allotment Project in April this year. Having recently moved to the area, I was looking for an opportunity to meet people, learn new skills, and gain some experience in gardening and growing vegetables. I initially attended for purely selfish reasons.
What I found, however, was so much more.
The Allotment Project is an amazing place, not just where it is in the Deerness Valley, surrounded by Woodland and River. It’s ethos is centred on learning and growing together as a community, but it offers far more than that. It is a place of friendship, support, and belonging. At the Monday group, lead by Sol and Kim, people from all walks of life and a range of abilities, come together, sharing their knowledge, experiences, and time with one another. There is a genuine sense of inclusion and mutual respect that makes everyone feel welcome.
Beyond the chickens and the eggs, the vegetables that are grown and the practical skills that are learned, the project helps to cultivate confidence, wellbeing, and connection. It has become a place of purpose, where people can contribute, learn from one another, and feel part of something meaningful. There is no pressure to achieve but jobs get done, things get built and food is grown, all the while with skill, support and encouragement from Kim and Sol.
We work together, and come round a table and share food grown in the allotment. I’ve learned about crop rotation and food security, how to use a circular saw safely. People dip in and out to contribute with kitchen tasks or wherever their strengths lie. What started as a way to develop a new hobby has become a real boost to wellbeing, making friendships in a community that I am proud to be part of. There are endless ways that this sort of project can support all ages to recover, learn, build community – very much needed in a modern pressure cooker world!
