New community garden for Forest Town thanks to Guides and Rangers

The Forest Town Guides and Rangers have created a recreational garden at Flint Avenue Community Centre, after sourcing donations and support from the community.

Jennifer Hind, Forest Town Girlguiding unit leader, said: “We really wanted to spruce up the community centre’s outdoor space, for all residents and visitors to be involved with in some way.

“We set our sights on making the site eco-friendly and self-sustainable.

“Many residents offered either time, money, or items for us to put back into the community garden.

“We are so thankful for all the support. We have enjoyed working on this garden, as it has lots of potential for future activities and events.”

Jennifer said more than 20 volunteers rolled up their sleeves to help level out the ground and put down gravel, with work that was expected to take all day being completed in just three hours.

Volunteers aged eight-68 cleared the wasteland and transformed the abandoned site into a recreational space for visitors at the centre.

Guides, aged 10-14, and Rangers, aged 14-18, produced a range of designs and as a group, culminated ideas and brought them together for the final product.

The ‘sustainable’ space can now be used for outdoor cooking, which Jennifer said was a recurring idea within the group.

The Guides and Rangers hope to grow vegetables and plants on the site, developing horticulture skills as part of weekly sessions.

Through social media, the group secured more than £100, receiving donations from Coun Mick Barton, Mansfield Rotary Club, and other residents in support.

Imogen Stevenson, a 15-year-old Ranger, said: “It was a great learning experience that was fun to take part in and donate to.

“I hope that we can now use the garden for activities, as well as it being used by the rest of the community.”

Twelve-year-old Guide Alice Simpson said: “I really enjoyed renovating the garden, it was great to see everyone who came to help.”

Phoebe Cockerill, also aged 12, said: “It was fun and creative to do as we all worked as a team to finish the garden.”