Bloom Sheffield: Community group needs volunteers to create 'beautiful garden' at Meersbrook allotments

The garden consists of a large orchard, woodland area, and an open space and the ambition is to turn it into a pleasure garden and green resource for the community.

Bloom Sheffield began in 2019, with a small idea of creating a space where women can get together and work on collaborative on an outdoor gardening project. Those involved wanted a place where all women could come and try something new, and feel good. They said everyone has mental health, and ‘we all need to look after it’. “We wanted to provide a space that helped women gain all the benefits of gardening, both mental and physical,” they added. “Our garden is a low-pressure environment where you can come and do as much, or as little, as you like.”

Gardening is an amazing activity to help with your mental health. Studies have shown that spending time outdoors can reduce stress, and lower anxiety levels. Focusing on a task in the garden helps you forget about worries and stresses in your life, and have some time for yourself. Growing and cultivating plants teaches us how to be patient, nurturing and resilient. By working as a team in a community, gardening can help combat loneliness and social isolation.

The garden sits within the allotment land and has been vacant for some time and Sheffield Bloom - based in Heeley and Meersbrook allotments wants to bring it to life.

Bloom Sheffield is organising an open day at Heeley & Meersbrook Allotments on Carfield Lane on Saturday, October 15, from 1pm-4.30pm, where green-fingered volunteers can give some of their time to transform the garden from its current overgrown state.

Louise Haigh, MP for Sheffield Heeley, said “Sheffield Bloom is a great community organisation based in the constituency who help women by promoting positive mental health through therapeutic horticulture. They have already taken uncared for plots of land and created beautiful community gardens, at the same time helping women manage their mental and physical health. Now they are asking for help to do the same on land in Meersbrook allotments. It doesn’t matter if you’re an experienced gardener or can’t tell a weed from a flower, I’m encouraging everyone to come out and spare an hour or two to help create this beautiful garden.”

Kendall Turner, founder of Bloom Sheffield, said: “We are hoping to create a community garden within Meersbrook to provide a safe space where people can come and gain the benefits of the outdoors. We would love to involve the community with its development and collaborate with other organisations to provide a variety of activities, workshops and sessions around horticulture and wellbeing.

“Since we opened in 2019, Bloom has welcomed nearly 700 people to our community garden. We hope that with this larger space we will be able to increase the number of people we help and diversify what we can offer to our community.”

Organisers have guaranteed tea and cake to keep everyone fuelled and have asked those interested in helping to register for the event - A Bloom Sheffield Work Day at Our New Plot! Tickets, Multiple Dates | Eventbrite

You can also donate to Bloom Sheffield’s projects.