Community News

Another busy and brilliant week at GrowAbility! We had lots of members joining us and plenty to keep everyone busy. After all the recent rain, we got stuck into some overdue weeding. The wet weather had certainly encouraged everything to grow, so it was great to get the beds tidied up and looking much neater. It was lovely to see the healthy soil underneath too, ready to support all the plants growing around the plot. We also enjoyed a fantastic harvest this week. We picked p

Another busy and brilliant week at GrowAbility, with lots of members joining us and plenty of jobs to keep everyone busy! We started by giving our Toby compost a little bit of extra love, adding chopped apples, brown compost and green leaves. It was great to see everyone getting stuck in and helping to keep the compost healthy and well balanced…ready to do its important job of feeding the soil. We also collected some beautiful lavender flowers, which have been saved for a fut

Saffron Walden Mencap’s Annual Big BBQ today at Finchingfield Camping with Ben and Julia Dimmock We were all so excited to spend the day in the beautiful lavender fields enjoying a Tombola, raffle, crafts, delicious hotdogs and burgers - cooked by the talented Neil Arundell and Ben Dimmock - followed by tug of war, music and dancing. Thank you so much to all of the volunteers who made the event possible and to Julia and Ben Dimmock who were incredible hosts yet again! We h

It was another busy and brilliant week at GrowAbility. With lots of members joining us and plenty to keep everyone busy! Charis and Julie got stuck into the important job of preparing for next year, meticulously picking and saving seeds ready for future planting. They were so careful with their work. It’s always exciting to think ahead and know that the seeds we save now will help keep the plot growing next year! We also had a little wildlife rescue mission when Noah (our res

It was another fantastic week at GrowAbility, and once again we managed to beat the heat by getting an early start with plenty of watering. Another amazing all hands on deck effort! It was brilliant to welcome Freddie to the gang, who got stuck straight in and helped with the potato harvest. He even discovered a rather inventive way of digging them up…using a sandcastle technique! We harvested and taste-tested lots of healthy loveliness from the plot, including some delic

It was wonderful to be back at GrowAbility this week after taking a break during last week's heatwave. It was a busy session with lots of members joining us. It was fantastic to see everyone back on the plots and ready to get stuck in! We're becoming real professionals at watering, and with the warmer weather continuing, there was plenty to keep us busy. Alongside the watering, we harvested what feels like the never-ending crop of courgettes, as well as pulling plenty of fres

It was another wonderful GrowAbility session this week, and it was brilliant to welcome Joel back. He quickly got stuck in, working hard across both plots and making a fantastic contribution throughout the day. Back on the main plot, Claire, Charis and Esther were all incredibly helpful as they worked together to cut back some of the overgrown areas. This helped to keep everything looking neat and well cared for. And more importantly helped the tomatoes get sunlight and stopp

It was great to be back out on the plot today after last week’s visit to Audley End House and Gardens. We made the most of a productive day in the garden. Our newest member, James, wasted no time getting stuck in! A few minutes after his arrival he harvested a beautiful crop of courgettes before helping to water both plots. He helped ensure everything stayed happy and healthy in the summer sunshine. Julie carefully tied countless onions ready for curing. Preparing them all fo

It was another wonderful GrowAbility session this week, although the soaring temperatures meant it was simply too hot to spend the day working on the plot. Instead, we enjoyed a fantastic visit to Audley End House and Gardens, making the most of a day exploring somewhere a little cooler. As the group visited the laundry rooms, the members had great fun dressing George in the Victorian costumes. He certainly looked the part! Noah, Barry and Julie were fascinated by the taxider

It was fantastic to be back and catch up with everyone today. With all hands on deck, our team worked incredibly hard to give both plots a thorough watering after the hot weather. It was a busy session, but everyone kept busy to make sure the gardens got the water and feed they needed. The Tea Garden looks especially neat after a good old weeding. There was plenty of excitement along the way when Noah discovered a wasps' nest hidden beneath some decking! Thankfully, we gave i

Our members are very excited this morning: looking forward to a day on the canal boats with CanalAbility We met at the Lord Butler Fitness & Leisure Centre and travelled by minibus to our destination. The boats are making their way upstream today, towards Harlow Mill. Each member will have the opportunity to steer the boat (with guidance) and help operating the numerous locks during the journey. A huge thank you to Eddie from Uttlesford Community Travel for your time and

After a hot and sunny week, time to relax and unwind on Saffron Walden Common Both groups had the same idea, so we set up chairs and picnic blankets in a shady spot! Our members then choose to go and order fish n chips or pizza A great opportunity to practice our life and communication skills in the local community A fantastic evening for everyone! GWOF is supported by The National Lottery Community Fund Our Choice is supported by Saffron Walden Golf Club, Lions Clubs Int

The Grow Ability team (Matthew, Barry, Esther, Claire, Tristan Julie and Charis) had a busy one today: We welcomed our lovely new (and very first!) operations manager Emma 🌱 it was so nice to welcome her to the group! We planted a variety of pepper and chili seeds. Watered the WHOLE plot. Weeded the raised bed and 🥬 Harvested heaps of “volunteer” lettuce (the flavour is incredible!). 🌯 Built-our-own fresh wraps for a team lunch. And then 🧁 Celebrated Julie’s 61st birthday

We are out on the River Stort today with the fabulous team of volunteers at CanalAbility ! This trip was postponed from the Summer, due...

Archery with Squire Archery in Thriplow. Great fun! Thank you so much to Andrew and his team! Supported by The National Lottery...

Our members’ Big BBQ was a great success today. Music, burgers, hotdogs, cakes, our Music Man group performance and a tug of war! A...

We’re back! It was glorious at the Dig It Community Allotment today: our gang met at the plot at 10am for our first GrowAbility session...

A recent visit and harvesting in the sunshine! Today, Lisa needed to harvest lots of beautiful, healthy curly purple kale - Matthew and...

Late autumn sunshine, scarecrows and our new path! We’ve had a busy few weeks on the plot. There is always lots to do preparing the beds...

Supported by Essex Community Foundation with Dig It Community Allotment Getting ready for Autumn- growing our skills, happiness &...