Empowering young people, living in deprived areas to create positive change through community gardening.

Can we grow it? Yes we can!

We imagine a city of empowered people from disadvantaged backgrounds seeking benefit from green spaces and their community. We will empower young people, living in deprived areas to create positive change through community gardening.

With over 8,000 acres of parks and open space, Birmingham is one of the greenest cities in the UK. But who is using our green space?

Studies have shown that being close to nature reduces poor mental health, increases empathy/closeness to others and can reduce crime. Within Birmingham a total of 28,000 young people have a mental health disorder and yet research shows that:

people that are poorer aren't as in touch with nature.

We are striving to work closely with a group of young people from a youth centre in a deprived area of the city to create a sustainable greenspace. We aim to provide opportunity for skill development, education and an increase in positive mental wellbeing.

We ran workshops with the young people and asked them to think about why developing their outside space would be beneficial. Their passion and motivation for the project and the impact it would have on their community was evident.

The young people have also put together designs of what they'd like their community green space to look like. Working collaboratively, they brought together conservation features, including bird feeders and bug hotels and community cohesion opportunities, with an outdoor cinema space for friends and family to use. The young people are also interested in social action and have included raised beds to grow vegetables to cook with to provide for the homeless.

We can't wait to see where the social action campaign takes us!

Please keep up to date on how we get on with building our garden on our instagram page: @bloominbrum.

If you'd like to donate please visit our GoFundMe page.

For any questions or to get involved, please email us.

Thanks for taking the time to read all about it! 

Bloomin' Brum is part of the UpRising Birmingham Environmental Leadership Programme 2017/18.