Everton in the Community have this week unveiled the award-winning ‘Brickyard: Grow, Cook, Eat’ show garden at its new home, The People’s Place.
Fresh from its appearance at the Tatton Park RHS Flower Show, the sustainable outdoor space was officially unveiled by Evertonian and designer Conal McGuire from Conal Studio, Jonathan Jones at EitC and Dr Naomi Maynard from Feeding Liverpool as part of an event attended by a variety of stakeholders, including Club Ambassador Ian Snodin, Director of Public Health at Liverpool City Council Professor Matthew Ashton and Merseyside’s High Sheriff Dr Ruth Hussey who was also involved in the ribbon cutting – declaring the garden open for community use.
Additionally, at the unveiling, visitors were treated to a cooking demonstration by Feeding Liverpool trustee Michelle O’Dwyer from Bay Tree Catering, showing how the homegrown produce can also be cooked and shared in the garden.
Jonathan Jones, Senior Programme Manager commented:
“We’re delighted and extremely grateful to host the Brickyard garden at The People’s Place. It’s such a welcome addition to our mental health and wellbeing hub and will serve many different purposes for our staff, participants and the local community. This sustainable outdoor space will bring a sense of calm and serenity to L4, help tackle issues of food insecurity and enable us to enhance our offering at EitC.”
Made possible thanks to Conal Studio who kindly gifted the garden to EitC, it will be used to support one-on-one therapy sessions, group counselling, community events and outreach work to aid positive mental health and wellbeing, hence its permanent residence in the charity’s purpose-built mental health and wellbeing hub.
Conal McGuire at www.conalstudio.com said:
“It’s so rewarding to see the concept of the garden come to life. The last month has been a whirlwind, after winning a Royal Horticultural Society gold medal and Best Terrace and Slim Space Garden at Tatton and then relocating it to its new home at The People’s Place. It’s all worthwhile seeing first-hand how the garden will help to support and sustain the important work that takes place here for many years to come.”
Residents will also have access to homegrown food and the opportunity to take up gardening, equipping them with the skills to grow their own produce. Delivered in partnership with Feeding Liverpool, the garden will also be accessible to their network as they bring organisations and residents together to deliver engagement activities around Good Food For All, with both Feeding Liverpool and EitC subscribed to Liverpool’s Good Food Plan.
Dr Naomi Maynard at www.feedingliverpool.org added:
“The garden looks fantastic; we are so excited to share it with Feeding Liverpool’s network in collaboration with EitC. This garden brings urban community food growing into the heart of L4, taking an important step towards everyone in Liverpool being able to grow, cook and eat good food in their local community.”
The last 10 years has seen Everton in the Community – along with partners – invest more than £13 million in the physical regeneration of the area, changing the face of the landscape around Goodison Park, transforming derelict sites into thriving destinations, with the garden becoming the latest addition to the Goodison Campus.
The charity launched its Blue Base Pantry initiative 12 months ago to tackle food insecurity within the local community and has since established itself as the third busiest ‘Your Local Pantry’ in the UK. The garden will also help to build on the charity’s work by providing the local area with their own green growing spaces.
READ MORE: SEAN DYCHE VISITS EVERTON IN THE COMMUNITY’S MENTAL HEALTH HUB
