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Befriending Manor Park Gardens

NOAH has partnered with a local community group, the Friends of Manor Park, to work on a collaborative gardening project. The project sees NOAH service users helping to tend a historic former rose garden, ‘Manor Park Gardens’, which is adjacent to our Welfare Centre in Park Street, Luton.

The project is led by Max, a NOAH Welfare Support Worker, supported by other Centre team members. Max is organising groups of service users to help with gardening tasks such as weeding, clearance of scrub, tidying of flower beds and litter picking. Work has already begun around the ‘wildlife’ section of the Gardens, which has been planted to promote biodiversity.

Max tells us, “We are really looking forward to clearing the area by the side of the walkway and sprinkling this with wild flower seeds ready for the spring”.
Bill Burton, Chairman of the Friends of Manor Park, is overseeing the work and instructing NOAH clients in basic gardening skills, such as seasonal pruning and planting.

The project has been made possible through Luton Borough Council’s ‘Your Say Your Way’ programme. Local residents of South Ward met and voted for this project to receive funding. Project lead Max says, “The clients find this work very satisfying – they can see the progress and know it’s going to be appreciated by someone”. We thank the Friends of Manor Park, Luton Borough Council, and residents of South Ward for supporting this project.