A project to revitalise the gardens at St Paul’s Church in Slough became a whole community effort. The initiative was part of The Wildlife Trust’s Nextdoor Nature programme, which drew in people from all walks of life, to recreate the garden as a more wildlife-friendly space.
Asylum seekers staying at a nearby hotel were being supported by the church with language lessons, which translated into getting stuck into the gardening! One of the men, Daniel from Iran, designed a Persian Paradise Garden which is now part of the green space. Volunteers from the GoodGym, where members help community groups with physical jobs like gardening, rather than going to the gym, and members of the Explorer scouts in Slough also got involved.
Neline Kriek, the lead of Nextdoor Nature at St Paul’s, explained: “We’ve had lots of positive responses to the gardens we’ve created. We look at this as a way to build community and relationships. We looked at who in our community or our parish could benefit from something like gardening. For example, the asylum seekers welcomed having something of value to do and the project gave them a real sense of belonging.
"It has also been great to be able to draw in people who struggle with mental health or going through a tough time, gardening is a great way to get them outdoors and to be together rather than having to talk, as they might not be in the mood for talking."
The garden was launched by the former Slough mayor Cllr Amjad Abbasi, who unveiled an informayion point, before guests got stuck into a nature-themed messy church session which included activities like making hedgehogs using pine cones, potato printing and creating cardboard frogs. There are also raised beds at St Paul's which Neline hopes to encourage local families who live in homes without access to outside space, to get involved in planting food and plants.
Neline added: “It’s about taking small steps to make people aware of creation and our impact. Simple things like growing vegetables can lead to a more healthy diet and more exercise."
What impact could your church have on the environment? Our Creation Care pages are full of simple steps to take.