FOR NATIONAL Growing for Wellbeing Week, which is running from Monday 3rd to Sunday 9th June, leading partnerships developer Lovell is highlighting the recent ways it has helped South Wales children to get planting in their school and community gardens.
National Growing for Wellbeing Week is hosted annually by Life at No.27 – a leading horticultural therapy and mental health counselling provider. The week celebrates the wellbeing benefits gardening holds, both mentally and physically, and encourages people to get involved by growing their own produce or planting seeds and flowers.
Lovell, which is providing new homes across South Wales, has recently made a series of gardening-themed donations and offered support to primary schools and community groups local to its developments.
In Cardiff, near the development on the former Lansdowne Hospital site in Canton, Lovell facilitated a partnership between Millbank Primary School and Keep Wales Tidy, a charity working with communities across Wales to protect the local environment. This partnership saw the school secure a comprehensive food growing package from the charity consisting of wildflower turf, native fruit trees, raised beds and greenhouse equipment, worth £10,000, free of charge.
The success of Millbank Primary School’s application led to the process being replicated for Hywel Dda Primary School, Pencaerau Primary School and Herbet Thompson Primary School, taking the total value of Keep Wales Tidy packages secured in Cardiff via Lovell to £40,000.
Over in Newport, Lovell has supported two primary schools and a community allotment. St Michael’s RC Primary School, near its Royal Victoria Court development, received a donation of 12 bird boxes and 36 packs of wildflower seeds, as well as two Keep Wales Tidy packages valued at £20,000.
Ringland Primary School, close to the “Ringland Regeneration” project, received a donation of seeds from Lovell, which are specially designed to support pollinators such as bees, butterflies and moths. The developer’s contractor, Jewson, also donated a tonne of topsoil to the school.
At Pill Unity Gardens, Lovell employee Meriel Gough, Community Development Coordinator, volunteered her time to assist the Newport Yemeni Community Association (NYCA) with their allotment, by putting soil in their newly-raised beds, clearing overgrown weeds and preparing for the installation of a new shed.
Lovell then received free plants from Garth View Organics, a private allotment, who generously donated them to NYCA for planting in their new raised beds. In addition, Lovell donated four bamboo canes and four discs, before teaching the children of the NYCA proper planting techniques.
The NYCA also secured a £10,000 Keep Wales Tidy package with Lovell’s assistance, and Pill Unity Gardens received support from Lovell’s contractors, Designer Contracts and Jeff Ways Electrical, who helped to create a more inviting environment for community members by renovating the flooring of the garden’s container, adding a new carpet and installing new plugs, sockets and an electric radiator.
Lastly, in Portskewett nearby the Elderwood Parc development, Lovell donated a tonne of Cotswold stone to Archbishop Rowan Williams Church in Wales Primary School.
Gemma Clissett, regional partnerships director at Lovell, said: “We take a lot of pride in supporting local communities at Lovell, and are delighted to have helped these organisations improve their gardens. National Growing for Wellbeing Week is a fantastic cause, and we hope that the children who are benefitting from our support are having a wonderful time learning new skills and watching their gardens grow.”
Lovell is a leading provider of partnership housing and has been building communities for over 50 years. For more information, visit here.
To find out more about National Growing for Wellbeing Week, visit here.
The development on the former Lansdowne Hospital site is being built by Lovell for Hafod and Cardiff Council, and will consist of 106 energy efficient homes, including 44 houses and 62 apartments. For more information, visit https://www.hafod.org.uk/developments.
Royal Victoria Court is being delivered by Lovell in partnership with Tirion Homes and with support from Welsh Government. The development will consist of 528 properties, including 264 open market sale homes and 234 affordable homes for rent with Tirion Homes, alongside an additional 30 properties for low-cost home ownership through Melin Homes. To find out more, visit here.
Newport City Homes and Lovell are delivering the next phase of the “Ringland Regeneration” project, which will involve 158 new homes and the relocation of the Ringland shopping centre. For more information, visit here.
Elderwood Parc will consist of 269 new homes and a 32-bedroom care home, being built as a design and build scheme for Melin Homes, Candleston and Monmouthshire County Council. To find out more, visit here.
You can also like Lovell on Facebook and follow Lovell on Instagram at @lovell_homes, and on LinkedIn @LovellPartnershipsLtd.
