By Rev. Tania Vaughan, Little Stoke Baptist Church.
The plan for a community garden has not been forgotten, but to be entrusted with a piece of land large enough for one we first had to show we could gather volunteers and organise small projects. So Little Stoke Baptist Church sourced, emptied and refilled two large planters and placed one at the church and another at the entrance to Little Stoke Park.
The idea was that the whole community could get involved in planting, painting, and caring for these planters. Unfortunately to date this task has fallen to a few members of the church. We do however have a good crop of broad beans growing in the planter on Collins Avenue, as well as flowers and strawberry plants in the various planters around the church. The existing planter at the community centre was tidied and replanted with some colour and the new planter is full of spring bulbs which should soon be popping their heads up.
Our plan for the future is to use this planter for growing vegetables and a couple of people are already tending seedlings in their greenhouses for this. In the meantime, we have realised that “growing community” is not just about plants but about people and so the original Facebook group has extended its scope to include information about free events taking place at Little Stoke Baptist Church which are open to the whole community.
Earlier start for coffee morning
The building is in a central location in Little Stoke with lots of free parking and we want to offer as much as we can to the community. After the Easter holidays, we will begin to open up Thursday coffee morning at 9am rather than 10am to offer a space to chat over a cuppa after the school run. We will continue to have toys for toddlers and space for those who want to bring their own craft projects.
To keep up to date with the planting schedule and upcoming events join the Facebook group ‘Little Stoke Growing Community’. If you have any suggestions for community events please contact Rev. Tania via WhatsApp 07878 255901, email lsbcminister@gmail.com or pop in one Thursday morning for a chat.
This article originally appeared in the March/April 2022 issue of the Stoke Gifford Journal magazine (on page 29). The magazine is delivered FREE, nine times a year, to over 5,000 homes in Stoke Gifford, Little Stoke and Harry Stoke. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.
