Includeme2 club
Who are the Includeme2 club?
Includeme2 is a charity club for children, young people and adults based in Glasgow, Scotland. The club provides support to people with learning difficulties and disabilities, taking a community-based approach to improve and enhance the lives of the club’s members.
Susan Wilson is the head volunteer and helps run a number of social community nights every week, including a gardening club. The gardening club has a secret balcony garden and a formally derelict allotment plot, which they have successfully transformed into a beautiful space.
Challenges and Rewards
The gardening club meets twice a week and is an excellent opportunity to enjoy the outdoors and get stuck in with the garden work. There is always plenty to do, with fun challenges such as building raised beds, using tools (which we acquired from the Tool Shed), digging and planting and so far they have harvested new potatoes, curly kale and salad, all of which has been enjoyed and eaten by the Monday club members.
The club has also engaged with the local community, who have been thrilled with the progress made at the allotment as it used to be a piece of derelict ugly looking land. Having had such great success, the club has now reached out to help other groups, including the Onslow Dr Nursery who have created their own raised beds after receiving vegetables and plants donated by the Includeme2 club.
Plans for the future
The club have now set their sights on creating an area where club members and the community can gather together and socialise. The plan will include constructing a BBQ, a mud kitchen, a sensory garden complete with natural materials to make music, a willow tepee, wooden gazebo a decking area and somewhere to sell the vegetables grown in the garden. While these are big plans, the club is already well on its way to achieving them, having already cleared the land ready for the work to begin
Tips for other groups
Engage with everyone you can, including communities, social media groups, school visits and even just talk to people.
Reaching out to other local groups and businesses can be really beneficial. The Includeme2 gardening club was provided with donations from a number of local businesses and other community groups, like the Shettleston Community Growing Project, which donated a raised bed and other gardening materials.
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