We are lucky to have the Okehampton Men in Sheds as our neighbours, as we help one another grow through our community connections. A lovely lady, Michelle, who does some fundraising for the Men in Sheds, kindly knocked on our door and offered to help us make the community garden more child friendly. We have families come to help in the garden, but it didn’t take long before the children began to get bored, and mum and dad would have to leave. We can now boast to having the only outdoor sandpit in Okehampton.
Michelle also started ‘Who let the Dads out?’ in Okehampton. The group were very keen to have a space where they could grow their own produce. The community garden is a lovely safe space for children to just mess about making mud pies and sandcastles. We have created raised beds in the garden for the group to enjoy growing food together, connecting their children actively to nature.
The children have had a really lovely time in the garden throughout the summer. From mud pies to den building, veg growing to creating frogs, they asked us if we are a member of the Children’s University and were excited to join in with more activities. We are now signed up with the Children’s University and plan to start a children’s gardening club in March 2022.
We hadn’t quite taken delivery of all the garden upgrades before the winter arrived. It seems a shame to get mud on the magical mud kitchen! The snug was just too cute to resist. Having teamed up with Who let the Dads out?, we can use some of their outdoor toys whenever children come along to the garden, these tractors look great!
Okehampton Community Garden 