ActivLives is a local charity, which relies on grants, trusts, donations, fundraising activities, sponsorship & commissions to enable us to provide & develop our services across Ipswich & Suffolk.
People’s Community Garden
An inspiring garden on an allotment field, where you can improve your health and wellbeing, make new friends and build skills and confidence.
A beautiful heritage walled garden and plant nursery, open to the public, where you can volunteer and learn about horticulture as part of a friendly group.
A community gardening project in Belle Vue Park, where you can get active, meet new people, and maintain a lovely local park on behalf of the whole community.
Our Community Resource, Education and Skills Space – or CRESS is a thriving community hub and informal learning centre – where we hold sessions, workshops and events.
This project brings people together to work shoulder to shoulder on woodworking and construction – sharing knowledge, learning practical skills, and pursuing hobbies and interests.
Our community beekeeping project enables you to get involved in working with bees hands-on, learning about these fascinating insects and how to keep them happy. You can book a beekeeping experience or get involved on a regular basis.
Wild About Nature is an exciting new project launching at ActivLives to involve the community in caring for nature and the environment.
The project will bring people together to grow and garden sustainably, maintain and develop areas for wildlife, and learn about beekeeping at our urban allotment community garden.
The project, funded for two years by the National Lottery Community Fund, will...
Green-fingered volunteers are gathering to celebrate their work over 10 years to keep the town’s park blooming for the whole community on Saturday 13th June - to coincide with Sudbury Open Gardens event.
Please join us to meet members of our team, enjoy the borders – including newly planted areas, find out about the history of the park, and enjoy refreshments...
ActivGardens Fundraising & Development Manager interviewed by BBC Radio Suffolk Heidi Secker on 11th April. She discussed ActivGardens programme and the different projects and activities implemented in the community gardens managed by ActivLives. And she also shared how she started the ActivGardens programme to benefit the local community.
Interview starts from 2:10:00
Listen to the interview here: Heidi Secker on BBC Radio...
The Phoenix Project visited ActivGardens in Ipswich to find out about their project. Listen to the interview here:
A Look Inside ActivGardens
How to videos
The pleasure is in looking after this public space and working as a team who are focussed on maintaining and improving the gardens. I practise my gardening skills and feel part of the community.
Grow Your Community – Sudbury female volunteer, aged 71
ActivGardens have been a fantastic experience for the service users I support, who are all from a low secure forensic unit. They have been welcomed and supported with a friendly face from all involved, with no bias shown and have learnt many gardening skills. The service users have been given opportunities that they have not had before and have been encouraged to take the lead in these new-found skills and opportunities.
Occupational Therapist Assistant Practitioner, Foxhall House Low Secure Unit for offending men or men at risk of offending, , over the age of 18, who have a mental illness and who require a low secure setting
