May 1, 2018 | ActivGardens
On Friday 11th May, the People’s Community Garden will be open from 10am to 3pm, with tours of the bee hives at 11am and 2pm.
- The CRESS Community Market and Café will run as usual from 10am to 12.30pm at the CRESS Pavilion, Halifax Road, Ipswich IP2 8RE (entry free of charge), so visitors can enjoy this friendly, bustling event and enjoy a cuppa and a homemade cake courtesy of Ipswich Academy pupils, who will be behind the serving hatch this month.
The following day, on Saturday 12th May, it’s the turn of Chantry Walled Garden to open its gates to the public, from 10am to 3pm, with refreshments in Nursery Cottage garden and a wonderful selection of plants for sale.
Entrance to each garden will be £3, with proceeds shared between the two charities.
Ten years old this year, the People’s Community Garden began on an abandoned allotment site and today includes vegetable plots, a heritage orchard, sensory garden, wildlife areas and herb spiral. The project enables people of all ages and abilities to get active, learn skills and contribute to their community. It has a diverse volunteer base and works with schools and young people.
Historic Chantry Walled Garden in Chantry Park has flower borders and vegetable growing areas, extensive glasshouses, and a courtyard garden designed for wheelchair users, enabling older people to carry on gardening. Young people on work placement learn about horticulture here and volunteers from the local community help tend the garden and grow plants.
Parking is available at or near both gardens, and there is wheelchair access to most areas. Dogs are allowed on a lead. For more information please follow these links:
https://activlives.org.uk/event/the-great-garden-trail-the-peoples-community-garden/
https://activlives.org.uk/event/the-great-garden-trail-chantry-walled-garden/
ActivGardens are opening as part of St Elizabeth Hospice’s Great Garden Trail, which runs throughout spring and summer to help generate the funds the hospice needs for its invaluable services. Please follow this link https://www.stelizabethhospice.org.uk/support-us/events/the-great-garden-trail.aspx for more information and a full list of gardens involved, together with maps.
Future CRESS markets will be held on FRIDAY 8 June, Big Garden Party Saturday 21 July, Friday 10 August, 14 September, 5 October, Christmas event 7 December.


Apr 24, 2018 | ActivGardens, ActivLives
ActivLives is bidding to bag a massive cash boost from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative for its project to introduce people to the wonderful world of bees. Tesco teamed up with Groundwork to launch its community funding scheme, which sees grants of £4,000, £2,000 and £1,000 raised from carrier bag sales in Tesco stores awarded to local community projects.
Three groups in every Tesco region have been shortlisted to receive the cash award and shoppers are being invited to head along to Tesco stores to vote in May and June for who they think should take away the top grant. ActivLives is one of the groups on the shortlist. Bee Amazed is a project to enable people of all ages and abilities to get involved in the wonderful world of bees and bee-keeping, learning about their importance to us and our natural world 
This project, which will run at the People’s Community Garden on Maidenhall Allotments, will provide opportunities for local families, older people, children, people with disabilities and people of diverse ethnicities to get involved in bee-keeping and learn about their importance in the food chain and the natural environment.
Led by staff and bee-keeping mentors from the local bee-keeping association, the project will offer weekly sessions for people to come and learn hands-on about this fascinating craft at our own apiary, and develop confidence and knowledge to become a regular community bee-keeping volunteer.
The project will provide bespoke sessions for people with learning disabilities and special needs to take part, and invite local schoolchildren on ‘Bee Safari’.
ActivGardens Development Manager Susannah Robirosa said: “We are so happy to be in the running for a project which will offer opportunities to everyone, of all ages, to get involved in beekeeping and nature conservation at our wonderful community garden project in Ipswich.” “Please support us – then book your visit or come and volunteer!”
Voting is open in local Tesco stores from Tuesday 1st May to Saturday 30th June 2018.
Customers will cast their vote using a token given to them at the check-out in store each time they shop. These are participating stores:
- Tesco Ipswich Extra (Copdock Mill Interchange)
- Ipswich Westbourne Express
- Ipswich Norwich Express
- Ipswich Foxhall Express
- Ipswich St Matthew’s Street Express
- Ipswich Nacton Road Express
- Manningtree Colchester Express
Tesco’s Bags of Help project has already delivered over £43 million to more than 10,000 projects up and down the UK. Tesco customers get the chance to vote for three different groups every time they shop. Every other month, when votes are collected, three groups in each of Tesco’s regions will be awarded funding. Alec Brown, Head of Community at Tesco, said: “We are absolutely delighted to open the voting for May and June. There are some fantastic projects on the shortlists and we can’t wait to see these come to life in hundreds of communities.” Groundwork’s National Chief Executive, Graham Duxbury, said: “We’ve been thrilled to see the diversity of projects that have applied for funding, ranging from outdoor classrooms, sports facilities, community gardens, play areas and everything in between. “We’re looking forward to learning the results of the customer vote and then supporting each group to bring their project to life.” Funding is available to community groups and charities looking to fund local projects that bring benefits to communities. Anyone can nominate a project and organisations can apply online.
To find out more visit www.tesco.com/bagsofhelp.
Mar 12, 2018 | ActivSports

What is the Great East Run?
The Great East Run is a mass participation half marathon. Participants will run a 13.1mile course in and around the Ipswich area. Suffolk County Council, in partnership with Suffolk Sport, is funding an outreach programmes to support 50 participants living in Suffolk to take part in the Great East Run on 16th September 2018.
What is the outreach programme?
The outreach programme is targeted at physically inactive adults (doing less than 30 minute’s moderate to vigorous physical activity per week). It challenges those taking part to undertake regular weekly training to prepare for and take part in a half marathon. In doing so it aims to create long term behaviour change and support individuals to become more active for life.
Who’s the programme for?
To be considered for the programme participants will need to:
- be aged 18 or over at the start of the programme
- live in Suffolk
- be inactive at the start of the programme (doing less than 30 minutes moderate to vigorous physical activity per week)
- commit to attending regular, weekly training sessions for 4 months in Ipswich between May and September 2018
- in addition to the weekly training sessions commit to at least one further training session per week
- be available on 16th September 2018 to participate in the Great East run in Ipswich
- contribute £30.00 towards the £300.00 cost per participant.
What will participants get?
- Entry to the Great East Run
- Entry to the Ipswich Twilight 10k
- Weekly training sessions, for 4 months, with two qualified coaches supported by double Olympic long distance runner Paul Evans
- Exclusive discounts on running gear and gait analysis at Coes, Ipswich
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How to get involved
Register using the following link: www.suffolksport.com/ger2018
Further information
Contact the programme coordinator, Carol Lukins by email: carol.lukins@suffolk.gov.uk or phone: 07955 735514.
This programme is delivered in partnership by Sport England, Suffolk Sport, Suffolk County Council and Coes, Ipswich
Helping Suffolk to become England’s most active county
Mar 12, 2018 | ActivGardens
Grow Your Future – Sudbury will be a garden maintenance business offering training and employment opportunities to local unemployed people, while selling services that benefit the community.
Working with local councils, business and social landlords, as well as private clients, it will support Sudbury and surrounding areas to build its community focus and achieve a cleaner, greener, place to live, work and visit.
The proposal, supported by Suffolk County Council and Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Council, builds on the success of a volunteer project, ‘Grow Your Community – Sudbury’, which has a dedicated volunteer base of around 15 people working in Belle Vue Park each week, as well as community champions on housing estates and in other parks and green spaces.
ActivGardens Development Manager Susannah Robirosa said: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to develop our project into a community business that has the power to transform not only Sudbury’s parks and green spaces, but people’s lives too.
“Our volunteers have made a real difference in Belle Vue Park, and we are excited at the prospect of developing our work to train people of all ages in horticulture to form garden maintenance teams.
“Part of what we hope to do is offer help to older people and young families, and others who are struggling with their gardens – teaching them skills and offering low-maintenance solutions so they enjoy their gardens rather than find it overwhelming, and in the worst cases, a threat to their tenancy.
Community businesses are organisations rooted in a local area, run by and answerable to members of the community, and which make a trading profit to re-invest into that community. In this way, ActivLives is keen for local residents and those involved in supporting people who might benefit from a service in Sudbury to help it shape this community-led approach. It is keen to hear from people who would like to train with the business, as well as from people interested in using the service. It would also like to encourage people to come forward to help steer the business.

Consultation forms are available online http://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/WHMW6GrowYourFuture/ or paper copies can be picked up at the Town Council or Sudbury Library. There will be a chance to find out more at ActivLives stand at the Farmers’ Market on Friday 23 March and at the regular market on the afternoon of Thursday 29th March.
This is one of three grants in Sudbury to support the development of community business ideas in the town.
There are thousands of community businesses in the UK doing everything from planning new affordable homes, running community energy and reviving struggling local pubs.
Over the past year, Power to Change has been working with Suffolk County Council and Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Council to unearth budding community business ideas by local people for local people. These Suffolk Seed Grants will test the viability of the businesses proposed and the benefit they could bring to Sudbury.
Richard Harries, Director, Power to Change Research Institute said: “It’s great to be able to support fledgling community business ideas, many of which just need a bit of help at the start to really take off. We’re excited to see what local gems are unearthed and to test the benefit they could bring to the local area.”
Cllr Tony Goldson, Suffolk County Council and Suffolk Health & Wellbeing Board Chairman added: “I know there is a wealth of creativity and entrepreneurialism within our communities. Our partnership with Power to Change will enable us to use our local relationships and networks as local councils to identify where the energy and opportunities are in our communities and focus the support that is on offer from Power to Change. I am confident that the partnership will give communities the support and help they need to turn their ambitions into a reality and I’m looking forward to seeing the results.”
Feb 23, 2018 | ActivGardens, ActivLives
Closing date: Friday 6th April 2018 Interviews: Tuesday 17th April 2018
Start date: Monday 23rd April 2018
Where you’ll be working : Mainly the People’s Community Garden, Maidenhall Allotments and the CRESS Pavilion, Ipswich, Suffolk IP2 8RE, but also Chantry Walled Garden, Chantry Park, and possibly on outreach projects in and around Ipswich.
About ActivGardens
ActivGardens are lively, inspiring and very busy community sites which support people to lead an active, healthy life, learn and share skills, and contribute to their community. Our projects work with a wide range of people, including long-term unemployed, people experiencing mental ill health, depression and anxiety, people with disabilities, older people, and refugees and asylum seekers.
We run a schools programme working with children of all ages, including those who find it difficult to learn at school. Our core Volunteer Team helps with the day to day maintenance of ActivGardens.

What you’ll be doing :
Main role: Assisting staff to help run our gardens and associated projects.
Your role will involve:
- Assisting staff in organising and running the day
- Working alongside the people we support to help them get the most out of their sessions
- Helping run group sessions, including school groups and groups of young people
- Gardening/ conservation tasks alongside volunteers
- Assisting in organising and running monthly community market and café
- Assisting in planning and preparation for our major event: the Big Garden Party on Saturday 21st July 2018
- Contributing to development of the gardens and its projects
- Administration
- Option to get involved with woodworking/ carpentry, cooking, beekeeping, other specialisms
You will gain skills in:
- Working with a wide range of people, including people with needs; children and young people; refugees and asylum seekers
- Public engagement
- Gardening and horticulture
- Nature conservation and beekeeping (optional)
- Events organisation
Training available:
First Aid
The time you need to give:
We are looking for a minimum commitment of 15 hours per week, for a six-month period. The internship will begin the week of 16th April, and finish on Friday 12th October 2018, with the possibility of extension.
The skills you need: We are looking for a team player with a positive, friendly attitude and excellent communication skills, who enjoys working with people of all ages and abilities. We need someone with an active, hands-on approach, with a willingness to tackle a wide range of garden-related and other tasks. Gardening/ horticultural experience will be an asset, but good organisational skills are as important.
- Experience of working or volunteering with people with needs is desirable but not essential.
- Experience of working or volunteering with children and young people is desirable but not essential.
- Skills associated with woodwork, nature conservation, cooking/ hospitality / catering, community education/ teaching, PR / events, will be an advantage.
- You may be able to contribute a specialist craft skill (eg flower arranging, art, crafts etc – please let us know!) – we are open to new ideas and projects.

What you’ll get out of it: This position is suitable for someone who enjoys working with people and who has a keen interest in community gardening/ food growing projects and/ or nature conservation. You will gain experience of working in the charity sector as part of a diverse, award-winning community project. The project will contribute to local travel costs.
Contact details: Please email your CV and covering letter (no more than 2 sides of A4) to Susannah Robirosa, ActivGardens Development Manager susannah@activlives.org.uk, detailing your availability, experience and why you would like to join our project. Alternatively, please post to ActivLives, Brightspace, 160 Hadleigh Road, Ipswich IP2 0HH. If you have any questions, or would like an informal chat about the role, please call Susannah on 07530 407302 or ActivLives 01473 345350.
All applications must be received by Friday 6th April 2018.