The Civic Garden 

The civic offices houses an open air courtyard, which now has a lovely garden are for staff to utilise at their convenience. This wasn’t always the case however, and it was once nothing more than a dumping ground. Here’s how the change came about.

In a Leadership Café session – (now the Learning Café), members of staff raised the idea of having a staff garden, an area where employees could relax and take some time out during their breaks, or whenever required.  The courtyard, on the west side of the civic offices, was at that time an inaccessible unkempt area. The suggestion was to undertake a project to transform it into a usable space and tranquil garden area.

It was agreed that staff members would take ownership, and the project was championed by Dave Holland, Hannah Rapa and Tina Champ with a number of volunteers. Keen gardener, Lynne Clarke (One Vale) soon joined the team project .

Many staff members volunteered their time and resources. The aim was to use the existing raised bed and space to plant flowers/vegetables as well as construct garden furniture using recycled pallets and other things.

There is now a properly installed water tap. Tools have been donated as well as a number of plants, including the lovely cordyline (a hardy decorative plant) that is going from strength to strength.

Members of the Parks and Grounds Team helped clear all the old weeds and turned the ground ready for planting.

Builders working on site at the time kept the old chimney pots intact which were upcycled for decorative purposes and are now full of plants.

ICT donated the potting shed (previously used to store equipment store). And the ‘S’ shaped bench, donated by Social Services takes pride of place in the garden.

As the sole surviving gardener, Lynne has been integral to the success of the garden being completed. She has been responsible for the majority of planting & sowing seeds, including poppies, wildflowers & sunflowers. She has provided and planted bulbs ready for every spring and does most of the deadheading, weeding, and watering. Her commitment extends to going in on weekends for hours doing whatever needs to be done, including bringing along one of her friends to help jet wash all of the paving slabs.

Lynne said “The garden has been great exercise & wonderful for my mental health giving me a purpose.

I’ve enjoyed seeing the bees & butterflies getting nectar from the flowers.

It is so rewarding when you put a seed in the compost & it turns into a beautiful poppy or borage or cosmos”.

In her absence, our Porters help out, watering the garden and there are plans to add a memorial bench in honour of Martin Garrett our dedicated and well-respected Porter who recently passed away.

As many of us start to return to the offices, we hope you pop along to the garden and check out the revitalised space. Now more than ever we need to take a break and recharge and this garden provides an environment where you can do just that.

 If you have any plants, garden accessories, or just some of your time to donate to the garden, please contact Lynne, our Garden Champion, who will welcome any support.