Rye Community Food and Wildlife Garden has been awarded £10,690 by the National Lottery Community Fund. The grant will cover most of the cost for a part-time garden co-ordinator for one year, the installation of a water feed from the allotments and the material costs for a new covered shelter and pizza/bread oven.
In the grant application, Graham Ellis explained how the garden has been successfully building community by propagating gardens, planting and maintaining a fruit orchard and creating wildlife habitats on its half acre site since 2014. The 2026 strategic plan is to increase community outreach through hosting more environmental, educational, wellness and health organisations in the garden. This project is a development of a growing trend whereby the facility has been increasingly used in recent years for meetings, workshops and small gatherings.
Apart from weekly gardening sessions it hosts a weekly men’s group and has accommodated meetings by the Rother Environmental Group, Rother Voluntary Action, Rye Community Orchards plus other community groups and individuals. RCG is experiencing a growing demand for locations where people can meet, relax and socialise in nature confirming a recent government survey of 25,000 UK adults where 85% said being in nature made them happy and separate research showing that 90% believe access to nature is important for their physical and mental wellbeing.
The part-time garden co-ordinator’s responsibilities will include managing infrastructure improvements, promoting community activities and events in the garden as well as organising regular work sessions while maintaining a strong social and local media presence.
Rye Town Council is instrumental in supporting the community garden and, as freeholder, has submitted an application for lawful development relating to the shelter and oven.
It is hoped that the role for the co-ordinator can be advertised soon and that the water feed and building works can proceed later this year.
In the last three years, the community garden has added fences and paths, tripled the number of growing beds, installed raised beds and is now ready for the final infrastructure and administrative improvements. Many in the Rye community have been asking for more covered space and the offer of food will attract more visitors to the garden to participate in activities that further build community connectivity, health and resilience.
Community gardens provide profound health, social, environmental and economic benefits by transforming shared spaces into productive green hubs. They improve physical and mental wellbeing, strengthen neighbourhood connections, increase local food security, counteract loneliness and isolation, counteract division and alienation and enhance local ecosystems. Everyone can benefit from this!
Image Credits: Jo Morphy .