The April community garden newsletter, no 22, reports two major additions to the Wildlife Garden. Anyone strolling down to the end of Love Lane might have observed, as the newsletter said, “the space-age to the landscape; yes, the compost toilet has been installed at the far end of the field! In the end the two installers managed with little help from the willing volunteers and what a fantastic job they made of it.”
There will be more landscaping to soften the edges and screen off the toilet from Love Lane as much as possible and hopefully prevent vandalism.
The garden committee is very grateful to funders like Awards for All, National Lottery Community Fund and SLM Toyota Hastings who made this useful addition for visitors and allotment users possible.
There is still work to be done to the pathway to make it all weather proof and more grants are being sought. The plea from the committee is to everyone: “There is not a Clean Toilet Fairy in residence so please ALL users should maintain the facility as they would like to find it. Clean and Tidy.”
The other big improvement to the Community Garden is the employment of Anna Pole who will spend one day a week at the garden to help maintain it and also work with local groups to encourage usage of the space. She started Monday, April 15 and will be working between 2pm and 4pm. The cost is covered by a grant from the Glenn and Phyllida Earle Fund together with a donation from the Trustees of the Rye in Bloom Project (which sadly has stopped operating). The organization of specific events by Anna Pole with local groups and volunteers will take time but hopefully many more people will eventually use this wonderful space.The next two sessions will be on Saturday April 27 11am to 1pm and Monday April 29, 2pm to 4pm. For more news about the garden, their produce and events please go to the garden’s Facebook page or e-mail ryegarden@hotmail.com.