We'll be out there, first point of
contact, and we listen to people.
We door knock, we'll have
conversations, and it's giving
people an opportunity to to speak.
We attend public meetings,
gatherings, events.
We do anything from working with
a local park group, we've helped
set up the People's Park Festival.
We had over 12, 000 people
attend over two days.
We work with local asylum seeker
refugee organisation across the
road, we work with other community
based projects and organisations.
So that can take the form of
getting a petition together to
change a lot of problems with
potholes and unadopted roads.
And talking to local councillors
and landlords about the things they
need to change on their street.
We collaborate on events like Big
Litter Picks and across the row
we have the Outback, which is a
community garden and a Family Centre.
The Outback is a community garden
garden where people volunteer.
We use a lot of the produce
that's grown, which gives people
satisfaction to see it from
seed to plant to on the table.
Tesco's generously give us
whatever they can from a surplus.
And we cook it here.
So it's freshly hot meals that
we give to our volunteers.
And we do plot to plates,
budget cookings.
I go out to teach people.
We teach nursery staff,
we teach parents.
We've got two polytunnels.
We grow chillies and tomatoes
and aubergines in here.
And then outside, we grow all
sorts of different things.
Squashes, courgettes, beetroot.
We grow kind of what the
community like to buy.
We make lots of different
curries, soups.
We have a pop up shop, and
people come and buy our produce.
We have a range of volunteers.
And we have a learning experience
on how bees work in society.
The three hives this year,
very fortunately have given us
close to 450 jars of honey.
I see this as my community, and
it's my way of of giving back.
It's really important
to respect the roots you've had,
where you've come from
and...
and to see it change
and change in the hands
of the people that live in
the community is absolutely amazing.
We have people who have been to
bees who are struggling in society.
Getting involved with bees has made
a difference to a point where one or
two of them would actually say that
beekeeping has saved their lives
and you cannot put a value on that.
It's something that gives me a
lot of joy, a lot of happiness.
It's my happy place.
And it's more economical as well.
Rather than buying more and wasting,
we're trying to teach them that what
they've got in their pantries, what
they have at home is what they can
budget on and learn to cook from that.
I love feeding people.
Feeding is my life.
The more the better.
I'm on my own, as a widow.
So coming here also gives
me company and enjoyment.
It allows me to use my creative
skills that I've had over the years.
And I've noticed over the time
I've been coming that people
have got the confidence back.
Their enjoyment through being helpful
towards others, growing things
helps them and I think actually
gives them a better quality of life.
I look forward to coming, actually.
Lovely people to work for.
It's keeping me fit and active, and
at my age that's very, very important.
And psychologically as well, people
here get a lot of benefit out of it.
One thing I'm really, really proud of
is the impact we've had
on galvanising the community to
hold the council accountable for
all the potholes in the area.
I started a campaign.
The hashtag?
Fill my hole.
That was a hashtag that went viral.
We had over 200 potholes reported.
And now we are seeing the change,
potholes are getting filled, some
roads have improved, and the council
are being held accountable by who?
The public.
We had one lady that came, the
housing development was deteriorating
and so we went down to her estate.
And now that estate has been upgraded.
And so they've got new pitched
roofs, new windows, new doors.
And it's really brought
the neighbourhood up.
So many people can get isolated
very quickly and lose that
trust just by a small incident.
So the impact of all this is people
suddenly getting that they are a
community, they can see change very
quickly if they work together and
actually just talk to each other.
And then the empowering
is quite magical.