Discover the Alnwick Garden's community spirit
05 Jul 2019 ARCHIVED (over 3 months old) - view latest news
It’s one of Northumberland largest visitor attractions but did you know The Alnwick Garden has a real community spirit too?
As well as welcoming 360,000 visitors through its doors every year the Garden also runs a number of community programmes to support those living and working in the area.
It’s this social side of the Garden which is featured in a new campaign video for Discover our Land, a campaign being led by Northumberland County Council to raise the profile of the county as a place to live, work, visit and invest.
The Alnwick Garden is the latest business in Northumberland to sign up to and start supporting the Discover our Land campaign.
The new video, which will be shared across the campaign’s social media channels and on the www.discoverourland.co.uk website, focuses on a number of community projects at the Garden.
These include the Elderberries programme which uses the garden as a space to bring people together, either through the Gentlemen’s Garden, a group run specifically for men who enjoy woodwork and gardening to help with isolation and loneliness to the Blooming Well project which aims to improve the quality of life for those suffering from dementia and their carers.
Every year 200 youngsters from 10 different schools also benefit from the support of the Garden through its Roots and Shoots programme, which helps educate children not only on how plants grow but also on healthy eating, cooking and exercise
Cllr Cath Homer, cabinet member for Culture, Arts, Leisure and Tourism said: “The Discover our Land campaign is all about sharing inspirational stories about things people may not already know about Northumberland.
“The Alnwick Garden is a wonderful asset in the county and brings in a huge number of visitors every year, but it was the other side of the Garden’s story we wanted to share through the campaign, the stories of those people who are supported by the Garden with issues such as isolation, dementia or education and healthy living.
“We are delighted the Garden is supporting the Discover our Land campaign and we hope that their story will help to inspire others to join the campaign and spread the message of what is great about Northumberland.”
Mark Brassell, Director of The Alnwick Garden said; “The Duchess and the team have created a breath-taking and evolving garden that will continue to be for all. Behind the scenes of the picturesque water features, Poison Garden, Bamboo Labyrinth, and many other wonderful experiences, there is a hard-working charity that seeks to support those in our community who need it most. Using the proceeds from The Garden to maintain the site, and more fundamentally to deliver on our charitable objectives, The Alnwick Garden strive to reduce social isolation, improve well-being and support our most vulnerable community members.
“Through comprehensive work with countywide partners, we have identified challenges in our local communities which includes increasing young people’s employment chances, drugs education and making positive choices for children and young people and supporting other organisations to create beautiful, mindful and sensory outdoor spaces for their beneficiaries.
“It’s fantastic to be part of the Discover our Land campaign as we want to play our part in sharing Northumberland’s story.”
To watch The Alnwick Garden video go to www.discoverourland.co.uk/alnwick-garden