Hillingdon Rural Activities Centre

I visited Hillingdon Rural Activities Centre to discuss how the centre was operating and looking to the future. The Centre is a unique project which operates as a training centre for people with special needs, providing them with gardening and horticultural skills as well as a wonderful opportuniy to socialise and meet others. The centre also operates as a garden centre, selling the plants grown by the trainees. The centre sells an extensive range of plants and provides excellent advice on how to tend the plants. At present it is providing advice and selling plants for companion planting. This is a technique in which different types of plants are planted together to promote their health and growth for example by protecting each other from specific predators. The centre is transforming itself into a social enterprise to secure its long term future. The council is withdrawing its support for the centre, reducing its grant in stages over a five year period. As a social enterprise the centre is confident that it can succeed in maintaining its service to members of our local community with special needs and their families. To succeed the centre does need support from the local community. You can support the centre by buying your plants there and also if you visit the centre do sign up as a Friend of the Centre. As a Friend you will receive regular updates on the centre’s activities and be invited to support its various events. We must do all we can to support this wonderful local resource.

submitted by John on 13 Jun 2009 at 12:25