Community spirit blossoms in Northumberland Sensory Garden project

The project, supported by Northumberland Wildlife Trust’s Nature in the City project, began when Brightside Adult Services approached the Trust to help create a tranquil, sensory-rich space at their High Hirst View centre. The goal was to provide a peaceful retreat that would stimulate all five senses for the young adults in Brightside's High Needs Service programme.

Northumberland Wildlief Trust Communities Officer Cathy Sharp worked with the five-strong gardening group and the High Needs Support Worker to create a garden to be proud of. The group met weekly to design and create the space, from planning the layout to germinating seeds on windowsills.

Herbs were planted along pathways to release aromatic scents as visitors brush by, while colourful flowers such as sunflowers, cosmos, scabious, lavender, and marguerites attract pollinators and add more texture. Vegetables, salad items, and soft fruits were harvested from the garden, giving the group the experience of making their own produce into meals, including soups, salads and carrot cakes.

Word of the garden’s progress spread, inspiring more local support.

Northumberland College’s Level III Site Carpentry students set to work and made a sturdy bench ensuring everyone could enjoy the garden, regardless of mobility needs. AkzoNobel in Ashington donated paint, which the group used to decorate tyre planters and turn a second-hand cable reel into a vibrant table.

Horticulture Officer Ben Shanks from Alnwick Garden also joined the effort, enlisting volunteers from the Growing Together Northumberland project to add accessible paving and raised beds which allows all the young adults to enjoy the garden.

Jamie Whittaker, Acting Team Lead, High Needs Service, Brightside says: “The young adults in the High Needs Service absolutely love their new sensory garden. They have gained so much from planting it and watching it grow. It provides incredible sensory stimulation - colour, smell, texture, and sound. Plus, they have harvested the vegetables and used them in meals at the day service.”