The Alnwick Garden welcomes £350,000 grant from The National Lottery

Last month’s award from The National Lottery Community Fund will be used to develop a new programme to improve well-being and employment opportunities.

Growing Together Northumberland will work with people over the age of 16 who are not economically active, nor in education, employment, or training to develop their skills and support their progression.

From this, participants will discover how to take their next steps in the journey into training, employment, or volunteering opportunities within their local community.

The funding over the next five years will help ensure The Alnwick Garden can remain a garden for all but also extend its reach to local communities.

It already hosts a range of educational and social programmes, including employability programmes, initiatives for over-55s to reduce social isolation, horticulture programmes for young people with additional needs, and a range of schemes for young people, focussing on the importance of healthy lifestyles and education around drugs and alcohol.

Claire Mitchell, strategic head of community and education at The Alnwick Garden, said: “We’d like to thank National Lottery players for making this possible.

“We’re also delighted that The National Lottery Community Fund recognised the importance of investing in Alnwick and Northumberland. Alnwick is not often regarded as having areas of deprivation and can be overlooked for the funding it needs. We are thrilled that this hasn’t been the case in this instance.

“We are, above all, a charity dedicated to helping the local community. Through this funding, we will launch Growing Together Northumberland and continue giving vital support to people across the county.”

Those involved in the scheme will participate in a range of environmental projects, aimed at everything from empowering communities to grow their own produce to educating people about sustainability, reducing waste, and conserving resources.

The initiative will also bring people together across Northumberland to help build bonds and establish a shared responsibility for the environment across the community.

The aim is to directly support a minimum of 50 participants each year, and through social action projects to indirectly support 500 people.