The Armed Forces Coomunity Garden, a sensory garden for veterans was amongst the winners of the first West Midlands Natural Environment Awards. Set up by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), the awards showcase and celebrate the community organisations, educational institutions, public sector bodies and businesses who are caring for local green spaces.
They also aim to inspire new projects and increase awareness about the importance of preserving the natural environment, as part of the WMCA’s Natural Environment Plan which sets out the actions required to protect, enhance and restore nature to mitigate the effects of climate change, from reducing the risk of flooding to directly removing carbon dioxide from our atmosphere.
The garden was one of 100 nominees in the inaugural awards sponsored by KPMG where winners were presented with their prizes by Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands and WMCA chair.
The teams receiving their awards from Andy Street.
The Community Award – was won by Armed Forces Community Garden, Hillfield Park, Solihull, the Royal British Legion and Solihull Council.
The Armed Forces Community Garden has helped improve the biodiversity of an old landfill site to provide veterans with a safe space to explore the garden, get involved with its maintenance and upkeep, or just sit back and contemplate. It also acts as a meeting area and helps individuals with sensory disorders to develop or reactivate their remaining senses – this is especially important because a lot of veterans suffer with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The project also involved tri-services, residents, the neighbouring Monkspath primary and junior school, and military charities.
The photograph below was taken at the formal opening last summer:
A video presented at the awards can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCTSb5cM0RA
SMBC also were Highly Commended for our Habitat and Nature Improvement Projects. The works the Landscape Team has undertaken in the borugh in recent years has been stunning and some of it can be seen from an older post: https://cllrkenhawkins.co.uk/2022/10/13/pond-and-brook-restoration-at-tudor-grange-park-and-hillfield-park/
Ken Hawkins 