With support from The Mears Foundation, the Ground Force project expanded its grow-your-own gardening initiative across ten different locations. The funding enabled the purchase of tools, compost, seed packs, and small greenhouses, helping families and children engage in sustainable food growing activities. By creating hands-on opportunities to grow fruit and vegetables, the project encouraged healthy eating, improved wellbeing, and offered meaningful ways to connect with nature and each other. Children gained new skills, confidence, and a sense of responsibility, while adults found a therapeutic and purposeful outlet during a transitional period in their lives. The grant also laid the groundwork for long-term community collaboration through links with local gardening clubs, helping the initiative take root and thrive well into the future.
