The National Trust’s Sky Gardening Challenge is a Greater Manchester wide project that encourages people with balconies to get greening in their ‘skyline space’.
Gardening support is being offered to those who sign up, with gardening advice and balcony greening inspiration in the form of a Sky Gardening Challenge handbook, a monthly newsletter, and the chance to get involved with a competition later in the summer. Participants can also connect to the project on Facebook and Instagram @NTSkyGardeningChallenge
The project aims to promote balcony gardening, and a community led approach to urban greening, foster an appreciation of small pockets of nature and amplify people’s personal balcony gardening stories.
Researchers at the University of Manchester found that combined, all the balconies in Greater Manchester cover an area the size of more than 33 football pitches. Greening just one quarter of these balconies could host enough flowers to support 1.4 million pollinator visits. By encouraging people to give growing a go, National Trust hopes to improve people’s connection to nature, increase access to green spaces (whatever their size) and help wildlife thrive across the city.
“Nature is crucial for our mental and physical health. We know that supporting people to create their own green retreat helps them to connect with nature in the city,” says Tor Emms, Project Manager for the National Trust’s Sky Gardening Challenge. “We’d love to see green balconies and window boxes across Greater Manchester, both to spread the joy of nature, and to the benefit of the city’s wildlife and environment.”
In line with the National Trust’s intention to End Unequal Access to nature, beauty and history, the project is working collaboratively with housing associations and community greening organisations, to deliver workshops in areas of Greater Manchester where there is less green space and high density of balconies. A testbed, developing initiative, and a new way of working for National Trust, Sky Gardening Challenge is defined by both the changing city-based environment it responds to, and continued learning and research into access to nature in urban environments. It’s an example of local and flexible partnership working, helping refine the Trust’s national direction.
National Trust would like to say a big thank you to their many collaborators for this project, including but not limited to Salix Homes, First Choice Homes Oldham, One Manchester, Plant CIC, Northern Lily, RSPB, RHS, Hulme Community Garden Centre and Cloud Gardener.
Find out more nationaltrust/org.uk/sky-gardening-challenge
