In January 2016, Hale Community Centre made the decision to create a fruit and vegetable garden in the then lawned area at the front of the centre. A garden for the community, planted and maintained by volunteers. To facilitate this new garden project “Get Growing@the Bungalow” £10k of funding was secured from the People's Health Trust to design, create and maintain the area; encouraging active participation and control. 

Since its official launch, the “Get Growing@the Bungalow” project has gone from strength to strength; it’s now an established award winning fruit and vegetable garden, groups involved in the garden share their experiences and knowledge to grow a variety of produce including tomatoes, beans, beetroot and salad vegetables.   

In 2021 our Community Garden returned to its winning ways despite the pandemic…  

Firstly, our Get Growing Gardening Project was awarded a Level 4 (Thriving) Award from South & South East in Bloom, a major achievement for our small team of dedicated gardening volunteers (Alan, Dan, Jane and Judith) led byJohn Ely.  

The second accolade  at the Farnham Town Council’s annual Farnham in Bloom Awards evening on 6^th October, the Hale Community Centre’s community garden received the Madge Green Community Garden Award⁽¹⁾ - a lovely engraved silver plate.

Our volunteers work hard, in all weathers to ensure the garden is bright and colourful, complimenting those events that use it - Pop-up Café, Garden Parties, etc and supports our Community Fridge & Cupboard by supplying an extensive array of fresh home-grown fruit and vegetables for the community.

“We would like to congratulate our wonderful gardening volunteers, who truly deserve this award,” said Cathy Burroughs, Centre Manager at Hale Community Centre.

Visit Our Blog to see the latest community garden news or catch-up on the progress the 2021 project has made by looking at the various Blog Posts in our Photo Albums

 (1)Madge Green was the original driving force behind Farnham in Bloom before the Town Council took over. The Madge Green Community Garden Award is an aptly named award to ensure her legacy lives on.