Sydenham Community Station is still moving on as you see in our photos our raised planters are now in place, work is still going on but very slow and steady due to the problems that occur along the way, regarding the project I felt when I started working at the garden it would be plain sailing, unfortunately it has been far from that. I have had endless obstacles that I keep hitting, from Electric Cables underground, the Foundations of the old sweet shop that once stood on the site called Davis News agents.
The old shop floor and foundations are on the outer side of the site at the fencing, this will be the entrance of the new garden, it has been hard work digging to try and get things right. I decided to work on the site my self to get it to a point where all the hard work would be over, leaving only the planting out to be done by volunteers. I had hoped that by doing it myself it would cut the cost of the project down and also keep the project safe this has been accomplished I am very glad to say.
Our site was broken into and some damage done, our cement mixer was overturned and damaged , our water butt had a hole put in it this was something that you could not see until you started filling it with water. We had eight plants ripped out and stolen from the garden we planted last year along the frontage of the station, making a large hole in our show of plants for this years Belfast in Bloom Festival. The station seems to be coming to the attention of antisocial behaviour since the garden has been started.
We never thought it would have caused any problems as we felt it was making the area better for the community of Sydenham, and make it a lasting impression on our visitors. This garden is for everyone and to give us all something better to look at, it was after all only a piece of waste land turned into a community garden. What really gets to me is the plants being taken by someone who knows this is a community garden, my instincts tell me it is not young people doing this, it is someone who wants them for their own garden, so it must be a so called (grown up) who likes a garden but will not pay for the plants he/she wants to have.
We say to the plant thief shame on you, do you not see what you are doing you are taking from your community you are also turning the frontage of the station into a waste land once more. We ask you to to rethink what you are doing and refrain from doing it think of the community who want to have a nice place to live and you are stopping that from happening. I would remind you that all work that is being done at the station is being done to help people in the area have pride in where they live. all this work is being done for free and our plants have been given to the community
The garden will be finished and will look well, I would like to thank all the people who pass by and ask how things are going. I am pleased that so many people are taking an interest in the garden and cannot wait until its completed, it makes the effort all worth while and lets you see just how many people in the area want to have a nice place to live.
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