Little Gardeners, Grounded Community - Bournemouth, UK (CDD)

Run by Bournemouth based charity Grounded Community, Little Gardeners is an urban food growing and wildlife gardening group for under 7s and their adult carers; the group meets every Thursday morning at their Secret Garden in Boscombe and during 90-minute sessions, children take part in a variety of free-play activities based on growing organic, seasonal food and conserving wildlife habitats. Activities include digging, watering, sowing seeds, harvesting food, plant, and bug identification, building, chicken care, painting, play-doh modeling, craft activities, water play, mud-kitchens and reading books related to nature and food growing.

They provide free hot/cold drinks and healthy snacks for children and adults. They facilitate 32 sessions each year in all weather conditions (apart from dangerously high winds and thunderstorms!) Annually, they have 480 family places available (480+ adults and around 570 children). They have a capacity of 15 families in the garden per session. Currently the Little Gardeners project provides the sessions on a suggested donation basis of £5 per family, or whatever the family can afford. They support several low-income families who are not able to afford to donate anything. 100% of the proceeds go towards supporting Grounded Communities other charitable activities. They are focused on attracting low-income families and those referred to by agencies, and who otherwise could not afford the cost of other outdoor nature-based play groups. These families do not have to prove their low-income status and can book a free bursary place in advance.

As well as the activities laid out, all children and adults are encouraged to freely explore and enjoy their beautiful walled Secret Garden, complete with a sheltered outdoor classroom/kitchen area, wildlife pond, chicken run and polytunnel.

A wonderful project creating a lifelong connection with the outdoors, new friends, new learning opportunities and a host of other positive outcomes, we are so pleased to have supported Little Gardeners with a CDD of £5000 in July of 2025. Please have a look at Grounded Community’s incredible work here, at their website:

https://groundedcommunity.co.uk