Green Space Operation People Power with Dave Myers

We Brits are brilliant at volunteering.

One in four of us regularly give up our time to help others,

putting something back into the community.

I want to tap into that spirit to make good things happen.

THEY CHEER

I'm on a mission to discover the positive effects of volunteering

from the volunteers themselves

to the individuals and the communities that they help.

Every day, people donate their time, expertise,

imagination and elbow grease for others.

They were in need of carpenters and volunteers

so I just grabbed my tools and came down for the afternoon.

I never thought at the end of my life I'd be helping others.

I think volunteering's the lifeblood of what it is to be human.

Yes!

It's modest ordinary people who are making such amazing difference

to people's lives.

The world to me is a beautiful place now.

It's 360 degrees from where I've come from.

I'm better than what I was.

I couldn't do this a year ago.

My team is exploring inspiring schemes throughout the UK

and tackling projects of our own.

THEY SING

This is about communities at their best,

people giving to help others.

This is about the incredible things we can achieve together.

This is...

I'm in Easton in Bristol.

Like most inner-city areas in the UK, it has mixed fortunes.

It has nice shops and a strong community feel.

But it is in one of the poorest and most deprived areas in Britain.

Nestled at the heart of the area is a community centre that was created

by volunteers 15 years ago.

Its aim was to provide a save haven for local young people

away from the difficulties they faced growing up in the area.

Today, it has grown to become an intrinsic part of the neighbourhood,

providing facilities for education, training and support.

But with little funding and a reliance on volunteers,

like many community spaces in the UK,

it struggles to reach its full potential.

It's a place with a big heart,

exemplified by the chap that runs it today...

..Bruce. Hello, I'm Dave.

-Nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

This is some place you've got here.

Yeah, it's not bad. We do our best.

So Baggator has been here for 15 years.

What is its role and importance in the community?

Basically, anything the community needs, we'll get involved.

All communities need a centre and when you're in a poor area,

as we are here, that centre becomes more valuable and more needed.

People, they rely on this to get outside the house

and create the community and be part of the community they live in.

It's taking the weight of their everyday life

and giving them somewhere where they can be friends with each other.

Well, what's missing?

-Regular volunteers...

-Mm-hmm.

..and money.

To get the building as we need it to really serve the community,

it's going to take us years.

It's just a constant battle looking for what we need

to get the best we can.

It's all very tired, the stuff we've got now.

I spend more time tightening up the screws on the chairs

-than do I putting them out usually.

-Mm-hmm.

We've got a lovely space outside

but we've got no-one to maintain it.

-Can you show us round, Bruce?

-Certainly.

-Thank you.

So, this area here, does this belong to Baggator?

-Yeah.

-It's some amount of land actually, isn't it?

It's a lot, yeah. The kids love it,

they play football out here, hopscotch.

The cafe will quite often in the summer migrate to the yard.

The potential's massive, isn't?

If only.

So, what happens in that building?

It used to be our bike workshop, but it's condemned now.

We're just trying to find some funding to get that demolished.

So, you demolish, you've got more space?

Hopefully build a new workshop again, if we can find the funding.

Right.

-Ah, you've got a garden. Well...

-Yeah, a little jungle.

Jungle! THEY LAUGH

There'll be people who are crying out for some space to garden.

The youngsters and the old ones could get so much pleasure

-out of a garden like this.

-Very much so.

It's a very proud community.

I don't think anyone here would ever ask for help.

They deserve so much more.

I've got a dream for this place. I'd love to see this end of the garden

as an educational play area for the young people.

I think there's so much potential for the place,

but do you find it frustrating?

Very much so. I've got to find someone who knows

how to lay hard standing for wheelchair,

I've got to find someone who knows what plants can be cut back when.

-I haven't got a clue.

-Yeah.

We've got to find people that are willing to actually do the digging

and make beds and make a play area.

It's just a massive job and I can't do it by myself.

No. So, say you got this garden put immaculate, perfect,

well, then it's got to be kept, hasn't it?

-It has.

-So you almost want somebody who's going to commit

-to taking charge of that and running the volunteers for that.

-Yeah.

There's so many facets to this project.

With the small changes we've made so far,

-that has actually increased the amount of people willing to volunteer.

-Yeah.

So if we could actually get it that next step,

the amount of volunteers we'll probably get

will go through the roof and it'll just make life so much easier.

I'd love to help Bruce.

Thankfully, I know a team of people to help me revamp Baggator.

Mark Millar is a DIY powerhouse.

Whatever projects we take on this week,

we'll rely on his building experience.

-Oh, thank you.

-We know you can charm the birds off the trees.

How kind of you!

Nicki Chapman may have charm,

but it's her grit and determination I need.

Her job is to find us a small army of volunteers.

Juliet Sargeant is an award-winning garden designer,

but she's also an expert on the mental and physical benefits

of gardening.

And Martyn Ashdown, a champion trial biker,

whose life was transformed when a stunt left him paralysed.

It was the beginning of a new life.

He's the man to find us inspiration from volunteering projects

throughout the UK.

It's a tall order.

-Have we got much time?

-No.

All right, sounds like a great project!

THEY LAUGH

It's a strong team, but I have one more secret weapon up my sleeve.

Good.

Sara Venn is part of a national scheme called Incredible Edible

and the driving force behind Edible Bristol.

Using volunteers and plant donations,

they transform uncared-for areas of the city centre

into fruit and veg gardens

supporting volunteers and communities.

This is such a little oasis, isn't it, in the middle

-of the city centre.

-Yeah, it's glorious. It's really glorious.

Can anybody coming home from work just stop and pick their supper?

-Yeah. Absolutely, the food is there for people to take.

-So it belongs to everybody.

So it belongs to everybody. Our motto is if you eat, you're in.

-You're a proper gardener, aren't you?

-Yes.

-You're Royal Horticultural thingy.

-Yeah, yeah.

When I came down here,

I got involved with quite a lot of community projects.

I wanted to sort of be able to say to people,

"This is what horticulture can do for you,

"it's not just about growing some veg,

"it's not just about planting some trees,

"it's about actually what it does for you as a person."

So we got this tiny little triangle of land

and worked with the people who live in the high-rises next-door

and that kind of spread around that area

so there's four or five gardens in that area now,

all looked after by the community.

And this was kind of the beginning of a trail of gardens

that now goes through the city all the way Temple Meads.

How many gardens are in the city centre, do you think?

There's 14 in the city centre and there's 35 in all.

-Good grief.

-Yeah.

How does it make you feel, Sara, when you walk around Bristol

and you see people using these spaces?

Either for the food or, you know, to work and to, you know,

to help themselves, how does it make you feel?

It gives you that weird warm glow in the pit of your stomach

that makes you go, "Yes." It's amazing - it's really amazing.

We've had parents come along who have said,

"We've had to access food banks this week, is there any chance of?"

-Yes.

-You know, and that just makes you go, "Oh, my goodness."

-Yeah.

-You know, there's...

"Yes. Just take it, help yourselves, do what you need to do."

So we know that we are having an effect.

This is a project that succeeds on so many levels.

I mean, it's helped you. Mm-hmm.

We know it's helping some people in a life-changing way

that are volunteering,

but then it benefits people who come along and pick the vegetables,

who get free food and it also benefits the city.

I mean, I'm sure some of the sites you've got

would just be waste ground,

but they're beautiful and they're productive.

I mean, what are the challenges for the future?

So the challenges - getting more people on board,

finding more bits of land,

supporting more groups to begin this on their own journey.

I can't resist getting stuck into finishing off Millennium Gardens.

-Set me to work, Sara.

-So, come along, dear.

OK, so, that's your seedling, OK?

What you want to do is

you want to make sure the soil goes up to there...

-Oh, right.

-..because it stops it rocking in the wind.

-Right.

-OK.

There's a real buzz in this garden and it's contagious.

You know, Sara, looking around here, you see people, it's joyous.

You can see it in people's faces and that must...

Weed or kale?

-Weed.

-Thank you.

THEY LAUGH

You see she's great. She's here.

You know, you're never on your own, not with Sara.

-But, you know, you see that joy in people's faces.

-Yeah,

and it's good for your confidence and it's good just, you know,

-just all of that stuff that people so often struggle with...

-Yeah.

..and struggle to communicate that they're struggling with.

-Yes.

-They don't need to communicate it here because we just...

Somehow, this is just, it's therapeutic.

And for some people, that is the whole point of a project like this.

Yes, they're helping others,

but it's what volunteering does for them

that is the most amazing aspect.

It's dawning on me that Baggator's garden has great potential

to not just be a usable area for the centre,

but a vital green space that the whole community can benefit from.

I'm hoping Mark Millar will translate my good intentions

into a vibrant garden bursting with energy and life

in just a few days.

-You're the man to do this.

-You've got to put energy into it.

I'm just a mere conduit.

Can you imagine coming out here on a summer's day?

-You haven't got a garden, you've just got a back yard.

-I can see where you're going, mate.

I can see exactly where you're going.

This could be the veritable garden of Easton.

Well, look you've got a barbecue there, you've got the biggest fig tree I've ever seen -

it could be beautiful,

but just to have somewhere that's safe, a sanctuary, a haven

in the middle of the city.

So what are we thinking about?

Are we thinking about, like, lawn, veg...

Oh, I'll show you the lawn.

You're fond of food, I know that.

No, no, I see this as just being -

we'll keep what's there that's good, especially the fig tree.

-Right.

-Just a nice area for people to sit, bring the old folk in.

Is that the only thing you've recognised in here?

Oh, no, there is a meconopsis over there.

Oh, right.

That's a raspberry bush.

-Look at this, Mark.

-I am, I'm looking, I'm looking.

It's fertile.

It's fertile, I'll give you that. It's definitely fertile.

-Look at the size of the fig tree - course, it's fertile.

-It is huge, isn't it?

-It's an amazing space.

Purple daisies, got roses, a buddleia, butterflies.

Beautiful. Do you know what? This is actually a lot of work out here.

-Yes. Yes.

-This is a lot of work and we've got three days.

-Yes.

-I've got loads of ideas, mate.

We're going to need at least 50 volunteers

to help transform this garden.

It's great Sara's on board but we need to attract more.

Research shows volunteering is actually good for your health -

sharing skills, time and sometimes muscle power

for the benefit of others.

But Nicki doesn't have much time to muster a team.

She needs to tap into the goodwill that already exists,

speak to existing volunteer schemes and local businesses to find people

willing to help us to help the local community.

Hello, yes, my name's Nicki Chapman, I hope you can help.

I'm ringing around to see if there's people there

that want to help volunteering.

-Morning.

-Sorry.

Hello, how are you?

I'm looking for a group of enthusiastic people of all ages...

-No, not any more.

-Would you be interested?

Cos with your skills, that would be great.

Yeah.

Nicki has heard about a local garden centre which regularly donate plants

to people such as Sara.

So, using her business expertise and considerable powers of persuasion

she's swelling the ranks of helpers.

We just need lots of help.

Would you be able to assist with that?

Yes, I hope that we'll get a few volunteers along to help build it.

To have that expert knowledge alongside people that

perhaps it's the first time they've ever gardened,

I think, is going to be crucial to its success, isn't it?

Yes, it will be.

Mark, meanwhile, is on the hunt for some skilled labour...

How are you doing, all right?

..willing to donate time to help with the groundworks.

But he has got his eye on more than just muscle.

Simon, I've literally spotted this in here.

Have you got any reason to keep this?

The ant's body you can take and the giant salmon you can take as well.

Quite what we'll do with a giant wooden salmon I've no idea,

but it'll keep Mark happy.

I think things are going in the right direction, don't you?

The team has done a great job so far recruiting volunteers

and looking at ideas for the garden.

But a big problem faced by organisations such as Baggator

is the support from regular helpers.

Sara, from Edible Bristol,

has told me about one of her volunteers, Ross, who lives nearby.

-Hello, Ross, I'm Dave.

-Dave, nice to meet you.

-I've got the right address, then.

-You've got right address, yeah.

-Do you mind if I come in?

-Yeah, of course, yeah. No problem at all.

-Good, thanks. How are you? Nice to meet you.

-Yeah, lovely.

-Welcome to my...

-It's smashing, isn't it?

-Yeah.

Ross found that volunteering with Incredible Edible helped him

profoundly when he was overwhelmed with depression.

Looking back now, I think, yeah, I've probably always had it.

My parents broke up when I was very, very young

and there was all kinds of things going on sort of...

It sort of like seemed normal to me,

probably did have a massive effect, to be honest,

-but just before Christmas, last November, I lost my job.

-Mm-hmm.

Shortly after, I lost my partner, who I lived with.

We broke up.

So I kind of moved out, but I didn't have any money for a deposit,

and cos I was on benefits then I had no way of saving for a deposit.

So after a couple of weeks couch-surfing around Christmas,

I found myself with nowhere to live.

It was quite difficult to find somewhere to live

because I'm not a drug user,

I don't have any significant mental health problems.

A single man, you're expected to sort yourself out,

which is quite hard, really.

But eventually got into this place.

Actually, weirdly, being homeless,

I didn't feel my depression at all then.

Everything's really full-on,

you're quite close to violence all the time.

You're seeing people on crack pipes in the queue for the homeless

shelters, pretty terrifying,

but you're just surrounded by people,

so you kind of had to be a little bit brave.

I just didn't have time to kind of freak out.

-If you know what I mean!

-Right.

-When I finally got into this place,

a couple of days later I just had a complete breakdown.

Everything caught up with me at once, which was quite intense.

Mm-hmm. So how did things change when you met Sara?

Oh, it was just nice having a bit of support.

It's also nice having somebody that isn't part of my existing, sort of,

-group.

-It's a two-way street, isn't it?

Cos obviously Sara is volunteering,

but there also is a volunteering aspect from you.

-Yeah.

-You have to give as well.

Yeah, yeah. But I think when you meet people like Sara,

she's like a real leader.

You actually physically want to help people.

You know, you want to help Sara, which in turn helps you.

Was there a moment when there was a turn around

where the lights went on a bit and you thought, "This is all right"?

You know, "This is doing me good."

Yeah, there was a moment when I'd spent a good few hours digging over

some beds and I kind of sat back on a chair, the weather was beautiful,

I just kind of sat there and looked at the view and just went,

"Yeah, I think I found my happy place."

-HE LAUGHS

-And it was...

Yeah, that was a real revelation.

I've learnt from this - we mustn't take anything for granted.

Ross was only one step away from where most of us are.

But, you know, with a little help, he is turning his life around,

he is fighting his illness and...

you know, it'd be great to help him a bit more, really.

I mean, because what happens if he's planning gardens?

What happens if we can give him his ambition back? A zest for life back?

You know, who knows what doors can open?

It's easy to take for granted the very real positive power

of the outdoors, but is there any scientific evidence as to why?

Juliet, we're in this wonderful community garden,

what is it about gardening that makes you feel good?

Gardening's such good therapy.

It is, absolutely.

The first thing is there's something about fresh air

and exercise, of course. If you're digging, gardening,

it's much more interesting than being in the gym

sort of on a treadmill.

We've known sort of instinctively for centuries

that it's good to be outside.

We tend to be naturally drawn to perhaps a walk in the woods

if we're feeling stressed and now,

the scientists are starting to find evidence and research to back up

what seems to be instinctive, really,

and they find, for example, in Japan,

they did a study and they found that when people go for a walk or a run

in woodland, it's more beneficial than running around concrete streets

because actually the trees give off essences that we breathe

and then that boosts our immune system.

So there are all sorts of little scientific facts that are coming up

now to back what we've always believed.

And why is gardening such good therapy?

You've probably had it yourself, Dave,

-that when you start gardening...

-Yeah.

..you get so absorbed and the time flies and the next thing you know

it's getting dark,

and the psychologists have actually called that flow.

Apparently when we get in this state where we forget everything,

we forget our stresses and our worries

and we're just totally absorbed,

that's flow, and apparently it's really good for us.

It destresses us and helps with depression, anxiety,

so that's one of the things that happens when you garden.

HE CHUCKLES And Mark sure is in full flow.

Morning. How you doing?

Er... We're at Baggator this morning. We're starting off here

and some of the groundworkers have just turned up.

There isn't a lot of time and we don't seem to...

We have all the volunteers.

Thank you, Nicky, we've got loads of volunteers,

but for some reason we don't seem to have the materials or the tools.

Big diggers, big trucks.

# Big diggers and trucks Big diggers and trucks

# Big diggers, diggers, diggers and trucks. #

I'm off to one of the local builders merchants up here to see if we can

round up some materials for Baggator.

Cos we need a few bits and bobs in there cos there is a load of

volunteers turning up this afternoon.

I've been thinking about the long-term needs of the garden

and I know the perfect person to help.

It's going all right, mate.

Yeah, there is a lot to do.

Oh, I know, I know. How far away do you live, Ross?

-Five minutes, literally.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-I mean, the problem they've had before is

Bruce, who runs Baggator, he has got his hands full.

-Yeah.

-He's going to need some help and I think if we can get the garden

-right, that's only half the problem.

-Yeah, yeah.

The other half the problem is sustaining it.

Sure, just maintaining it, keeping it up-to-date.

Yeah, trying to get involved with sort of trying to get other volunteers up, sort of spread

-the word.

-Would you be up for that?

-Yeah, more than happy, yeah. Yeah.

That'd be brilliant. That would be brilliant.

With the materials on-site,

it's all hands on deck sorting the garden.

The guys have got round here, they've got their hardcore in

for the paths and they have even started slabbing.

-How you doing?

-It's taking shape, isn't it?

-Just about, yeah.

-You're going to need a few more slabs then,

-aren't you?

-Definitely, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Really positive first day, everyone's worked really hard

and, as you can see, we've got absolutely loads done.

So, it's fantastic.

So, tomorrow there'll be quite a lot of planting.

They'll be tidying up. We've got turfing to do.

We've got to fill the raised beds and get them planted up

and then just a massive tidy up,

which is always the bit that takes far longer than you expect.

Whilst most of our efforts have been focused on the Baggator garden,

Martyn Ashton has been exploring other volunteer projects

that have nature at their heart.

I've been to this place where they're using a thing called HenPower.

-HenPower?

-HenPower.

-Like chickens?

Chickens. And it is quite an experience

because I've never seen hens have such an amazing effect on people.

So bear with me. So I went into this room where there's some

older people who are doing an arts and crafts class.

-Yes.

-And then they added in hens.

-You like them?

-Yes.

Hi, Joss.

What is going on?

Well, I've got a few chickens,

a few older people and a bit of creativity going on.

We've got an artist, Clare, and an artist, Betty, in working today

and they're doing some feather prints and all the artwork

that's made by the residents will go up in the care home.

Wow, well, I mean, my first question is why chickens?

So I would say back to you, why not?

Good answer. I need a little bit more.

OK. So we were working in a care home in Gateshead, Shadon House,

and there was an older gentleman who kept repeating female names

over and over again. The guy had dementia,

he was quite restless, quite unsettled

and he kept making a run for the door at specific times of the day

and the manager there worked quite closely with him and realised

that the names he kept repeating

were the names of hens that he'd kept when he was younger.

So she asked could we get some hens and try it out and see how it works?

We trialled it at Shadon House.

We ran creative activities in conjunction with hen keeping

and it just went down a storm. People loved it.

We work all over the country now

-kind of hen-ergising older people's lives.

-Hen-ergising!

I love it. That is genius.

People who have dementia, creativity is the last thing to go.

They might not remember what they had for their breakfast.

They might not remember their son or daughter's name,

but they can contribute to the here and now by being creative

and that creativity can kind of ripple through the care home,

bounce off the walls, hang in the windows, that kind of thing.

Great energy, cos it's buzzing in here.

Well, it's just a little bit of a different approach having chickens.

So today you've got volunteers helping you.

I mean, volunteering must be a big part of HenPower.

Volunteering's a key part of HenPower, to making it successful.

So we've got Pat over here.

Pat's from Wood Green, one of our pensioners, and Doreen up here.

And then we have all the lovely relatives who come in and

support their residents as well.

Wow. Pat, it's great fun in there.

-Oh, yes.

-You do this all free of charge.

-Oh, yes.

-You volunteer your time.

-Yes.

-And...

-It's good for us.

-It is, it's very good for us.

-Why is that?

Otherwise, you know,

you've got to be very careful when you end up alone.

My husband passed away three years ago.

I had nothing and you could just go into yourself

and just perhaps go on a message, come back

and sit and watch television.

But it was Lynn who asked me would I like to go up to the lounge,

the little chicks were coming out and that's what started me getting

interested in HenPower.

I'm 79. I'll be 80 in another month

and I never thought at the end of my life I'd be helping others.

Do you think it's something that other people should be thinking about...

-Oh, yes.

-..because you seem to get so much from it?

I think it's a lifeline at times.

It's not just older people who benefit from a bit of HenPower.

It's amazing, isn't it?

Yes. We love it, don't we, Doreen?

-We love what we do here.

-Oh, yes.

The hen-sioners also take their beloved chickens into schools.

Is this something you think you'd ever do when you're older?

-Yeah.

-I'd probably have my own chickens and bring them into school.

-You think you would?

-Mm-hmm.

Now, I don't think with what we've got planned

for the garden at Baggator

we'll be able to fit in chickens,

which is a shame,

but what I've got from this project is this -

looking after a living thing, whether it's an animal or a garden

is just so positive. Physically,

emotionally, mentally.

It's just got so many benefits and for all ages, whether you're young,

or just young at heart.

It seems to me that if you can encourage or invite and allow people

to connect with nature, be it gardening or growing their own food

or indeed having a pet or indeed hens, you know,

it can open doors and it can... it can be very therapeutic, really.

Yeah, absolutely. It really did make a huge difference.

I'm realising just how fundamental nature is to our lives

and for some people, so crucial.

It's not just about feeling good, it's about staying alive.

From the outside, it would seem like Delyth from Bristol has it all.

A husband, four loving children and a beautiful home.

But for the past 20 years, she has been battling inner struggles.

Postnatal depression after the birth of her first child was the beginning

of a spiral of illness that has dominated much of her life since.

Did you have postnatal depression after the second child?

I did, and after each of my children,

I have four altogether,

and I just assumed it was postnatal depression, I would be medicated,

the medication would kick in, life would go back to normal,

I could look after the children, I could function properly...

..and then over the years,

it became clear that things weren't right

-and things weren't normal.

-Yes.

This past winter has been particularly difficult because

the preceding summer had been very good and I had plenty of energy.

I was interested in life and I truly believed that depression wouldn't

knock on my door again.

And unfortunately, as we turned into winter,

and the days close in and the nights draw in,

I felt that spiral beginning again.

In this particular episode,

it was anxiety, which I had never experienced before.

What actually happened?

I would be... My comfort zone was this sofa, was here.

So most of my days in the winter were spent lying on the sofa

watching daytime television day after day.

When the anxiety began to kick in, I would be lying on the sofa,

there was nothing going on around me and I would...

this horrible feeling would overcome me, starting in my stomach,

which was, you know like when you're on a rollercoaster ride

-and you're just going over the edge.

-The butterflies.

And you've got the butterflies in your stomach

and I would have that for quite some time.

Even getting up to make a cup of tea was scary,

but I can't tell you what I thought was going it happen.

I have a good roof over my head.

We have food in the fridge.

I have four lovely children who were supportive,

my husband has been incredibly supportive.

There were no issues in my life that would make me feel

the way that I was feeling, yet that is how I felt.

-And it's a spiral.

-And it spirals.

The thought process then became,

"Why are you here? What are you doing here?"

"You know, you're not even safe on your sofa.

"You don't deserve to be here."

And that's the point it got to

where I began to think, "I don't have a place here,

"my family would be better off without me than me being here

"a useless lump on the sofa."

And I did contemplate suicide

and I did think about the tablets that I had in my cupboard -

"How many of them would I need to take? Would it be OK?

"Where would I do it? What would I do?"

And fortunately, fortunately,

-I realised I also had a choice.

-Yes.

That was one route I could take.

The other was to reach out and ask for some help.

When she heard about Edible Bristol, her life changed.

It was the planting of the strawberries

that really nailed it for me.

Because as soon as I got my hands in the earth, it was almost,

it was almost like electricity

coming up through my arms into my body,

going, "This is where you need to be. This will make you better."

And every work party I've been to since has been the same.

Do you think it's a day that's changed your life?

I would say so, definitely.

Definitely.

It's just beginning to dawn on me as to how important volunteering is.

You know, the scheme that Sara is working,

potentially it saved Delyth's life.

It does make me think about how many people behind the curtains

and the closed doors are suffering in silence

and I wish we could draw people out

into these schemes because, who knows, it may change their lives.

A space that the whole community can get involved with is vital.

Mark and the volunteers have their work cut out.

Oh, this is looking more like it.

We've got trucks with trailers, we've got wheelbarrows,

we've got groundworkers.

Blooming marvellous.

DRILL WHIRS

That's more like it.

Let's see if we can get something started here, shall we?

First things first -

a wooden wigwam with climbing plants will make a great den for the kids.

THEY TALK INDISTINCTLY

They're all so smiley!

It's all happening.

Path going in. Look, path going in.

This is great. This is all happening.

Clearing the beds over here and getting ready for planting.

Getting all these beds topped up out here so all the raised beds are

getting sorted out. Clearing this area at the back here

for all the plants to go in.

This is all happening. How's it going in your corner?

-Good.

-Brilliant.

Good, good. We're going in the right direction,

but the old clock is ticking.

I keep saying it, but it doesn't stop ticking!

-Are we getting close to planting?

-Nowhere near. Nowhere near.

-Oh, my God!

-Don't even go there.

Planting will be the last ten seconds.

-When are we planting?

-Sorry, Mark!

-When are we planting?

When? When?

Nicki and Juliet have come to get stuck in for the last big effort.

There's been loads going on.

We've had loads of clearance taking place.

We've had a bit of construction going on.

The thing that I'm most excited about is Simon's salmon!

SHE LAUGHS

-Look at this!

-I thought you were going to cross the Channel.

-No, no, no.

-It's beautiful.

I want to take it in and lay it down on the edge by the fig tree there

and Incredible Edible want to plant strawberries and stuff in it.

-Oh, lovely.

-So it will be planted out.

One, two, three...

Ooh, look at that.

I love the salmon.

-Everyone got your hands out?

-Yeah.

That's amazing. He's incredible.

Unless there's this many volunteers again, he's not going to be moving,

-is he?

-When you rounded all these volunteers up for us,

-did you realise they were actually going to turn up?

-No.

I'm gobsmacked. I walked in

and to see everybody here, just getting on down,

just really enjoying themselves by getting involved,

it's going to be just the most fantastic place for people to come,

isn't it?

And just in the nick of time...

-Are all these edible?

-Oh!

OK, so...

-Marjoram?

-Marjoram, yeah.

-Thyme.

-Yes.

It's really easy when there's labels.

If you could just smell the back of this van, it's just really lovely.

So we've got these lovely trees.

-Wow.

-I've got three of those little babies and they're dwarf,

but I've got something else.

More. More.

Oh, it's so nice, isn't it?

I can't believe that everyone's jumped on board and done this.

How about these?

Wahey! Now we're talking!

Wow.

On your marks, get set...

go!

And they're off.

Twist and bend.

-Now this is good.

-50 seconds!

Come on, let's go!

Well done, everybody. Now, we've got to get it laid.

HE CHEERS

Yeah!

Martyn has come to test the new path.

Hold on just in case, wait for me!

So you're happy with that?

Yeah. Really great.

Well, thanks, mate. I was worried.

-I thought to myself...

-I had no worries.

I thought you had this in hand.

I suspected it.

Oh, great. Cos we...

Basically what happened was we had a load of slabs arrive

and the volunteers were only here for a couple of days

so they were only able to slab the top area for us, which was fantastic

so we were like, "Oh, my God, what are we going to do now?

"Because we've got to get the path down here because it has to be wheelchair-friendly."

And it is.

HE LAUGHS

All working.

I think volunteering's the lifeblood of what it is to be human

and if we don't give, we're no better than animals

and so volunteering is just an embodiment of that giving mentality.

It's critical.

It's very, very rewarding to see the garden so different to

what it was when we arrived at 9am this morning and just really,

really happy that it's going to be

a special place for people to come and enjoy.

There's just such a sense of achievement, I think,

-when you see this.

-It looks so different to how it looked earlier

-and it's been really fun as well.

-It's nice to be able to give back.

-Yeah.

-Give back to the community.

Ecstatic. It's been amazing.

Proud to be part of it and proud to do the whole thing well,

proud to help out and help out a local community.

I feel very inspired. I think we all should.

Anyone that's been involved today will go away feeling better.

It's community, isn't it?

Definitely, stop, drop and volunteer!

The community has really come together and worked tirelessly.

Even the gaffer!

Oh, I've been nonstop, I have.

Absolutely exhausted.

Right. We're ready.

Once an unloved, unused, overgrown, inner city wasteland

with no-one able to maintain it,

this garden is more than just a patch of ground.

It could be just what the community needs.

Well, we're so nearly there, Sara,

and I think Bruce is just around the corner.

This is the man who struggled to keep the garden

and then he run out of time and funds and everything.

I'm going to be able to give them and the community...

It's a garden to be proud of.

I'm absolutely amazed and actually, you know,

without all of these guys behind us,

we would never have got to this point.

So, you know, it's just, yeah, what a brilliant day.

They've been quite an amazing team, haven't they?

They've been an incredible team. They've been enthusiastic,

they've wanted to find out what to do and how to do stuff

and they've just got on with it, which is brilliant.

The great thing is, Mark, some of the members,

Ross in particular said they're going to undertake to maintain the garden

so it's great for them, it's great for the community

and it's just a gift for everybody.

So, they're going to come in and just manage it for the future?

Yes, like the other projects in Bristol

that Sara's been involved with.

So this garden is going to have life.

-That's brilliant.

-And we'll make sure, you know,

that it has the support it needs to carry on and flourish.

-A garden is life.

-For life.

-Not just for a fortnight.

-Yes.

-You're quite magical, aren't you?

-She is.

You're quite a magical lady.

-Thank you.

-With your great big team of magical people.

-Yes!

With help from people like Sara and Ross,

ongoing, it could become a lifeline.

Being close to nature and getting outdoors

is a vital part of who we are.

Bruce, I think you'd better have a look at your new garden.

HE LAUGHS

Wow.

It's brilliant.

They're going to love it.

I can't believe...

-Got in a right mess!

-Such a lot you can do with it.

HE LAUGHS

I love it.

Thank you so...

Thanks.

We couldn't have done it for anybody better, you know.

-It's going to be great.

-Yeah.

Oh, wow...

I don't know what to say.

How did you do it so quickly?

-Volunteers, mate.

-We've been trying to get this done for years.

-It looks brilliant.

-Do you want to have a look?

Yeah, please.

There you are. That's a bit of you, Bruce.

It's the 12-foot salmon planter.

-We got it donated.

-Yeah?

You kept the fig tree.

Well, it's proper now.

Yeah, that's going to be lovely.

I think you've got raspberries there and there's strawberries there

so people can come and pick the berries.

I don't know what to say.

I think there's something here,

it will encourage more people to come in and there's something for

-everybody in the community.

-Exactly. Families can have big events here

when they can't fit in their own small houses.

It's going to be lovely.

You can have garden parties.

-Oh, we will.

-So Bruce, would you like to meet the volunteers,

the people who made all this possible?

-I'd love to.

-There's quite a few.

-This is Sara.

-Hello.

-This is Bruce.

-Thank you so much.

-You're so welcome.

-Ross.

-Lovely to meet you.

-Thanks a lot.

-Ross might be doing a bit in the future.

It's Simon's salmon and all the wood.

I don't know what to say. You've done a wonderful job.

You've obviously done a lot of hard work.

To be honest, I don't know how you've done it, but it's brilliant.

Thank you so much from me and everyone who uses the place.

Everyone's going to really enjoy this.

Well done.

CHEERING

Well, I think being here has put a smile on everybody's face

and I think there's a lot more smiles to come, Bruce.

Yeah, my face has started hurting.

Good on you! Good on you.

Thank you so much. Thank you.

Thanks a lot.

See you again soon. Thanks a lot.

-It is good.

-Amazing. Wow.

THEY LAUGH

Working on this project has been truly inspirational.

You know, we've taken this wasteland and turned it into something truly

beautiful and that's the power of volunteering, and you know,

all the young volunteers here, along with everybody else,

has achieved something truly remarkable and truly memorable

and thank you to you.

Yeah, and thank you.

Oh, I just make the tea!

Next, our community hub project gets serious as we demolish the condemned

structures and Mark Millar is rather excited.

Don't you just love a big digger?

Nicki hits the airwaves in her quest for more helpers.

We're looking for volunteers over the next few days.

And we create a brand-new social group for the older generation in the area.

All done through people power.