Anita O'Flynn, one of our Volunteer Garden Coordinators, was one of the lucky winners to receive Vodafone's World of Difference UK Programme Funding. The programme gives 500 people the chance to work for a UK charity of their choice and get paid!

The award received will allow Anita to deliver 2 weekly sessions of organic gardening and cooking workshops in the Spring and Summer of 2013. One day dedicated to women and children and the other under the wide umbrella of grounding mental health.

With Anita's help we hope to create a safe space where people can learn about herbs and their uses in the morning, have lunch prepared by those interested and follow it by a workshop in gardening, that will include sowing seeds, creating compost, weed identification and so forth. Anita's role will be to help co-ordinate the volunteers during the day and help run the workshops.

The activities funded by Awards for All in 2012 demonstrated a real need for a space in which people can access a food producing garden and gain skills for free in a friendly caring environment.

Participants will include women from minority ethnic communities (BME) who have experienced domestic violence and people who are affected by mental health issues. Groups of participants will include Awaz Utaoh Asian's Women group, Wild Goose, Rethink & Terrence Higgins service users.

Workshops will be held between April-June 2013

How to get involved

To register your interest in the project contact Anita: anita@3ca.org.uk / 0117 9351200

To read more about the garden and Anita's work, visit her blog: Anita's blog

Gerry's Attic - Image Credit: Alastair Brookes

This World Mental Health Day, we are shining a light on some of the activities at Trinity that are specifically programmed to offer support and help improve mental wellbeing.

Next Gen Sounds

Our weekly, drop-in music sessions for young people, Next-Gen Sounds, serves as both a place for young people to collaborate on their musical projects in Trinity’s music studio, but also acts as a safe space for young people to seek support and engage with musicians as a way of improving mental wellbeing. Supported by Bristol-based Mental Health charity ‘Off The Record’, Next-Gen Sounds has played a vital role in supporting young musicians – many of whom are from challenging circumstances – by harnessing the transformative potential of creativity to enhance their mental and emotional resilience.

Community Volunteer Gardening

Trinity's fortnightly Community Volunteer Gardening sessions are relaxed, informal, practical gardening sessions to support the Trinity Community Garden's maintenance and upkeep. Gardening is known to have a profoundly positive impact on mental health and wellbeing. The act of nurturing plants and witnessing their growth fosters a sense of purpose and accomplishment. Gardening encourages mindfulness, reducing stress and anxiety while promoting relaxation. Trinity's Community Volunteer Gardening sessions are very important to people living in the local area, many of whom live in high-rise flats and therefore may not have access to green space of their own, and without Trinity's Community Garden may not gain the positive effects that gardening has on improving mental health and wellbeing.

FAB Disco

FAB Disco is a disco for anyone over the age of 50, delivered in partnership Friends Ageing Better (FAB) and Eastside Community Trust. Isolation and loneliness are all too common among older people, and FAB Disco offers a space for people to socialise, listen to music, and dance together, all of which are proven to have a positive impact on mental health. Music can significantly enhance the mental health of older people by offering emotional support, triggering positive memories, and promoting relaxation. It fosters social connections, reduces stress, and provides an avenue for self-expression, contributing to improved emotional well-being, cognitive function, and overall quality of life.

Creative Wellbeing Workshops

At Trinity, we run Creative Wellbeing Workshops in collaboration with Age UK and Alive Activities. These workshops are a safe and welcoming space for people to take part in arts and crafts activities and to learn more about ways to look after themselves and relax. The sessions are aimed at bringing together individuals from different cultures within the community to explore and share their emotions in a creative and fun way. Using different art materials to express emotion acts as a valuable means of expressing and connecting with emotions, and engaging in this process in the company of other people from the local community can provide the opportunity to increase our understanding of and empathy for each other

Our polytunnel has given us the gift of gardening outdoors/indoors, with crops and flowers growing faster and stronger when sheltered from winds, warmed by the sun and protected from frosts. It has also provided us with an ideal space for sowing earlier, harvesting later and hugely improving the growing potential of every square foot of soil in the community garden.

After many years of service, our old polytunnel had seen better days and the GL Hearn team agreed to take on the challenge of replacing the polytunnel plastic as part of their volunteer action day in July.

The team did a wonderful job and this improvement has give our garden groups the opportunity to grow a whole variety of plants and develop their skills further in years to come!

Here's what the team had to say about their day:

“The centre needed help renewing the polytunnel material in the community garden...7 volunteers from the Bristol office took part on what was one of the hottest days of the year so far. The day really tested the strength and endurance of the staff involved! Under the guidance of the centre’s Garden Coordinator, the GL Hearn volunteers carried out weeding, digging a trench, renewing the polytunnel material and then filling in the trench to hold the new material in place. It was extremely satisfying to see the end result of all the hard work and knowing it would make a big difference to the centre.”

Since the repairs, our polytunnel has provided an ideal space for sowing earlier, harvesting later and hugely improving the growing potential of every square foot of soil in the community garden. It has meant that there are more activities throughout the year for volunteers and participants to get involved in, giving people the opportunity to grow a whole variety of plants and develop their skills further for years to come.

Click here if you are interested in having your company's team-building day at Trinity.

Garden Party: Voyages - Image Credit: Alastair Brookes

Thank you to everyone who has donated to Trinity and supported the work we do - your support throughout 2023 has enabled us to uphold our values to respond, amplify, and empower communities through arts and culture.

This year, with your support, we have taken the first steps to shape a new future for Jacobs Wells Baths, the Grade II former dance centre in Hotwells, in which we are driving a collective vision to restore and reopen the space for this and future generations.

As part of our children and young peoples programme we created pathways for some of the youngest members of the community to take part in creative provision, through free-to-access sessions for children such as Carnival Dance workshops with Movema, summer garden sessions, and music-making workshops for ages 16-25.

With the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund we uncovered 100 years of radicalism in Bristol, creating an interactive timeline and publishing a book about Bristol’s history of activism, through oral testimonies and first-hand accounts from people who were part of, and shaped by, protest movements in Bristol. These testimonies are part of our online archive.

We programmed a diverse range of arts and music as part of our in-house programme ‘Trinity Presents’, offering a platform for local up-and-coming artists and collectives such as RepresentAsian, as well as putting on shows with legendary artists such as Donae’o. We welcomed over 3000 people to our free community Garden Parties over the summer, programming a range of activities with the community in mind, as well as platforming a number of incredible local artists, bands and DJs.

In collaboration with Tamasha Theatre Company and Coney we created an interactive theatre piece ‘Duppy Hunter'. The piece was inspired by the stories shared by residents of St Paul’s during workshops within the community, in which participants reminisced over the old shops, nightlife, community movements and music which filled their younger years, which informed the narrative of Duppy Hunter.

As part of our Communities and Neighbourhoods programme we have been collaborating with organisations and the neighbourhood surrounding Trinity to celebrate and build the social connections within our locality. We linked with Onion Collective to create a digital map of unseen community connections, we supported communities who may be traditionally underrepresented to host community led events, from a regular Equality Dance event to a disco for the over 55’s to a celebration of Caribbean and Black British Culture in Festus Market and Party.

We're really excited for 2024, where we'll continue using the arts to celebrate and connect with local communities. We hope you can join us too!

Thanks for your support this year – we couldn’t do it without you.

Cultivating fruit trees  - just one of the many tasks in Trinity's thriving garden

After a long winter we are super happy to be welcoming back our weekly garden activities.  Wednesday's Community Day (12 - 4) is an opportunity to learn various gardening skills while enjoying the urban outdoors. The sessions are a mix of ideas and hands-on work in the thriving community garden - from helping plant seedlings in the poly-tunnel to preparing beds for growing veg, there is lots for people to enjoy. At the end of each session enjoy a shared meal with other volunteers. No need to book, just show up! All welcome, including families

Stay & Play (Fridays 10-12 up until May 25, then 10.30 - 12) is a nature based play group for 0-5 year olds, nature play, arts & crafts, story time and sing-a-longs with a ukulele! No need to book, just turn up and enjoy the garden with your little ones. Suggested donation up to £5.

For more information about garden activities contact: garden@3ca.org.uk

It is that time of year! Spring has sprung, bulbs in the garden are popping up with bursts of new life, buds are on the apple trees - the community garden is springing into action.

Over the bank holiday weekend - come and see artist Amy-May-Ellis, who is collecting all our hopes and dreams as part of a community art installation, Mobilise (part of What I Want to Be What I Want to See). Take part by dropping by between 11am - 3pm Sat & Sun, social distancing rules apply

“I've really enjoyed coming here, it’s helped me enjoy life more. I stay at home a lot but I've been welcomed here. I’ve learnt about using herbs to drink as teas, nature and how to cook the food from the garden. I didn’t know many things about this before. I’ve really enjoyed it. Thanks so much!” Nabil, Garden participant

Family Garden Sessions will start again in the Easter Holidays, delivered in partnership with Eastside Community Trust. These sessions are an opportunity for families and children to gather and use fresh seasonal produce to create meals, take part in springtime gardening and, explore the garden through nature games. Weekly Forest School Clubs will be starting back up in the spring term with local schools including Hannah More and St Nicholas of Toletine primary.

#GetInvolved in the fortnightly Garden Volunteer Sessions 10-2pm. The sessions are welcome to any one 18+ with an interest in gardening, no experience necessary - just a willingness to take part in gardening. If you are interested in volunteering fill out this online form and one of the team will get back to you.

The garden has undergone a transformation - works have included new wheel chair friendly entrance, pathways and raised beds to make the garden a more accessible and engaging space for communities to enjoy. The old compost toilet will be removed to make way for an accessible tool shed.

A sensory trail has been planted around the around and include aromatic, medicinal, tactile, colourful and pollinator plants – making the garden a the perfect space for school groups, families and community groups to explore, have fun - and even some time to sit back and to relax! Alongside the trail artist Rosanna Morris wooden relief print display boards will highlight some of the native plants that grow in the garden.

More activity is planned throughout the year – if you want to get up-to-date sign up to our mailing list.

The Easter Holiday sessions have been supported through the Holiday Fund, a Bristol City Council initiative in partnership the Children's Scrapstore and Fairshare.

Local families took part in nature based activities

Families took part in 'bubbles'

Over the summer we welcomed local families back to our community garden.

Working in partnership with St Pauls Children Centre and Up Our Street, we invited local family 'bubbles' to take part in nature sessions aimed at learning, play and exploration.

In total, 45 people, aged 0–80, took part in activities that included sensory scavenger hunts, bug hunts and potting up fresh flowers. Trinity’s Associate Artist, Roxana Vilk, led lullaby workshops around a campfire whilst the children learnt how to whittle and toast marshmallows.

“We live on the 7th floor in our flat. I was scared to come as I don’t like bees but I love it here now, I can’t wait to come back!” Abdir, age 7

During lockdown, the garden team, with help from a small team of wonderful volunteers, created and distributed activity packs to local schools. With additional funding from Children In Need we were able to pack and send out an extra 121 ‘Nature To Your Door’ activity packs to our surrounding schools and community organisations; including working in partnership with organisations such as St Pauls Adventure, May Park Primary and Rosemary Nursery.

Our Summer Family Garden Days were made possible through funding from Children in Need.

Nature Play Sessions. Photo credit: Alastair Brookes, KoLAB Studio

As part of our children and young people's programme we are providing free after school provision for children who attend local primary schools. Children who attend are aged 8yrs-11yrs and many have limited access to any green space at home. In our first term 22 children have taken part.

‘I loved it, every bit of it.’ Feedback, Nature Play

The sessions are facilitated by our Nature Play team which include qualified Forest School teachers and playworkers. During the sessions children connect with nature and share their ideas to help shape activities. Each week when the children come they start the sessions climbing one of our apple trees to collect an apple! Other activities include painting pumpkins, digging and planting, identifying animals and listening in nature.

Children also have the opportunity to learn more about the natural world, from learning about seasons, to understanding sustainability. They also learn more about the community they live in. Nature Play enables  children to meet together and to create and form relationships with peers, outside of school.

If you are a parent/carer of a primary aged child (8yrs-11yrs) who would like to attend Nature Play click here to find out more and sign up.

Nature Play is held on Monday's during term time and is made possible due to funding from Quartet Community Foundation, WESport and Bristol City Council.

In the Summer the garden welcomed local children and families for activity days. Photo @Paul Blakemore

Local children, including Tate, received activity packs during Lockdown. Photo via Twitter courtesy of Tate's Mum

"@HannahMorePri huge thanks to you and @TrinityBristol for the fantastic kit for the windowsill grow challenge! Tate really enjoyed potting them. We will keep you posted on their growth" Charlene L. Twitter

Since the Covid-19 lockdown, we have been working closely with local primary schools and Up Our Street to find ways to reach out to young people in the community who can no longer access our community garden and may have limited access to green spaces during this time.

The first batch of activity packs, filled with simple DIY windowsill gardening ideas and craft activities for families, children and carers to get busy with at home, went out in May/June 2020. Activities include sowing seeds, making bird feeders, scavenger hunts and more. A digital version of the pack is downloadable from our website.

“I think the biggest benefit is that it gives children and families who might not be able to get outside, the chance to engage in nature-based activities. Being around nature and doing tasks like planting and looking after plants are great for mental health and well-being and get children engaged in the world around them!”

Natalie Barker, Deputy Head, St Nicholas of Toletine Primary, June 2020

The garden team are also creating videos on everything from handy gardening tips to fun activities you can do at home - keep up-to-date with these on our social media channels or catch up here.

Coexist Community Kitchen Sessions - Image Credit: Francisco Vicaria

During the summer we offered a series of gardening and cooking sessions in our Community Garden. These sessions are delivered in partnership with Coexist Community Kitchen and are designed to combine Coexist’s culinary skills with Trinity’s gardening knowledge, drawing on the rich variety of produce available in our garden.

“Some people don’t really know anyone in Bristol, and I think that gentleness that gardening and cooking offers of socialising but whilst having your hands busy allows you to connect through more than just words, through a shared activity. I feel like there is more of a sense of community with some people who come along” - Fleur Handley, Trinity Garden Project Facilitator

The sessions area space for people to connect with nature, develop cooking and gardening skills and meet new people. Many participants have lived experience of the asylum-system and live in temporary accommodation with little access to cooking facilities or green spaces.

During the sessions participants explored the outdoor spaces; picked and selected food from the community garden to cook with during the project.  Other activities included outdoor cooking over an open fire, harvesting seasonal produce, tending to the garden, and coming together to share a meal that participants create as a group.

These garden sessions where developed in response to addressing increasing isolation felt by many during the pandemic in 2020/2021 when outdoor activities were still permitted under lockdown restrictions. Since then, we have continued to offer two six-week blocks of these sessions every year. Click here to find out more.

We hope to continue this valuable partnership with Coexist in spring 2025 when our garden comes back into bloom and the first bits of produce start appearing. Click here to find out more about our regular gardening opportunities at Trinity.

Children's Adventures in Nature

Mon, Wed & Thu from 27 Jul to 31 Aug, 2pm-4pm

Children aged 6-12 can join the fun at the Trinity Community Garden, where they can connect with nature through all weather activities, like forest school, bushcraft and play. Free  - suggested donation £5. Contact Lisa: lisat@3ca.org.uk / 07791 140 916

Outdoor Adventure Youth Group

Mondays, 6pm-8pm

12-18 year olds can join us every week to learn about bush-craft, fire-lighting, shelter building, foraging, food growing and cooking at the Trinity Garden. No need to book, just come along, its free! Contact Lisa: lisat@3ca.org.uk / 07791 140 916

Holiday Lunch Clubs

Wednesdays: 29 July, 12 & 26 Aug, 10am-12pm

A cookery club for parents and children of all ages. Come and enjoy cooking with other local families, and enjoy your creations in our beautiful garden. Free (donations welcome) - Booking essential, contact Helen: helenw@3ca.org.uk / 0117 935 1200

World's Largest Samba Dance!

Wednesdays 29 Jul; 5, 12 & 19 Aug, 5.30pm-6pm

Help us beat the current Guinness World Record for the World's Largest Samba Dance at the Stapleton Rd Make Sunday Special event on Sunday 23 August. Join the free dance workshop sessions and learn the simple routine created by World Jungle Samba Dancers. Contact Ripley: ripley@3ca.org.uk / 0117 935 1200

Hype Dance Street Dance

Wednesdays, 6pm-7pm and 7pm-8pm

Exciting and vibrant street dance training, which is not only fun but a good way of keeping fit! for ages 5 to 11 and 12 to 25 yrs old. £5 per session (please arrive 10 minutes early to sign in). Contact Natasha: thype@hotmail.co.uk / 0117 935 1200

Little Green Warriors

Fridays, 12.30-2.30pm

A weekly meet for parents, carers & their preschoolers to enjoy seasonal activities and the urban outdoors in our beautiful community garden – Free! Contact Helen: helenw@3ca.org.uk / 0117 935 1200

Music Open Day!

Fri 14 Aug, 10am-4pm

Are you 13-21 yrs old? Try something new for free! Drums, Guitar, DJ, MC, Vocals, Production; followed by a BBQ and your chance to perform on our stage!

Contact Karina: info@3ca.org.uk / 0117 935 1200

Volunteers help maintain the gardens at Trinity

Putting Down Roots is a horticultural therapy and training project, using gardening as a tool to help people in their recovery. Delivered by St Mungo’s, the project helps to build people’s self-esteem, confidence and sociability through connecting with nature.

“It is a pleasure to work in such a beautiful space and to be part of something so positive that so well serves the local community.” Putting Down Roots Participant

The group meet weekly and help maintain the gardens in Trinity’s historic grounds and work in teams to plant blubs, prune trees, weed and even to take part in crafts activities such as mud sculpture.

On average about ten people attend the weekly sessions at Trinity. The team delivering Putting Down Roots say that taking part can be an up and down journey, but it is proven to help people take positive next steps in their recovery.

One client, Miriam*, took part in Putting Down Roots for about a year and a half. She particularly enjoyed being in the garden and the St Mungo's team saw her benefit therapeutically through being able to get involved, for example, in pruning the trees or weeding an area enough to unwind and feel much better after a few hours than she did when she arrived. Miriam recently moved on to start a new role as a Forest School Assistant.

Clients who take part in Putting Down Roots are referred to the project through their key worker - they may live at the St Mungo's hostel or are recommended by a someone who has previously taken part.

If you would like to find out more about the project please visit the St Mungo's website.

*name changed to protect privacy

Nature Play After School Club - Image Credit: Alastair Brookes

As part of our children and young people's programme offer free after school provision for children who attend local primary schools. Children who attend are aged 8yrs-11yrs and many may limited access to any green space at home. We caught up with Liam Callaghan, who delivers the Nature Play sessions to find out more.

Hi! Please introduce yourself and tell us a little about your background

I’m Liam, the Nature Play lead at Trinity – I have a passion for youth work, having written and illustrated my first children’s book, worked with SEND children for several years and facilitated a variety of workshops for young people.

A How did you get involved with Nature Play at Trinity?

I've been leading the Nature Play project since its beginnings in September 2023. I spent a lot of time at Trinity Centre attending various events before I became a part of the team – I first helped with a Nature Play workshop over the summer of 2023 and through this, Trinity reached out with the opportunity of working together long-term on a similar project, and here I am!

What is the Nature Play project?

The after-school Nature Play sessions we run are a perfect opportunity for local 8-11-year-olds to spend some quality time out in nature, thanks to our beautiful garden space in the heart of Bristol. We operate a walking bus from 3 local primary schools to maximise our outreach and have seen amazing results. We began by having the children create a set of ground rules, which they all agreed on, based around respect and getting involved.

So what do the sessions involve?

After introducing the children to the garden space at Trinty, there was still fruit growing in the garden, so the children would pick apples from the apple tree when they arrived as a tasty snack. Most weeks they would forage flavours to make their own tea, learning about when certain plants fruit, the physics of heat drawing out the flavours and nutrients to make the tea, as well as the communal nature of making and sharing tea together. The group are always very happy to show any newcomers around the garden space – they have found a real sense of security and belonging in the garden and have a great sense of agency within the space.

As the nights grew longer, the children learned about how winter is a necessary part of the life cycle, and how we can relate to the seasons within our own lives, have ‘sunny seasons’ and ‘chilly spells’. They also learned how to safely make a fire to get us through the wintry weather, with some children helping others overcome their fear of flames. The children loved sharing stories around the fire (some scarier than others!), instilling a warm sense of community.

What's the plan for Nature Play going forward into the spring?

As we Spring into 2024, the children have begun making use of their raised bed, dedicated to the after-school club (which they have nearly finished decorating) as well as space in the polytunnel, where the children have been learning how and when to plant different veg (and why) and learning about seasonal changes and the effect climate change is having on us and other parts of the world. Some children have some prior knowledge which they have been happy to share with others during the sessions, building a sense of communal skill sharing.

What benefits do you think the children involved with Nature Play gain?

The children who attend the sessions  have really blossomed over the months, and there’s been noticeable growth in individuals’ confidence, knowledge and overall wellbeing as well as seeing friendships being formed. I can’t wait to see how the children grow over the coming months.

If you are a parent/carer of a primary aged child (8yrs-11yrs) who would like to attend Nature Play click here to find out more and sign up.

Nature Play is held on Monday's during term time and is made possible due to funding from Quartet Community Foundation, WESport and Bristol City Council.