The rain stopped and we had a very productive day clearing rubbish and rat hiding places from the Community Garden and also picking up litter from the top end of the Groves. A big thank you to all from MossCare St Vincent, Groundwork, Manchester City Council and Biffa who came and also to the residents who turned up to help. It was good to work together and accomplish something good for our neighbourhood and get to know each other better while doing it. Big thanks in particular to Nia for coordinating and encouraging people to join in.

Watch out for more activities in the garden and around the Groves. The best way to keep in touch is to be part of our Groves WhatsApp group. Email your name, Groves address and number to join.

Coming out of our recent Residents Meeting, Mosscare St Vincent Housing and Manchester City Council along with the Biffa Engagement Team will be in the Groves area on Thursday October 23 from 10-3pm to speak with residents about waste management. They will help residents clear out the overgrowth in the Community Garden which has provided a haven for rats.

We are grateful for this offer of help with our community space, so lets as many of us as can, come along and join in.

A big thank you to local housing provider Moss Care St Vincent Housing for fixing our gate on the Community Garden. The broken hinge meant the gate could not be used and it would only have been a matter of time before the remaining hinge snapped from the strain from taking the full weight. Here are the before and after photos.

The return of our Bring and Share picnic in the Community Garden yesterday was a fun time of neighbours coming together to share great food and conversation. Thank you to all who came and all who brought food and drinks to share. A particular thanks to those who came early to help set up and stayed to help clear up. And thank you Georgina and Mario from M13 Youth Project for providing craft activities and games for the young people. Finally, thanks Marie for loan of the gazebo, Manchester Active for equipment and our various sponsors. 

Our summer Bring and Share Picnic is back, after having to miss a couple of years due to Covid restrictions. It will be on Sunday August 14, 2:30 to 4:30pm in the Community Garden and everyone is welcome. This is a great opportunity to get together as a community on the Groves and get to know our neighbours better. We ask everyone to please bring some food or soft drinks to share (home cooked is always very welcome!), but if you're unable to do that come along anyway. There's always plenty to share.

Workers from M13 Youth Project will provide craft and sport activities for the children (parents are welcome to join in) and Manchester Active are bringing play equipment. The picnic is organised by Groves residents and supported by the Council, GM Police, MSV Housing and MSA. Download a leaflet here.

We had an excellent, productive and fun morning tidying up the community garden and clearing fly-tipped items and litter round the Groves. It feels good to make our neighbourhood look better. Big thanks to everyone who helped: local residents plus workers from the City Council and Moss Care St Vincent Housing. Thanks too for the drinks and snacks.

Our NEXT community event will be the return of our Bring and Share Picnic in the Community Garden on Sunday August 14 from 2-4:30pm. Make note of the date. More news to follow.

On Thursday we will be visited by staff from the Council, MossCare St Vincent housing and other landlords for a morning of gardening in our 'Secret' Community Garden, plus removing of fly-tipping. There will be new shrubs and flowers planted and gifts and healthy snacks for children. Why not come along and join in, meet your neighbours and say thank you in person to those coming to help us make our garden and streets look nicer for the summer? 

Thanks to a Council grant we have been able to get some tree surgeons in to the Community Garden to remove a few problem or dead trees and bushes and trim some of the others. This will let more light into the garden for the benefit of all the trees, bushes, grass and other plants there.

This afternoon in the Community Garden we were giving out free hanging basket kits with spring bulbs and winter pansies, thanks to some funding from the Council. The offer was put out through our Whatsapp group and all 20 baskets were taken. The collection was done with social distancing and masks and there was no gathering! With winter nights ands weather drawing in and several more weeks of lockdown, hopefully these flowers as they grow will bring a note of hope and new life to cheer us up!

We're looking out for more offers as Christmas approaches. Look out here for news or, better still, why not join the community WhatsApp group? Send an email if you're interested.

The Groves Community Garden has been producing some lovely raspberries and redcurrants – free for anyone to pick and eat. The plum tree is looking like there will be a bumper harvest soon too. Is our jam-maker ready for action?