Once again we fitted our picnic between rain showers! It was an excellent time together. Thanks to everyone who came and brought all sorts of delicious food and drinks. Thanks to M13 Youth Project for children's games. And thanks to Trae for capturing several of us in silhouette on the Community Garden walls.

It's time for our Bring & Share Picnic in the Community Garden. Saturday August 31, from 12:30pm. Everyone welcome – please bring some food to share.

​This year we will be joined again by community artist Trae who will be encouraging us to take part in creating some artwork to decorate the garden. M13 Youth Project will be providing some activities for children and young people. And all of us will be providing the food and (soft) drinks to share. It’s a great way of getting to know your neighbours better and enjoying some new tastes and flavours. We particularly welcome any new students who may have moved into the Groves recently.

STOP PRESS: Once again Akutu has made some jam from one of the plum tree in the garden (thanks to Matteo for helping pick the fruit). Jars available to Groves residents on a first come basis.

Today we had our latest Bring & Share event, hosted by Elizabeth Gaskell’s House. Thanks to everyone who came and brought food to share. As part of our time together we had free tours of the house. We enjoyed finding out about this historic building on our doorsteps and the people who lived there from a time when round here was mostly fields. Thanks also to our 2 tour guides, and to the Jo Cox Foundation for providing our funding, via Forever Manchester, as part of the Great Get Together.

On Wednesday April 24, 10am to 2pm there will be an Action Day on the Groves, led by the Council with support from Biffa (who empty our bins) and housing providers such as Mosscare St Vincent, Arawak and S4B. Activities will include jet washing, litter-picking, removing bulky waste and advice over a cuppa about your concerns. There will be free give-aways, goodie bags, prizes for children and more.

​Further information from Tanique on 07703 807200.

A lovely sunny day today in the Community Garden where the spring flowers are looking great. They won't be around much longer so why not take advantage of the great weather over the Easter weekend and come out and enjoy the garden?

A big thank you to everyone who turned up to help at our Groves Spring-Clean on Saturday as part of the Great British Spring Clean. About 25 adults and numerous children came to pick up litter and make our streets and alleys look really tidy. We also had support from MSA, MossCare St Vincent, Biffa, local police and Councillors. Thank you to all of them. Around 40 pink 'Community Clean up' bags were filled. Of course the ongoing challenge is to keep it like this. To help encourage people to dispose of their rubbish properly (and catch those who don't!) there will be an Action Day on the Groves on April 24 involving leaflets, signs, lights, cameras and more. Watch out for more info about this soon.

Our Groves Clean-Up is next Saturday on March 30. Come along anytime between 11am and 2pm. We will have prizes and goody-bags and we're asking everyone if they can to bring some cake or biscuits to share. Let's make it a fun community and family time together doing something positive.
Our clean-up is registered with Keep Britain Tidy and our number of volunteers and numbers of bags filled will be counted in the national statistics. Look at our clean-up here.

Who would have thought re-cycling could be so interesting? 17 of us visited the Re-cycling Centre at Sharston and were given a tour of the Materials Recovery Facility and its huge machine that sorts out metals and plastics. These can be sold on for lots of money to help with the costs of our rubbish disposal, and keep our Council Tax for things like children's services. But... if something goes into the wrong bin and gets into the machine it can cause a breakdown, costing lots of money to fix! Another reason to recycle correctly: its good for our planet, our pockets and our services.  We also had games, a quiz, and learned that our rubbish can also be used to generate electricity and make compost for growing fruit and vegetables. Good fun, good company.

We had an excellent time at our Groves Bring & Share event at Elizabeth Gaskell's House on Saturday. Lovely home-cooked food, drawing our silhouettes with Trae, and lots of dressing up in Victorian clothes! Here are photos of some of those who came. Thanks everyone for the food, thanks Trae and thanks to Elizabeth Gaskell's House for hosting us.

Saturday, February 23, 12:30-3:30pm
An afternoon of art workshops, conversation and Family Fun with Community Artist Trae at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House, 84 Plymouth Grove.
Bring food to share with your neighbours, drink tea, create art with Trae, learn more about re-cycling, and celebrate your community’s achievements.
Please note: Children must be accompanied.