Network Ryde, Ryde Town Council’s Youth Service, has been kindly donated a new rotovator for their Quarry Road allotment by the Rotary Club.
During the pandemic, Network Ryde became proud allotment holders and have worked hard over the past year with groups of young people to completely transform their plot. The site was very unloved before the youth service took it over and was formerly a Victorian bottle dump, which made digging the soil very hard going.
The Rotary Club first approached Network Ryde as Rotarian, Paul Ferguson, had an old rotovator which he hoped Harwoods Garage would be able to renovate to donate to Network Ryde.
Paul comments:
“I wanted to donate my old tiller to the group at Network Ryde, to help with the digging. I took it to Harwoods Garage to have it serviced. It needed a safety handle fitted and after months of searching no handle could be found! Jo Harwood kindly decided it would be quicker to buy a new one. Thank you Harwoods.”
Finding equipment during a pandemic is harder than you think, as the production and supply chains were affected. But after many months of searching, the Rotary Club were finally able to purchase a tiller that was suitable for Network Ryde and their young people to use. The tiller has already been put to good use, and the young people are very excited to be trusted with a new piece of kit.
Becky Swan, Youth Work Manager, says:
“We are so grateful to the Rotary Club for donating this vital piece of equipment. We are looking forward to re-designing our plot over the winter, ready for a new season of growing, and the tiller will make the ground a lot more workable.”
Article continues below this advertisement
Network Ryde currently work with 2 groups of boys from Ryde Academy at their allotment, as well as a general allotment session on a Saturday morning (10:00-12:00). If you’re a young person (school years 8-13) and have an interest in gardening and enjoy being outside, get in touch with Network Ryde to find out more.
A great thing for Ryde, elderly men do love to show their Marrows and Squashes to anyone who shows the slightest interest.