Lux Youth Project work with young people for the long term, journeying with them in the highs and lows of life for as long as support is wanted. The creation of a young people’s garden, thanks to the BWCE Fund, has enabled them to actively participate in reducing carbon through green spaces and growing their own food.
We had a chat with Luke Brightwell, CEO of Lux Youth Project, to find out more about the garden.
“It has been such an encouraging piece of work. The young people have been involved all the way through. They have dug holes, moved compost, chosen what to grow, planted seeds, watered, weeded and then with huge excitement they have harvested various produce.”
“They were very excited to harvest the potatoes and then to cook them up as wedges and share them with the youth club. They received such positive praise as they did this with each person saying how great they tasted.
They have also harvested courgettes and made sweetcorn and courgette fritters. Many of the young people had no idea what a courgette was and it was really positive to see them then loving the fritters and discovering a new vegetable.
They have taken onions and courgettes home to cook. They have, with some nervousness, tried the beans, with many really liking them.”
“It has been so positive to help them go on this journey of growing food and then cooking and eating it and widening their vegetable experience (as well as hopefully moving to a wider and more healthy diet).
However, perhaps the main encouragement has been seeing the young people grow in confidence as they have achieved something they didn’t know they could - gardening and cooking are now new skills they can use. They have been complimented by their friends and you can almost visibly see them standing taller.”
You can read more about BWCE’s community benefit or see other updates from BWCE Fund recipients on our news feed.