Exciting News about our Community Garden
Building Self-Belief are delighted to be a new member of the the Social Farms and Gardens. We are in the final stages of securing our 25 year lease in Benfieldside Community Garden. Once this has been confirmed, we are ready to get going on what will be a fabulous transformation.
We Need Your Help
As a project we will need as much support as possible from the community. As a community garden we want to create a fabulous space that people of all ages can contribute to and enjoy. There will be planters for growing food, and wildflower areas, some mature trees are already there. What we want to d is involve the community on how we redesign the space.
What underpins our purpose is that it is well known that gardening is so good for our physical and our mental health. In our area, many people only have back yards, therefore to have access to a garden is a brilliant new addition to their lives.
Here are some of the benefits to being involved in community gardening:
- Outdoor gardening can help your body fight disease
- Regular gardening builds strength, promotes sleep and helps maintain a healthy body weight
- Gardening can help protect your memory as you get older
- Gardening is a mood booster
- Gardening calms you after a stressful event
- Community gardens foster a feelings of connectivity
- Gardening can five you a feeling of empowerment
We are open to suggestions about how the space is used, we are also happy for people to give up as much time as they can afford to help us get this project off the ground. If you would like to volunteer in the garden for us, please get in touch.
Youth Social Action / October 16th, 2025
North Shields, Coastal Research and Sustainability Project
Take a look at the fabulous work of Year 5 and Year 6 of Christchurch Primary school, North Shields. They loved learning about the sea, the environment and they devised some fabulous ideas about how we can all work together to 'Save our Seas' in their very own Marine Manifest.
Benfieldside Community Garden / June 19th, 2025
Mayors Opportunity Fund - Green Hands Together
With help from the Mayor's Opportunity Fund, they have helped us transform Benfieldside Community Garden from derelict land. Their support has made a huge difference and we have enlisted young people to the Green Hands Together project to work on the garden, creating a flourishing community space. It has brought everybody together.
Consett Heritage Project / January 30th, 2024
Niamh McDonald - Consett Heritage Podcast
Niamh volunteers with Building Self-Belief as a member of their Youth Panel and is also studying towards a Masters of Planning at Newcastle University. Niamh has been able to support projects run by BSB and add both a professional and personal perspective on a whole host of projects.