Everton in the Community’s ‘People’s Place’ to Host Sustainable Urban Growing Space

Everton in the Community’s ‘People’s Place’ to Host Sustainable Urban Growing Space

A show garden featuring at this year’s RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park will have a permanent residence at Everton in the Community’s campus in Liverpool 4.

The show garden, ‘Brickyard’: Grow, Cook, Eat’ is a sustainable urban growing space that strengthens biodiversity and connects city residents with the joy of growing good food.

Designed by Conal McGuire and in collaboration with charity partners Feeding Liverpool and Everton in the Community, the show garden is the first public project from Conal Studio and will be relocated to Everton in the Community’s purpose-built mental health hub, The People’s Place, forming a lasting legacy for the city.

Built by Cheshire’s ‘Acorn Landscape Services’ the space aims to inspire young and old audiences, encouraging them to transform their outdoor spaces into an ‘ecological oasis’, despite the traditional restrictions of environment, ownership, and size.

Brickyard’s design is influenced by traditional brickyards that run alongside thousands of UK terraced streets. It responds to the limitations of awkward inner-city growing spaces and looks at how we can adapt them for modern living.

Steel growing frames will provide contemporary screening for inner city residents, maximising how much produce can be grown, whilst insects and wildlife are also protected and supported by a scheme of sustainable companion planting.

“Everton in the Community is thrilled to partner with Feeding Liverpool and Conal Studio to bring ‘Brickyard: Grow, Cook, Eat’ to The People’s Place. As a charity, we pride ourselves on acting upon the needs of the local community, and improving access to home-grown produce is one that must be addressed to help tackle issues of food insecurity. This is a great opportunity for us, which will allow the community and our participants to access a green growing space and take up gardening to help aid their wellbeing. The garden will also help to support the delivery of our programmes and enhance what we can offer at The People’s Place, so we are honoured for it to be placed with us and continue Brickyard’s legacy.”

Jonathon Jones, Senior Programme Manager at Everton in the Community

The garden will also be accessible to Feeding Liverpool’s network as they bring organisations and residents together to deliver engagement activities around Good Food For All, with both Feeding Liverpool and Everton in the Community subscribed to Liverpool’s Good Food Plan.

The People’s Place is the first purpose-built mental health and wellbeing hub attached to a Premier League football club, and houses the charity’s 15 mental health projects as well as provides wellbeing activities alongside educational, and employment support.  

The garden will become the latest addition to the Goodison Campus, offering a safe space for staff and service users to host one-on-one therapy sessions, community events, group counselling and community outreach work, as well as giving residents access to home-grown food and equipping them with the skills to grow their own produce. 

The majority of the charity’s delivery takes place in Liverpool 4, which is one of the most socially deprived wards in the UK, with both Everton and Kirkdale among the 10 most economically deprived ‘food deserts’ in England.

After the closure of the RHS Flower Show, the garden will be moved to its final location and an official opening will be held to celebrate the beginning of Brickyard’s long legacy following the completion of the build. The charity will hold and maintain the garden for years to come, helping to transform lives by improving food provision for all, regardless of age, gender or football allegiances.