This project was founded by a partnership led by The Nature Effect CIC, Flo’s the Place in the Park, the City Council and local people. The site was a former mini golf area which had fallen into disrepair and neglect. It was full of waste material with little biodiversity, unused by local people or groups.
Kate’s Place
The main designer and vision holder for this project was Kate Jury, a director of The Nature Effect CIC and much loved local garden designer and activist on behalf of community and nature. Her work with other projects in East Oxford including with young asylum seekers at Barracks Lane Community Garden and with the Farmers Market were transformative and touched the lives of many local residents. Kate died suddenly in the summer of 2023.
Kates Garden Fund
The NaturEscape in Florence Park has been renamed Kate’s Place in her honour and continues to grow and develop with generous donations from friends and family. Kate’s Garden Fund has been set up in May 2024 in memory of Kate Jury who did so much for the development of Barracks Lane Garden, The NaturEscape and many other community greenspace projects near her home in East Oxford.
The new Kate’s Garden Fund will enable friends to donate regular amounts to ensure the stewardship, care and sustainability of Kate’s Place. The fund will also be able to receive gift aid from taxpaying donors and create capacity for fundraising through trusts and foundations or grants.
There is increasing evidence of the benefits of Green Social Prescribing for wellbeing (and for savings to the NHS). The fund will enable socially prescribed activities at Barracks Lane Community Garden and other community locations to grow. We know that individual and community wellbeing is supported through being outdoors in so many ways.
Ideas being explored to follow Kate’s interests include:
– Volunteer gardening sessions at Kate’s Place (and BLCG if appropriate)
– Socially prescribed poetry, singing or art groups.
– Food growing or outdoor cooking education programmes.
– Developing the Heritage of Common Plants project which Kate led with Asylum Seekers and Refugees which helped tell stories around migration of plants and people and introduce young asylum seekers to Oxfordshire through practical activities using plants in the garden and visiting heritage sites in Oxford.
– Nature connection support for older people with long term health conditions (one to one and drop in sessions)
Some of these activities will be ‘open access’ and advertised and others will be targeted groups working with schools or referrals from our local network of social prescribers and GPs.
Barracks Lane community Garden will work with The Nature Effect to monitor and report on progress and keep regular donors informed through photographs and surveys or quotes and stories from participants.
As a minimum the fund will support volunteering sessions to oversee the maintenance of Kate’s Place. The amount of additional activities will depend on volunteer capacity and fundraising success
Regular donors will also have opportunities to engage practically with garden based activities should they wish and receive regular financial updates on income and expenditure of the fund. To donate please use the form opposite, or visit here.
The Vision for a ‘NaturEscape’
- Is located within, and integral to, a much loved urban park and supports a culturally diverse community with both economic and social disadvantage and thriving entrepreneurial spirit. This area complements the other areas of the park, providing an exploratory space with emphasis on planting wild flowers and edible foraging.
- Supports ecological diversity with rainwater harvesting, native hedging, bee and insect-friendly planting, and of course the pond. It is stewarded by programmes to support communication, social cohesion, increase confidence and reduce anxiety.
- It is a dog free area as this has been requested by many families.
