Over the last two years we have been working with Barracks Lane Community Garden — a local community garden in East Oxford — to support Plants, Place, People, a two-year initiative developed with the Oxford Spires Academy (OSA) Steps Programme.
The project works with unaccompanied asylum-seeker and refugee young people aged 15–19, offering opportunities to connect with nature, build practical skills, and become confidence in the local community.
Through hands-on, creative sessions, participants explore the many ways plants shape our everyday lives — from food and medicine to materials and wellbeing.
What We Do
The project supports young people as they settle into life in the UK by providing:
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Practical learning through gardening, cooking, and outdoor activities
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Opportunities to develop English language skills
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A welcoming space to build confidence, teamwork, and problem-solving skills
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Support towards future education, employment, and community connection
Above all, Plants, Place, People aims to help young people feel supported, valued, and at home.
Highlights So Far
Since January, students have taken part in outdoor cooking sessions, experimenting with plants and ingredients while preparing meals over a campfire. These sessions combine practical skills with language learning, as students write instructions, learn new vocabulary, and work together.
“The students have really enjoyed coming to the garden and engaging with all the activities. Cooking fish, rice, and chicken kebabs were real highlights, allowing them to share their own food traditions while learning new ones. One student was surprised to find fresh mint in a couscous recipe, having only known it in tea — and loved the result.”
— Tracy Walsh, Barracks Lane Garden Project Coordinator
Alongside cooking, students have explored creative activities including pebble painting with the Replenish team and collage artwork using maps in collaboration with Rana Ibrahimi from the Iraqi Women, Art and War project.
Funding & Legacy
This project is funded in part by Kate’s Garden Fund, a legacy established in memory of Kate Jury — a local landscape designer, community advocate, and director of The Nature Effect. The fund supports the continuation of work Kate was deeply committed to, and we believe she would be proud to see her legacy nurturing people, plants, and community connections.
Kates Garden Fund
Kate’s Garden Fund was 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 subsequent savings to the NHS. Individual and community wellbeing is supported through being outdoors in so many ways. The Fund will enable socially prescribed activities at Barracks Lane Community Garden and other community locations to grow.
Support Kate’s Garden Fund
If you are able to support the ongoing work of Kate Jury, please use the form here, or contact us to find out more.