Plastic Bags Help Fund Therapeutic Garden in Chiswick

Grove Park Surgery given £5,000 after vote by Tesco shoppers

A Chiswick surgery will be able to provide therapy through gardening thanks to funds raised through the 5p charged for plastic bags in supermarkets.

Grove Park Surgery on Burlington Lane has been awarded £5,000 from a Tesco funding scheme for its planned Therapeutic Garden.

Grove Park Surgery. Picture: Google Street View

In 2015 Tesco teamed up with Groundwork, a charity that connects people with the environment, to launch its Bags of Help funding initiative, which sees grants of £5,000, £2,000 and £1,000 – all raised from the 5p bag levy – being awarded to local community projects across the country.

In January, shoppers voted for their favourite projects in Tesco stores across Hammersmith, Shepherd’s Bush and Chiswick. Grove Park proposal has been awarded the top donation of £5,000. Further fund-raising has already begun by the active Patients’ Group and work will now begin on bringing the project to life.

Grove Park Surgery intends to provide gardening for their patients in the existing surgery garden, growing fruit and vegetables. This therapeutic garden will be accessible, with raised beds and a hard path, and should have many benefits, including increasing social contact for those involved, providing gentle exercise and encouraging healthy eating.

“We are very excited about this project,” says the practice’s Dr Sheila Hunt, “it will be an excellent way of bringing patients together to create a garden which will provide activity, companionship and improve health, as well as enhancing the environment.”
“We are enormously grateful to Tesco and its customers for selecting us for this award, “adds adds Liz Mance, chair of the Grove Park Surgery Patients” Group. “It will help us create a new green space that will help our fellow patients and add a new dimension to health care,”

Lindsey Crompton, Tesco’s Head of Community, said, “We’ve been overwhelmed by the response from our customers. The great thing about Bags of Help is that local people are invited to decide how the money will be spent in their community. We can’t wait to see the projects come to life.”

Voting ran in stores throughout January with customers choosing which local project they would like to get the top award using a token given to them at the check-out.

Since launching in 2015, Bags of Help has awarded more than £27 million across more than 3,500 local projects. Bags of Help criteria have recently been extended to include any project that benefits the community. Previously the scheme funded outdoor projects only.

Groundwork’s National Chief Executive, Graham Duxbury, said:, “Bags of Help continues to fund thousands of projects across the UK. We want to ensure that the money raised benefits as many local people in as many different places as possible so we’ve extended the range of groups and projects that we can support. “

Funding is available to community groups and charities looking to fund local projects that bring benefits to communities. Anyone can nominate a project and organisations can apply online.

February 27, 2017