Helmsley Walled Garden is a small, independent charity that began life over 20 years ago as a community garden providing volunteering opportunities for individuals from the town of Helmsley. Its founder, Alison Ticehurst, had a vision to engage volunteers from all walks of life, with a focus on those suffering from disadvantage. Some of those volunteers are still involved with the garden today and that vision still remains - to restore and develop this beautiful space for the benefit of its visitors and our local community, enabling individuals to gain confidence and learn new skills through horticulture. Our visitors benefit from the therapeutic nature of the garden itself, learning about local flora and fauna from our wild garden, getting ideas for growing their own food from our kitchen garden and enjoying the many secluded and peaceful seating areas spread throughout our various garden 'rooms'.

Why the community needs us
Helmsley Walled Garden is well-known within the town of Helmsley and is enjoyed by many local visitors on a regular basis throughout the summer months. We have around 80 active garden volunteers, some of whom are supported in their volunteering by our volunteer mentors, enabling everyone to enjoy working out in the garden whatever their ability. All of our volunteers enjoy the health benefits of working outside and gardening is a wonderful way to counteract social isolation and build confidence.

Our impact on the community
Through our newly launched 'Over the Garden Gate' buddying programme, with some funding by Awards for All, we will be recruiting and engaging a number of new volunteers to both support and be supported in the garden. This enables us to provide very flexible 1-1 mentoring to those that need it the most and facilitate team activities for individuals that have fewer opportunities to work with others in their day to day lives.