A Beautiful, Natural Space at the Heart of the Community
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The Shelter
As time went on and we held more community events, we realised that it would be important to provide a space which was protected from the wild weather we experience here in St Eval. We set our sites on creating a pergola-type structure to serve as a meeting place (no matter what the weather throws at us!)
What We Did
The meadow is beautiful in its wildness, but the weather is sometimes rather unpredictable. If we wanted this to be a space for the whole community to enjoy all year around, it meant that we had to also provide somewhere which was sheltered from the elements. Long, hot dry summers made it impossible for us to keep planters watered without running backwards and forwards to our own houses with watering cans (!), so we also wanted some means of collecting water. If we had a shelter with a roof and drainpipes, we'd be able to collect rainwater to keep our beds nourished and watered.
How We Achieved It
The more we researched, the more we knew that timber costs were high, and a shelter was going to cost a LOT. Yes we had the passion and ideas, but without funding our hands were tied. We needed a big injection of cash. Wainhomes were building new houses at the top end of the estate and we wondered if we could appeal to them to invest in the local community. We got in touch and met with their community development team who seemed to be interested in our plans and keen to back them. We applied for £5000 to help fund our shelter and after lots of badgering and meetings (!), we were over the moon when we were finally awarded the cheque and could start creating our vision!
Nov. 2021 -The Result
We researched for hours, gaining advice from local craftsmen and experts before deciding that we'd use wooden slatting to provide shelter which was safe and windproof. We drew out plans, bought the timber and corrugated sheet roofing and set to work. We had two amazing local volunteers (Dan Anstice and Andrew Madden) who gave many hours of their own time to build the structure for us and they did an incredible job. We really couldn't have done it without their skill and generosity.
What Next
We installed drainage and large water butts to collect rainwater so we could keep our planters watered. We made planters around the shelter - one we filled with colourful flowers, the other with herbs such as mint, basil, chives, bay and lavender. We wanted this area to be sensory and provide a place where people could pick herbs to top their pizzas when they used the clay pizza oven. We then used more funding to buy a beautiful handmade wooden mud kitchen for the children of the community to enjoy. In summer months, the kitchen has real working taps which will be connected to the water source and provide hours of fun for kids of all ages.