First Choice Homes Oldham tenants shine at National Trust gardening awards

The winning entries to the National Trust’s first-ever Sky Gardening Challenge were announced at a private garden party hosted on Manchester’s very own garden in the sky, Castlefield Viaduct.

The pilot competition was open to residents of five neighbourhoods across Greater Manchester, including Oldham.

Over 100 residents signed up to take part in the Challenge this summer, which aimed to get people greening up their balconies and window boxes in the hope of improving people’s connection to nature.

People who signed up in April and May received freebies including seeds, peat-free compost, access to free workshops and socials and invaluable advice from the judges and National Trust gardeners along the way.   

To be in with a chance of winning, contestants then needed to share their gardening journey with the National Trust in June, and, if shortlisted, invite a special panel of judges to their homes to see what they’ve been up to. 

There were four top-prize winners:

·       Jo Magee in the ‘Celebrate Cultural Heritage’ category

·       Dean Jackson in the ‘In the Shade’ category

·       Lauren Sheasby in the ‘Urban Farming’ category and

·       Jack Selman in the ‘Wild about Wildlife’ category.

Chloe Parker, customer of First Choice Homes Oldham, said: “Me and my five-year-old son Clayne joined the challenge as he loves nature and wanted to get involved, we’ve planted a number of seeds over 5/6 planters which are on our balcony wall.

"We’re both very new to this so there has been a lot of trial and error and we’ve realised nasturtiums and cornflower grows best in our space.”

Not only has this pilot encouraged people to green up their balconies, there has been evidence that it has helped to improve mental health too. 

One entrant commented: “The workshops and socials helped me get started and motivated me to do it as I have had lots of health problems and I had lost the will to do it.

"I felt very tired at first but now I can spend an hour or so everyday day and I love sitting in my garden listening the birds or even just the wind blowing through the trees.”

Another said: “It’s like a pocket of peace in a busy town centre, a little piece of the countryside.”

Natalie Daring, Senior Project Manager at the National Trust, said: “The National Trust has a role to play in helping everyone have access to nature, no matter where they live.

"The experiences and stories from participants in the Challenge is really powerful – access to nature is so important.

"This pilot scheme starts to show the potential for people and nature of greening small spaces such as urban balconies and window boxes.”

National Trust has collaborated with a number of housing providers and residents’ associations to deliver this year’s pilot, including Get Living at New Maker Yards, Scarborough Group at Middlewood Locks, and Moda at Angel Gardens.

First Choice Homes Oldham supported National Trust to deliver the Sky Gardening Challenge in Oldham, and had 21 residents sign up to the Challenge.

Emma Cafferky, Stronger Communities Manager at First Choice Homes Oldham, said: “It’s been fantastic to partner with the National Trust for what’s been a brilliant pilot competition.

"We’ve seen such a high number of our residents wanting to take part across our two neighbourhoods and with five Oldham entries being shortlisted, it’s testament to the pride people here have in their local area.”

The Sky Gardening Challenge was judged by gardening experts including Cloud Gardener, whose work featured in the RHS Urban Show; Victoria Holden, founder of Northern Lily, a social enterprise based in Oldham that promotes wildlife friendly gardening; Liz Dalby-Webb, Head Gardener at social enterprise Plant MCR; Kath Gavin, Sustainability Coordinator at Hulme Community Garden Centre; and Robyn Booth, National Trust gardener and author of balcony gardening book GROW.

National Trust is grateful for the generous support of Blue Diamond Garden Centres and CJ Wildlife who contributed £200 of gardening goodies as prizes for each of the winners.

Some of the contestants’ stories will be shared online on Instagram: @ntcastlefieldsviaduct, X( formally Twitter): @NT_TheNorth and @NTcastleDuct and Facebook: @NTNorthWest.  

A public exhibition on Castlefield Viaduct, which visitors can see during opening hours until August 25.

People who signed up to the Challenge have also had the chance to take part in research carried out by the University of Manchester, which aims to understand the impact of balcony greening on people’s health and wellbeing, and on nature.

As well as surveying contestants before and after greening their balconies, the University has offered some residents the chance to install air quality and temperature sensors on their balconies, to monitor the environmental impact of balcony greening.

Sarah Lindley, Professor of Geography, said: “Early findings suggest that greening your balcony might not just be great for the planet, but for your health and wellbeing too.

"The response from people in the Challenge to this research has been tremendous, and we look forward to sharing the final results of the research soon.”

The Sky Gardening Challenge has been a pilot scheme this year and the National Trust is committed to connect people to nature, especially in towns and cities.

If this competition proves successful, there may be plans to roll this out in 2025 and beyond. 

Do you have a story for us? Want to tell us about something going on in and around Oldham? Let us know by emailing news@oldham-chronicle.co.uk , calling our Oldham-based newsroom on 0161 633 2121 , tweeting us @oldhamchronicle or messaging us through our Facebook page. All contact will be treated in confidence.