Award winner (2025)13th June 2025
The Growing Skills Team gardening club, part of Pulp Friction CIO, worked with professional garden designers to create a stunning garden that was showcased at RHS Chelsea flower show in May 2024. The garden won a Silver-Gilt medal and the BBC People’s Choice Award, symbolizing community collaboration with Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service.
Jill Carter MBE, Chief Executive, says,
Winning the People’s Choice Award was more important to us as we knew it was from all the engagement at the show. We wanted to show that with the right support learning disabled people can achieve great things
How did they get involved in RHS Chelsea flower show?
The charity Project Giving Back enable ‘good causes’ to work with professional garden designers to have a garden at the Chelsea Flower Show. We were lucky to be chosen as one of the ‘good causes’ for 2024.
Pulp Friction members were involved in every stage of the project from producing a video application, interviewing and selecting the garden designers (Will and Tintin of Dutch Garden Designs) to growing plants, making ceramic tiles for the Gabions to speaking to the public at the show and involved in the relocation of the garden at Stockhill Fire station in Nottingham in keeping with the ethos of ‘Nothing about us, without us’.
Reflecting their story
The garden design reflected the story of Pulp Friction and their partnership with Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Services (NFRS). Pulp Friction run the canteen at the NFRS and Notts Police Headquarters as well as a community hub.
Five trees were included in the garden design, reflecting the learning disability and employment stats that fewer than 5% of people with a learning disability are in paid employment.
Jill says,
We’re shining a light on our members and employment. If big organisations like RHS will make reasonable adjustments, then other organisations can.
Working on a shoestring budget every Pulp Friction member was involved in raising money to help Pulp Friction to Chelsea. Fundraising activities included, a Valentines Ball, sponsored activities, choir festival and donations from local organisations. This was a real community event across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. Many of our members were interviewed on Local radio and TV.
Build week
For the Build week, Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue provided a minibus every day so different members of the team could attend.
“We caused quite a stir when our members turned up to work alongside professional contractors to build our garden. One of our Members chatted to so many people there that people from other builds came over to take selfies with him. Barriers were being broken and perceptions challenged.”
Future plans
Will and Tintin from Dutch Garden Design still offer advice. Pulp Friction team were recently asked to design and make some wire dragonflies for Will and Tintin to display at their show garden in the Loire Valley, France.
Jill says,
We’re in talks with a local Town Council to set up a gardening service which will create jobs. The projects will be for clients who are lonely and isolated and as well as providing a gardening service, we’d love to provide food from our café to share with the clients as well.”
Some of our members are already looking after a garden at a local care home.
Sounds like the future is blooming for the Growing Skills team.