Bursaries and apprenticeships

The National Garden Scheme Community Gardens Award

In memory of Elspeth Thompson

Elpspeth Thompson

In 2011 the National Garden Scheme set up an award scheme in memory of Elspeth Thompson, the much-loved garden writer and journalist who died in 2010. Elspeth was a great friend and supporter of the National Garden Scheme; she also wrote an admired ‘Urban Gardener’ column in the Sunday Telegraph. Her column often celebrated community gardens and so the awards support gardening projects carried out within local communities all over England and Wales.

Previously managed in partnership with the Royal Horticultural Society, from 2019 the scheme will be wholly managed by the National Garden Scheme.

In 2020 we gave out awards to 44 projects bringing the total of projects supported to-date to over 100, with a total amount donated of £209,384.

Unfortunately, Coronavirus has impacted heavily on our Community Gardens Award programme. This means our Trustees have decided that the existing 2020 projects will run over into 2021 and that we will not be open for new applications for 2021. The Trustees definitely envisage restarting new applications in late 2021 for awards to be made in 2022.

2020 Awards

2019 Awards

For stories about some of our previously supported projects follow the links below

Read more about the Kyra Women’s Project here
Read more about The Therapy Garden here

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