Introduction

Blyth Star Enterprises is a Northumberland-based charity which supports adults with complex, lifelong mental health needs and learning disabilities.

We’re currently fundraising towards a project to create a brand new eco learning centre on an area of derelict or ‘barren’ land on the site of our horticultural day service at Stakeford Nurseries and we could really use your help...

The Need

As part of our provision at Stakeford Nurseries, we deliver a programme of in-house horticultural training which is externally endorsed by the national awarding organisation, NOCN. Based on a modular framework which is delivered over the course of two years, the programme provides service users with the opportunity to gain certificates as they learn new skills.

Service users’ progress is assessed and monitored through a personal learning profile which tracks their development through each module and also considers how their knowledge, social skills, communication skills, confidence and sense of mental wellbeing improve throughout the course.

The creation of the learning centre, which will feature a classroom-style workspace, breakout rooms and accessible technologies will help us to deliver a more well-rounded teaching experience to our service users, over 75% of whom have learning disabilities. The dedicated indoor space, especially during the winter months, will prove invaluable to enable us to engage service users in the theoretical elements of horticulture, supplementing their practical learning out in the Nurseries’ training gardens and polytunnels.

Project Timeline

Launched in July 2024, the project in its entirety will run until July 2026, benefitting between 30-40 individuals with complex mental health needs and learning and other disabilities in the first instance, providing a safe, challenging and ‘real’ place where people can work and train in a supported environment.

On completion of the project build, it is our intention to make the learning centre accessible to all of our day service clients (140 in total) by hosting wellbeing sessions from the site which encourage social interaction and provide an introduction to gardening and horticulture – a pastime long associated with mental wellness.

Funding to date

To date, we have raised £94,490 in support of the project, which is well over half of our total fundraising goal of £139,500. These funds have enabled us to build the structure for the centre itself, but we don’t yet have enough capital to complete the build and kit the centre out with the furnishings and technologies that we need to successfully deliver our training programme to our service users.

Can you help us achieve our goal?

Discover more about the project at: www.blythstar.org.uk

Watch our campaign video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3A358mphQY