Grow

Grow Gardeners is an employability programme for 16-24 year olds which aims to equip disadvantaged young adults with the skills, confidence and resilience to improve their life prospects and progression opportunities through nature-based, paid work experience.

Grow focuses on young people who have experienced Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE). Most of the young people they work with have experienced multiple ACEs, including abuse; personal or household mental health issues; experience of the criminal justice system; and those classified as ‘looked after children’.

The Grow Gardeners programme aims to support young people to discover a way forward which is personal to them. Each trainee is part of a small gardening team which includes two gardening trainees and one gardening Team Leader. The trainees work for Grow for six months and are paid National Minimum Wage.

Through increasing their employability skills and improving wellbeing and socialisation, trainees can access positive, healthy alternatives to a lifestyle which might otherwise include involvement in gangs, violence, or substance misuse.