Exciting News about our Community Garden

Exercise, Health and Nutrition / Know Your Neighbourhood Project / Benfieldside Community Garden / October 13th, 2023

Exciting News about our Community Garden

Building Self-Belief are delighted to be a new member of the the Social Farms and Gardens. We are in the final stages of securing our 25 year lease in Benfieldside Community Garden. Once this has been confirmed, we are ready to get going on what will be a fabulous transformation.

We Need Your Help

As a project we will need as much support as possible from the community.  As a community garden we want to create a fabulous space that people of all ages can contribute to and enjoy. There will be planters for growing food, and wildflower areas, some mature trees are already there. What we want to d is involve the community on how we redesign the space.

What underpins our purpose is that it is well known that gardening is so good for our physical and our mental health. In our area, many people only have back yards, therefore to have access to a garden is a brilliant new addition to their lives.

Here are some of the benefits to being involved in community gardening:

  • Outdoor gardening can help your body fight disease
  • Regular gardening builds strength, promotes sleep and helps maintain a healthy body weight
  • Gardening can help protect your memory as you get older
  • Gardening is a mood booster
  • Gardening calms you after a stressful event
  • Community gardens foster a feelings of connectivity
  • Gardening can five you a feeling of empowerment


We are open to suggestions about how the space is used, we are also happy for people to give up as much time as they can afford to help us get this project off the ground. If you would like to volunteer in the garden for us, please get in touch.

Volunteer for us

Self-Belief and Emotional Wellbeing / December 18th, 2024

The Meadow Well Teenage Wellbeing Programme With Norham High School

The Meadow Well Teenage Wellbeing Programme, in partnership with Norham High School, aimed to enhance the mental health, self-esteem, and aspirations of teenagers living on the Meadow Well Estate in North Shields. The programme focused on improving community engagement and exploring long-term potential, with an emphasis on employability skills and higher education, particularly in arts and creative industries.

Self-Belief and Emotional Wellbeing / June 8th, 2023

Wellbeing and the Arts / June 8th, 2023

Shoddy Theatre and the Importance of the Arts

What a delight it was to have the opportunity to organise a whole series of drama activities for some of our schools. As part of their national tour, the Shoddy Theatre Company arranged to deliver a series of workshops to engage children and young people in the arts.

Consett Heritage Project / August 29th, 2024

Consett's Broken Heart

'Consett's Broken Heart' is a poem created by Olivia, Alfie A, Alfie R, Daisie, Jaxon and Damien, of Moorside Primary School. This is a fabulous poem inspired by the impact the closing of the steelworks had on the town of Consett.