Allotment project
2025 – funding from Oxfordshire Community Foundation
Free wellbeing in nature support and activities for children, young people and adults
We are thrilled to announce that we have been successful in receiving a grant from Oxfordshire Community Foundation’s Thriving in Nature fund!
OCF’s Thriving in Nature grant aims to improve and enhance lives through green spaces.
Our work over the next three years will focus on developing a range of free support for children, young people and adults, who will have access to wellbeing in nature social groups, exciting nature activities and community initiatives.
A big thanks to OCF for awarding us this grant!
2025 – Funding from GreenSquareAccord
We applied to GreenSquareAccord’s Community impact fund, and received a grant of £978 to be used to support the community with outdoor wellbeing activities.
Sian Every, Community Investment and Social Value lead said:
“I’m delighted we could support RHJYC and give the local community access to natural wellbeing activities which will have a positive impact on their mental and physical health. I look forward to hearing about the continued success the Nature, Nurture, Nourishment project.”
A big thanks to GreenSquareAccord for awarding us this grant!
2025 – Our Thriving in Nature project
Our outdoor activities aim to improve the wellbeing of children, young people and adults, through engagement with nature and local green spaces.
Our activities take place at our amazing allotment, which has become a wonderful social learning space, and being in this calm and quiet environment with no stress and pressures, has had a positive impact on everyone who has attended.
Sessions for children and young people:
Children and young people can access fun and engaging nature activities at our vibrant allotment space, through our free after school youth clubs and holiday activity sessions.
The children love looking for insects, planting seeds and watching their plants grow each week.
They also love taking their fruits, vegetables and flowers home to their families.
Additional support for children in schools:
We also support local primary schools like John Henry Newman Academy, by mentoring small groups of children at this space, helping them to develop coping strategies, build their own emotional resilience and friendships with others.
Wellbeing activities for adults:
We have also set up free wellbeing in nature sessions for adults at our allotment space.
The sessions are led by Megan Harcourt, our Outdoor Wellbeing Coordinator.
These are relaxed sessions, where you can meet new people, chat, and even do some low-maintenance gardening, with some refreshments.
Some of the adults who have already joined our group have said that it’s a nice way to get out of the house and talk to other people and not feel lonely and disconnected.
How to join:
You can sign up in advance by filling out our short contact form online, or sign up in person.
You can then meet Meg at Rose Hill Community centre at 10am on Thursdays, and she will walk with you to our allotment (around 5-7min walk).
Alternatively, you can meet us there any time between 10:30am – 12:30pm.
Just walk up to the allotment gate located in Kempson Crescent and ring Meg to let you in.
If you are a local group or organisation in the OX4 area, who would like to work with us or refer someone to our sessions, please also get in touch by filling out this form:
Previous nature projects
Our work with Naturehood (2023-2024)
The Naturehood project, developed by Earthwatch, partnered with RHJYC between 2023 – 2024.
The team curated nature activities for children who attend our youth club sessions and holiday activities, exploring biodiversity, the environment, plants, animals and habitats in a engaging and fun way.
Read our Naturehood report
RHJYC allotment history
We initially set up our allotment space in 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, so that we could engage safely with children and young people.
Our plot started out as an unloved piece of land, with overgrown grass and weeds. Our team mentored young people, working with them every weekend to transform the space.
The young people learned valuable practical skills and had the opportunity to design the space themselves. They learned how to build planters, how to prepare the soil and how to plant the seeds they chose.
Watch our video describing the outdoor mentoring below:
How to support this project
Thanks to those who generously donate, our allotment can continue to thrive and hundreds of children and young people have already benefitted from using the space.
We’ve built an outdoor all weather proof shelter to facilitate arts, crafts and music sessions and we’ve also installed solar panels on its roof to give us power at the site.
One-to-one mentoring continues to take place at the site, as well as regular visits from children at our youth clubs and wellbeing in nature sessions for adults.
If you are a local group or organisation in the OX4 area, who would like to work with us or refer someone to our sessions, please also get in touch.
If you would like to visit our allotment, learn more about our project, find out about how we mentor children and young people or donate, please get in touch: