Your Place, Reimaging Our Space — PEACEPLUS Community Growing Programme
Ards and North Down Borough Council is delighted to introduce Your Place, Reimaging Our Space, a new PEACEPLUS‑funded programme supporting community gardens and Men's, Hen's and Everyone's Sheds across the Borough.
The programme aims to bring people from different backgrounds together through shared, practical, hands‑on activity. It has been shaped by what local people told us matters most, informed by early engagement, expressions of interest and all of our co‑design workshops across the Borough. These workshops are now complete, and we are currently pulling together a full calendar of activities and events.
Once you register, you'll receive a link to book activities through our Eventbrite page. Some of the sessions planned for the coming months include a bat walk, orchard planting and harvesting, woodworking workshops and other practical growing and skills‑based activities. Many of these will be delivered alongside experienced facilitators and subject‑matter experts, ensuring high‑quality learning and a supportive, enjoyable environment for everyone taking part.
Over the next 18 months, participants will have opportunities to take part in practical growing sessions, join community‑related activities and skills workshops, participate in cross‑border visits, attend stakeholder and networking events, and become part of a shared learning network for skills exchange and capacity building.
Registering for the programme
To join the programme, please complete the this registration form: PEACEPLUS Your place, reimaging our space - registration form
Once registered, you'll receive an email from us with your unique reference number, the pre-project questionnaire and information about our upcoming activities. Once registered you will be able to book events on our participants only Eventbrite page!
Hard copies of the forms are available for collection at Bangor City Hall if preferred; you can request these by emailing parkspeaceplus@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk.
Please also help us promote the project by sharing it with friends, neighbours and community partners. If you have space to display a poster about the project, please get in touch.
What We Heard from Local Groups and Participants
Through early engagement and co‑design, local people highlighted a number of priorities they would like the programme to support. These included more collaboration and networking opportunities; a diverse range of practical workshops such as seasonal planting, building beds, wildlife habitats and woodworking; advice on food growing and ways to share or distribute produce; guidance on preserving and cooking produce; governance support including insurance, volunteer recruitment, accessibility and site security; help identifying funding sources and completing applications; better connections across the Borough including links with schools and youth groups; and access to shared tools and equipment. These insights will directly shape programme delivery as it develops.
What We Ask from Participants
To take part, we ask participants to engage in around 24 hours of programme activity over 18 months. That works out at roughly an hour a month or 2 hours every two months - a light, manageable level of involvement that keeps you connected, learning and part of the network without it feeling like a big commitment. Some events will be longer, so you'll build up your hours naturally as you take part in the sessions that interest you. Activities will include a mix of site visits, workshops, talks, information‑sharing sessions and webinars. This helps ensure the programme is meaningful, consistent and beneficial for everyone involved.
This project is supported by PEACEPLUS, a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).
