| Summary |
The Hillgrove Grow & Cook Project is a collaboration between the Conwy Valley and North Wales Coast Community Rail Partnership (CRP) and Digartref Cyf, a homelessness charity based in Bangor. The initiative takes place at Hillgrove, Digartref’s new supported housing facility for 16–25-year-olds located directly behind Bangor railway station.
The project aims to create a supportive and engaging outdoor space where residents can grow their own produce, learn cooking and budgeting skills, and enjoy communal activities that promote wellbeing, sustainability, and community cohesion.
Through hands-on gardening, cooking sessions, and shared meals, residents will build confidence, develop life skills, and gain the knowledge needed to live independently, all while connecting to their local community and learning to use public transport with support from Transport for Wales’ Confident to Travel programme.
| Aims and Objectives |
1. Promote Health and Wellbeing
- Provide residents with access to fresh, home-grown produce.
- Deliver cooking workshops that teach residents how to prepare healthy, low-cost meals.
- Encourage outdoor activity and social interaction through shared gardening and dining spaces.
2. Build Life Skills and Independence
- Engage residents in maintaining the garden and learning seasonal planting skills.
- Support residents to develop budgeting, cooking, and meal planning capabilities.
- Create a collaborative recipe book featuring residents’ favourite dishes and success stories.
3. Encourage Community and Environmental Responsibility
- Promote sustainable living through reduced packaging waste and increased biodiversity.
- Strengthen residents’ confidence in using public transport for work, education, and social activities.
- Foster community cohesion by creating shared spaces and activities that bring residents, staff, and partners together.
| Partners |
- Digartref Cyf – host partner, providing accommodation and ongoing resident support.
- Menter Fachwen – supporting partner, guiding residents in planting and maintaining raised beds.
- Broc Creative – producing the project’s recipe book and case studies.
- Transport for Wales (TfW) – Funded through the TfW Challenge Fund and providing support via the Confident to Travel initiative.
| Delivery |
Expected outcomes:
- Three raised planters filled with ‘grow your own’ produce installed in the Hillgrove communal garden.
- Residents actively involved in planting, maintaining, and harvesting their crops.
- Regular cooking sessions using garden produce and food bank ingredients to teach healthy meal preparation.
- Improved health and wellbeing among residents through healthy eating and outdoor activity.
- Increased social interaction, confidence, and community engagement.
- Development of practical cooking and budgeting skills to support independent living.
- Creation of a recipe book featuring residents’ stories and meals to inspire future participants.
- Ongoing maintenance and seasonal planting supported by Hillgrove’s staff and residents as part of the Train to Work programme.