National Gardens Scheme

[wendy]

The National Gardens Scheme (NGS) is one of the most generous and longest standing supporters of Carers Trust. To date more than £2m has been raised to support carers in England and Wales and this invaluable backing will help us to reach out to one million carers by 2018.

Every year between March and October, people volunteer to open their private gardens to the public, enabling NGS to raise money. More than 3,700 gardens are being opened in 2014.

Previous funding raised by NGS has been used to create a development fund to support six of our Network partners. In Northamptonshire this was used to fund a befriending support service for carers delivered by volunteers.

Another project made possible by NGS funds is the Crossroads Care Home Share project in Cambridgeshire, which supports care workers in opening their homes to three or four people with dementia to provide a safe and supportive environment for them – enabling their carers to take a respite break while their loved one is well looked after.
NGS festival weekend

The second ever National Gardens Festival Weekend took place this year on 7-8 June, with more than 500 gardens opening over the two days.

One of the many people who visited a garden during the festival was Thea Stein, Chief Executive of Carers Trust. She said:

“I had a great visit to a garden in Cheshire, and I was there on the first day of their opening. It was extraordinary and spectacular and the owners were simply thrilled that people were coming and telling them how great their garden was.

“I came away with my car full of plants vowing to make my small backyard a haven of beauty and tranquillity. It was also good to be able to talk to people there about Carers Trust and how the money they were raising by visiting the garden was going to help people. Of course, as ever, several of the people I spoke to talked of their own caring experiences and were delighted to hear about the connection between NGS and Carers Trust.”
Visiting a garden

Fancy visiting one of the many NGS gardens? Use the online garden finder to plan your trip, or search gardens by county.
http://www.carers.org/national-gardens-scheme

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