Helping ourselves, our environments, wildlife and wellbeing in North Tyneside.
5 years ago we moved into our own centre - in its grounds was old portacabin, jungle and rubble areas.
In transforming the portacabin into a cafe, clearing rubble and refining jungle areas, we are slowly, by our service users own endeavours across volunteer led and specialist driven projects creating our very popular ' aspiring to eco friendliness', community garden.
Preservation
We retained and planted extra trees to our perimeters and switched from mains to rain water with butts
Peat Free
We are working to become peat free wherever possible and we make our own compost
Reducing Carbon
we have grassed areas and fruit bushes in our embryonic orchard, replacing paving slabs and looking to the reduced carbon future.
Social and Emotional wellbeing
Disabled people and their families had a difficult COVID19, directed to self isolate, younger and older people were frightened and lonely.
Alarming news, worrying headlines and local losses have made people, post lockdown, reluctant to engage in any face to face activity. Fractured relations, broken families, increased poverty and food insecurity has taken its toll. From health fears to alarming climate change fears – so very much to fret about.
Food Poverty
The impact of COVID19 has exacerbated food and fuel poverty issues – bad enough before lockdown – worse now.
Our NTDF Café has always worked to relieve and address Food Insecurity and Food Poverty locally where new build housing masks the real poverty of the area by suggesting an affluence that’s simply not there. Folk in new build, post COVID19 struggle to pay bills, feed kids and more – wheat we do know si that in these days of Food Banks and Free School Meals – ‘low income families’ are much worse off than ‘no income families’
Wild Flowers, Organic Growth and less dependency.
We have 'wild areas' of lawn with dandelions and buttercups, daises and clover and our herb garden includes chives, sage, rosemary and more
we have raspberry, strawberrry and blackberry bushes and a small pond with a water feature .. we see bees, hedgehogs and over lockdown we had rabbits - our picnic areas allow folk to see a range of fruits trees, flowers, veg patches
Our greenhouse and raised beds means we grow our own carrots, corgettes, leeks, onions and external power points reduce petrol power.
Our project introduces fresh veg and fruits, home grown produce, preparation of it and an awareness of nutrition into the lives of folk who often run out of cash 3 days into their weekly budget because of reliance on take aways – the off shoots of this work are numerous
Education
Skills
Fair prices
Future Development
Therapy
Recycling
Something for Everybody
