NEWS,NEWS AND CHANGING VIEWS

It is some little while since last I settled to write a blog. The days have raced away and so much has been happening that it has been difficult to pin a beginning. Suffice to say that the journey has been extraordinary, as have been the people who have been the passengers and drivers.

So, where have we been? I will try to be succinct, but it was March when last I wrote. The spring may have been tough on the garden, but it did bring in a raft of new volunteers. Folk who were clearly up for it, people of all ages, some in their teens, others in search of new challenge and all have stayed. Many said that they just wanted to help, but didn’t feel that they had much to give. Most I hope now recognise that just being who they are was enough. What a difference they have made too, diversity of provision comes through support and the new team are covering many bases. Wood work is now offered twice each week, art and cooking at least once and recycling every day. We get spontaneous activities, music sessions from nothing and some days we even get to garden. The planned cabin is now above ground and is likely to be finished within weeks,the classroom gifted eight years ago by Shire Hall will this summer be swapped for a more modern unit

and the Butterfly meadow is flourishing and well used by students and neighbours alike. We have opened a second allotment, started to grow shrubs to sell on and have extended our catering plans by opening the café on Sundays.

The other astonishing part of the journey has been to do with generosity. People continue to send in money and gifts. From Freemasons Lodges and Rotarians, from Doctors surgeries and village committees, throughout G.C.H.Q and across the breadth of the county, someone it seems is doing or collecting something on our behalf.

 The astonishment is not do with the items or the amounts, but rather the consideration for the project.The combined services turned up with some surplus military clothing, moments after asking for knitting machines, one was delivered and Oakley Day Centre sent us over a foil baler to compliment our recycling provision.

 As we move through the summer,our tenth anniversary looms,the need for our project has never been greater.Each new arrival enriches our activity. The adventure is a rollercoaster ride like no other, breathtaking and a joy to all of us.

We send out a huge thank you to all those who continue to support.Please keep it up and do come and visit.

A great way to unwind

The video mountain continues to grow and we are currently holding around 12,000 in various stages of dismantle. It has been fantastic to be processing so many. We have had a slightly frustrating time with the tape itself, but have today received a confirmation from EMS who are based in Bristol and who are specialists in this material.  50 bales of tape will soon be on their way for recycling. The stripped tape,(we are advised) will be used in the manufacture of quilted jacket linings. Whilst I am not in the habit of celebrating the efforts of individuals, the dedication of Alistair Jepson has to be recorded.He has been the driving force with this initiative. He commits three days each week to the task, is meticulous in his work and presses all of his fellow volunteers to adhere to his high standards. It is very funny to watch him waving his finger at all who waiver.
We are still taking videos in,so do keep the word alive.
 On the subject of recycling generally,we are now taking in foil and are expanding our commitment to Aluminium. These materials are worth money to the charity and we continue to encourage organisations to collect for us. Canteens and cafes are a great source and we are soon to set in motion a partnership with Winchcombe School,who are keen to collect on our behalf. I would love to get a toe in through the door with one of our local factories or perhaps with G.C.H.Q.

Not that G.C.H.Q are not already supportive of us, they are indirectly, although they may be unaware of it. To be specific the Joint Services unit attached to Benhall have been sending in volunteers and over the last couple of weeks have applied their time and energies to clearing and restoring the brook that runs through the Butterfly Garden Meadow. It has been a dirty,smelly,hilarious entertainment for them and for us and the results are amazing. We send our sincere thanks to the team for their fantastic efforts and for their friendship.
The Spring is upon us, the numbers of students continue to grow, the new cabin construction works should start within in weeks and laughter continues to ring across the site.

Another one bites the dust

Is it really possible,that we have reached the end of another year ? We moved through our 9th anniversary in September. We all remember being told that time would fly and it has. It has been another remarkable year, with so much going on. In January we took delivery of our new greenhouse. Donated by Eden glasshouses of Cheltenham, this 20 foot pavilion has been a great asset. In february it was made even better through the kindness of local Rotarians, who paid to shelve and stage it. The allotment set was completed in March when we bought a substantial shed. The dedication of these units to the allotment has greatly assisted in the housekeeping of that space. March was also a good month for the woodworkers. We were able to complete the floor to ceiling racking of the workshop,which has given us great storage potential and Dowtys stepped in to offer us recycled timber as and when we need it. In April and May it was all hands on deck as we
committed to planting everywhere. We had a procession of people donating and planting commemorative trees in the meadow,including Laurence Robertson and Martin Horwood our two local M.P's. The vegetable plot has never been so busy. At the end of June students took part in the Cheltenham Circular challenge and in July we spent a week at the opera, working in the grounds of the wonderful West Green House in Hampshire.
August,described by some as the holiday month, wasn't here. Students turned out in there droves throughout the month. The summer also saw Julie Pullen start up her classroom. The enterpise,'Sharp Life and Learning' which is an independant satellite of The Butterfly Garden is offering teaching to those wishing to improve their numeracy.literacy and I.T skills. It is a partnership that is working well and which is a purposeful add on to the site provision.

Through September, there were more new arrivals,with the colleges and schools reappearing. This autumn we were delighted to welcome Alderman Knight School to the club and now see their students as well regulars  from  Milestones and Betteridge Schools across four days each week. Waitrose also committed to gathering aluminum cans for us and the county funded a waste compactor.
October was the month of the video,when our commitment to recycling them took off and when Cheltenham Borough started collecting for us. We have taken in thousands. in November we embarked on yet another adventure and opened a Pound shop. Students have wanted a shop for sometime and now they have one. We have been playing with it over the last few weeks and will formally open in 2012.

December has been a month of visitors and parties, indeed there will be three over the next week.

The celebration of 2011 closes with the most enormous thank you.

None of our activity have been possible without the kindness and consideration of our community at every level.Our volunteers who have cooked, sawn and sewn . Who have worked tirelessly to tidy and repair and who have jumped from planes,run marathons and tri-athalons,sold cakes,knitted gloves,donated bric a brac and told there friends about us. We close the year sending out a huge thank you. We promise that we will work to do justice to your belief and will strive to make next year extraordinary.

Happy Christmas.

ONLY A SUNDAY

We have been talking for weeks about the idea of the students taking a shop space in the garden centre and this weekend it happened. Spurred by the garden centre cafes decision to close on a sunday, we claimed a space and with the help of volunteers and with a pile of furniture from the Chelsea buiilding society we opened up.

The plan is to use the space as a cafe in support of the garden on sundays and to gradually develop a real retail space for student training over the coming weeks.
The sunday cafe will be volunteer lead and judging by last weeks response,they will be kept busy.

Already a rota is growing in support of the day and last weekend we had several donations of cake.

SUB TEXT........Another way

Dear All.......just bunging this out there..........excuse the directness AND PLEASE DON'T FEEL TARGETED........... Do  feel free to delete or redirect. Thank you !

As we continue to explore opportunities for fundraising, we have come across the Vodafones TEXT GIVING initiative. It allows supporters to donate just by texting.

 It is all very simple, donors just type in LONG28 followed by the amount they wish to give and then send it to 70070. 

You can help by circulating this news and by passing on our web information www.thebutterflygarden.org . 

          How quickly will we see a response  ?  

Will we have LONG 28 ...............? That is up to you.

Increased turnover

Since returning from our Opera adventure,things have continued to bounce on. The doors have been open this week and students have been pouring in. We have done an amazing amount of work.
There has been a big focus on our recycling initiatives,with Aluminium cans joining the stable of retrievable s. Waitrose have started collecting cans on our behalf and the students have greatly enjoyed the sorting and crushing. Aluminium is currently quite valuable so we are hoping that a momentum will establish with our collectors.

Of all the initiatives though, the one that has been most popular with students has been the dismantling of videos. With the video having been usurped by the DVD and charity shops no longer taking tapes in, discarded videos are all destined for land fill. As a curiosity, we starting dismantling tapes and found every element recyclable. We have trays of plastics and steel, aluminium clips, springs,cellophane, cardboard as well as bits of nylon. The students love it and there is great competition for the work.
As a spin off we are packing the seperated spools of tape and selling them on as a garden tie.
So, if you are having a clear out,or want to become a collection point do get in touch.

Something to make a song and dance about...ok, there was no dancing.

We have had another amazing spring,with just so much going on. Joan started her 'Soup Club' and Alistair became king of video recycling. A terrific number of people declared support for the project and committed to fund raising on our behalf and new enquiries have come in on almost a daily basis. We are very close to building our new classroom, are exploring the idea of setting up our first social enterprise, can now see a shape emerging where the outdoor performance space will be and as if that weren't enough we have just come back from our first residential.
Fourteen of us spent the week,helping with preparations for an outdoor opera festival in Hampshire. The venue was West Green House near Hook, a wonderful house and garden and home to an annual festival. We travelled into a surreal world and were embraced. Everyone rose to it, there were fourteen of us and we were everywhere. At the end of the week, there were tears and a big invite to come back.

As we drove away, there was a buzz and miles of shared laughter later a awareness of shared pride in our achievement.