Always on
This project successfully funded on 3rd August 2025, you can still support them with a donation.
Bluebell Green - helping our community garden grow
Manchester, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom
Aim
4 years ago, we started transforming a disused bowling green into a community garden and play space. This summer, we want it to grow!
Who are we?
The Friends of Chapel Street Park group first got together post-lockdown after realising the importance of community green spaces amongst nature and wildlife. Nestled between the closely packed terraced houses of Levenshulme, Manchester, we started turning a corner of our small local park into a shared garden space, open to everyone, for growing, play, relaxation and getting to know our neighbours better.
This summer we have big plans to invite more of the neighbourhood in, with beachy sand and water play for the kids, an outdoor kitchen and pizza oven for community BBQs, and seasonal plants to keep the bright colourful summer vibes growing all year-round. We need your help to raise money, pitch in, get the word out and let everyone know they are welcome to join us in building and enjoying our beautiful space together.
What goes on at Bluebell Green?
Bluebell Green is your space - run by the community, for the community. Everything is 100% volunteer-powered, so the more people who join us, the more we can do!
We're open every Saturday 10-2pm for volunteering, gardening, for kids to play or to just come and connect to nature and each other.
Children and families
Developed by education specialists, our children’s play area is designed to engage children with nature and enjoy outdoor play. Connecting with nature is proven to increase children’s wellbeing and self-confidence, as well as helping the next generation care about climate and the environment.
Our volunteers currently run four weekly sessions for 0-5s, as well as after-school clubs for bigger kids. There is shelter so we can open in all weathers. You’ll find: a mud kitchen, mud pit, wooden tractor, music wall, wooden hut, willow fedge, water play, story circle and more.
The big aim here is to fill our massive new sandpit! If we raise enough, we’re hoping to add sand and water walls too for kids to build and experiment with.
Bringing people together
We currently have 5 community beds, 5 street beds, a plant-based dyes collective, children’s beds, a Roma community group bed, homeschool group, and Chapel Street School parents’ group. Street Beds are spaces for groups of neighbours to work on together. It’s a great way to meet people on your street and grow our community as well as the plants.
We host workshops and groups for creative writing, arts and crafts, yoga and more. We also celebrate lots of events throughout the year - including Midsummer solstice, Harvest, Eid, International Women’s Day, Pride, Refugee Day - and are hoping to thank everyone for their contributions with a big end-of-summer community garden party!
We will be getting a temporary pizza oven, but if we raise enough, hopefully we could make it permanent! We also need to build a proper outdoor kitchen to keep food prep safe and hygienic as we aim to cater for more people.
Growing
Gardening at Bluebell Green is a brilliant way to make a positive change to the environment, care for our local wildlife and biodiversity, meet new people, and boost your well-being. You can learn new skills too, no previous experience required!
We have established over 20 growing beds, a polytunnel, composting, water harvesting system and orchard, as well as planting over 500 edible trees and bushes around the perimeter. Recently we have been developing the pond, a food forest and pollinator and bug friendly bankings.
We want to keep the big summer energy going even after autumn sets in, putting in more things that create year-round interest, so we’re aiming to get more plants and bulbs for all seasons. But even more importantly, we need your help to maintain all of this! Could you donate your time to keep our garden growing, rain or shine?
Where will your donations go?
Bluebell Green is run by the Friends of Chapel Street Park - an unincorporated association with free membership and a democratic constitution. Everyone is a volunteer and we keep overheads minimal so all your donations will go towards buying new things for everyone at the space to enjoy. We have no ongoing income - the work so far has been funded by small grants and donated volunteer time from local businesses like McVities - and we operate all our groups and events on a donate-what-you-can basis, as we know that cost can be a barrier for a lot of people in our area. We want everyone to be able to access nature for free. Your kind donations will ensure that we can keep this ethos going and make Bluebell Green as inclusive and welcoming as possible.
What will you get out of it?
We hope you will get to come and enjoy the new sandpit, water play wall, kitchen and pizza oven, plants and greenery for yourselves! All are welcome, whether they can afford to donate or not, but your money will help make the space better for everyone.
With that in mind - maybe you don’t have young children to bring yourself or you don’t live nearby any more - but your gift can support our children’s groups to keep running so that local kids from low-income families can keep attending for free.
Rewards on offer
You will also get a chance to get your hands on one of our new Bluebell Green supporter pin badges! Made from bamboo by local maker Pumpkin & Peas Crafts, they’re a great way to show your support and spread the word so that everyone knows we’re here. Donations of £10 and above will have the option to pre-order one, for collection only, from the polytunnel after the end of the campaign (sorry, we need to keep costs low so we can’t post them out). If you don’t want a pin and would rather have more of your money going towards the space, just choose the “No pin” option.
UPDATE! Trendsetters can finally get a sneak peek of their reward - a hand screen printed tote bag with exclusive artwork, limited to 20 in this edition (7 already claimed!) Claim yours by donating £30 or more to the Community Trendsetters reward.
We also hope to have screen printed bags and bucket hats for kids and adults showcasing our beautiful new(ish) logo designed by Millie, claim using the £20+ Merch! reward.
NEW: Our neighbours at Manchester Library of Things have kindly offered 2 x Annual Memberships (worth £50) and 5 x free borrows for existing PAYG members. Claim them by choosing the ‘Library Voucher’ reward when you donate £15 or more, or the ‘Library Member’ reward with donations £45+.
The LoT has loads of tools, equipment, party gear and other household items to borrow and save buying something you might only use once. It’s open to pick up reservations on Wednesdays and Saturdays from Levenshulme Old Library, just round the corner from Bluebell Green.
SOLD OUT!: 4x Juicy Goodies bags from local hero, Juiced the Tip
SOLD OUT!: £100 bar tab from our friends at Fairfield Social Club
NEW: Our neighbours at Manchester Library of Things have kindly offered 2 x Annual Memberships (worth £50) and 5 x free borrows for existing PAYG members. Claim them by choosing the ‘Library Voucher’ reward when you donate £15 or more, or the ‘Library Member’ reward with donations £45+.
The LoT has loads of tools, equipment, party gear and other household items to borrow and save buying something you might only use once. It’s open to pick up reservations on Wednesdays and Saturdays from Levenshulme Old Library, just round the corner from Bluebell Green.
SOLD OUT!: Date night package from our friends at Cultplex
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We plan to offer some more great rewards throughout the campaign so watch this space, follow us on instagram @the_bluebell_green or join our community “Friends of Chapel Street Park” group on Facebook.
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made