SOS! Save Our Snapdragons!

Aim

SOS! Please help Snapdragons survive and thrive in 2024. We urgently need some finance to move forwards with the project. Thank you!

Snapdragons Plymouth, Bringing Communities Together Through Nature. 

Snapdragons is based in Victoria Park, Plymouth and benefits inhabitants of the city and from the local surrounding area, with good train/bus links. 

Our vision is to create a beautiful, nurturing space where many different communities come together to forge friendships, learn new skills, reconnect with nature (and each other) and to just BE.  By saying 'just be', we mean to spend time in the space without pressure, to enjoy the peace, to reconnect with themselves, the land around them and with other people, to thrive and not just survive. 

We want to enable people to be climate change ready, to be part of healthy, thriving communities that have somewhere to turn when they are in need of connection, support and/or advice. 

Our world is changing - climate change is taking its toll on our planet and we need to find ways to 

* reduce harmful ways of living

* learn to live alongside the changes that climate change brings. 

* connect with each other, the land and its inhabitants in a way that nurtures the soul AND has a positive impact all round. To have somewhere to share our hope and our grief, to be heard and supported in this. 

 At Snapdragons, we are doing our best to enliven the long-neglected site, making it a haven for the more-than-human inhabitants, as well as the humans that frequent the land. We have created a beautiful wildlife pond, planted 500 saplings, left areas of the site to re-wild and more. We are a venue for permaculture courses, composting and food growing groups, workshops that show us all how to live a life more aligned to nature...how to reduce our waste, to repurpose items if we cannot fix them/use for their original intended purpose, to use traditional and holistic methods of creation and living etc. 

Those who have been following our journey from the start know that we've had many obstacles to overcome (ensuring the site is cleared of sharps, putting in a security fence, refurbishing buildings, bringing in over 1000 tons of clean topsoil and geocell/geotextile to remediate a soil contamination problem) but 2023 saw our most active year yet.  We are working hard to create a lasting impression in our local community, reviving a disused site, improving the biodiversity and making the area safe as well as beautiful and useful.  

Plymouth Red Tent and its linked groups have regular sessions  for local women on the site, as does the Plymouth Green Man Circle for local men. Plymouth Woodcraft Folk run weekly sessions in term time for local children and the venue has been hired by other local organisations to run courses and workshops (children and adults). 

These groups have proven to be a real asset to the local community, with positive feedback regularly received and many attendees stating how they couldn't do without the support of the groups. 

Through our volunteer sessions, our seasonal events and our regular groups, we enable the improvement of both physical and mental health and wellbeing, providing a safe place to come and spend time together, to seek peer support, to be signposted to other services, to spend time in nature...all things that also improve the overall quality of life. 

By bringing people together, we help to tackle social isolation, creating a positive, respectful culture and a sense of belonging to the Snapdragons community.  We work hard to create spaces where voices are heard and empower people to make decisions, take action and make a difference.  

We've held more seasonal events than ever before - advent fayre, summer fayre, lantern walk, equinox feast & fire, halloween fayre and more. 

Our subcommittees are up and running and working hard to manage different elements of the project. We had a break from in-person groups and events over the winter months but have been eagerly beavering away at a new website and our  library system. 

The cost of living increase, the lasting effects of the pandemic,  and the decrease in available funding have all factored in to our current struggles.  We have so many amazing plans to take in to 2024 but we're struggling to make enough to cover basic costs, let alone try anything new.  Stormy weather also hasn't helped - we've lost a few parachutes, sheds and polytunnels on the way. 

So here we are, reaching out to our crowd, to make sure this project survives AND thrives.  We need your help to move our community project forwards, in line with our sustainable and nature-based ethos. 

What do we want to do? (If you're able to help with any of these items, please do get in touch!)

* Carry out an in-depth tree survey to ensure all trees on site are in good, safe condition

* Finally complete our planning application for the next stages of the project (this includes use of architects, planning fees, environmental survey fees , the signing off of the contamination remediation plan etc)

* Replace our parachute, poly-tunnel, sheds & equipment that were broken in stormy weather

* Continue the refurbishment of the buildings so that we can meet the welfare needs of people on site, plus hold more groups for more people. 

* Run our seasonal events & increase the scale/offerings

* Continue to subsidise hardship spaces to events by ensuring we have enough money coming in to cover  running costs

* Continue the creation of our dedicated areas : Forest School, Food growing, planting areas, re-wilding, wildlife pond, children's play area etc. 

* use local businesses wherever possible to carry out necessary works

* use local, sustainable materials wherever possible (and encourage re-use/recycle)

* develop skills of local people who are part of our Snapdragons community / the local community 

As always, thank you so much to our supporters - we could not do this without you and your support.  

This project successfully funded on 19th March 2024