The Backhouse Park Composting Collective

Aim: Creating a composting heap in Backhouse Park, Sunderland, which will be used by local families, encouraging composting and green behaviours.

We would like to establish a composting project in the park, composting leaves/grass gathered from the pathways during environmental action days and avoiding the council taking them to landfill.  

We will work with the volunteers to create a heap. The compost will be deposited at least once/two weeks. We will enable at least 30 households based in Sunderland to pick up free compost and they will be able to collect at least once/week. 

We will run a campaign to encourage the productive use of the compost using our popular social media channels/posters in community spaces.  We will run at least 5 family composting workshops.

06/2025 – The project begins. Initial planning, including risk analysis. 

07/2025 – The compost heap is created together with the volunteers. The awareness raising campaign has started on social media- and through posters. 

07 – 08/2025- The heap has started being used to compost grass and leaves collected in the park. 

08/2025 – The initial households (at least 5) are using the compost from the heap in their gardens.  

08/2025 – The first educational workshop on composting is held.

11/2025 – At least 15 households are utilizing the compost. Midpoint review of how successful the project has been. At least 3 educational workshops have been held. 

01/2026 – Long term sustainability planning begins to ensure continuity. All educational workshops have been delivered, at least 25 households are using the compost.

03/2026- All targets have been met. 

04/2026- All monies spend and reporting completed. 

We have the experience of delivering environmental projects from 2013; specifically in Backhouse Park dating back to 2015. We have links with local residents, families and schools which we will utilize to ensure people do use the compost in their own gardens. At least 1 ICOS staff member and several volunteers are in the park twice a week delivering activities funded by Nature Hubs and the city council which will facilitate delivery. 

As a migrant charity, we link with international communities in Sunderland including refugees/asylum seekers who have free time to support our work and also assists their well being.