EMAseed2plate

Seed2Plate is currently collaborating with EMA (Employ My Ability) to enable young people with SEND to acquire new skills, improve their mental health, give back to the local community and build an enterprise across Dorset. However, this project is now at risk and your support is needed!

Help Us Reach £6500 in 6 Weeks!
Help us continue delivering this enterprise project for the young people who rely on us!
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Why help now? What has changed?

“In late 2024, a shift in government priorities led to the loss of vital funding for the Seed2Plate project, which supports young people with special education needs and disabilities. With the closure of the National Citizenship Service, young people will be left without opportunities to develop their independence, transition into adulthood and build pathways to employment. We need your help to bridge this gap. Your support – whether through donations or simply spreading the word – can make a real difference in ensuring these young people continue to thrive. Together, we can keep this life-changing project alive. Thank you for caring.”

Paul Seaman, DCA Programme Manager

“Seed2Plate is a fantastic weekly session and allows the students to see how the whole planting process works from sowing to harvesting, while also encouraging them to think what products will sell, and set price margins to ensure profits etc, so it is cross curricular using Maths and English, while also forming links with the community. Losing the sessions would be devastating to the students, and we really hope the public will get involved in helping us to spread the word and keep it going.”

“We found that students here seem to work a lot better outdoors than if they were in the classroom environment, we’ve seen a lot more difference in the well being side of it… They’re learning new skills and these are skills that they can then take into other employment”

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Why this collaboration with EMA is so special:

The EMA campus at Moreton already offers study programmes which incorporate land based studies where students are able to develop horticulture skills, and they also play a key role in the maintenance of The Walled Garden, a public visitor attraction, where it is situated. This makes the collaboration with Seed2Plate a perfect complement to their studies, and offers a space where students who may not yet be comfortable with working in a public setting, a way to develop skills until they feel more confident. In 2023, Lydia held an information session to explain the project to students before it started to see if any of the young people were interested, and she had a lot of sign-ups on the day. The students have a big say in how it is run and what the end product/goal will be. Maisie, Brandon, Jack, Joshua, Ryan, Jaimie and Tameka are currently participating in Seed2Plate and they all have positive feedback on how it’s going.

What are the benefits for these young people working outdoors?

Working with participants from the local community around our growing plots has seen a difference in the mindset and confidence of those that have taken part in growing and harvesting the produce.

The consequences of losing such an enterprise project are that the students would be lose an already established programme which has proven benefits and it reduces the opportunities they have, which in turn would have a potentially negative impact on their futures.

Working with the students at EMA has had a positive effect on their health and wellbeing. Staff have been told that those participating in the Seed2Plate project have been more engaged with their learning and have worked better during Seed2Plate days.

This enterprise project highlights the benefits of working outdoors, positive mental health and also student’s wellness.

Seed2Plate provides participants with ways to:

Improve mental health through a sense of purpose and achievement
The opportunity to connect with others – reducing feelings of isolation or exclusion
Acquiring new skills and confidence to improve the chances of finding employment
Getting active and feeling better for being outside, in touch with nature and in the ‘great outdoors’
Provide peer support network and help with emotional regulation

Many studies have found that gardening can have a positive effect on people’s mental health and wellbeing. Students on the Seed2Plate project have certainly shown improved attention and better mood during and after the sessions. In general, gardening has been shown to reduce mental health problems like depression and anxiety, and can also help reduce stress and combat high blood pressure, as well as improving overall physical fitness.

Working in a safe and friendly environment or just having somewhere to go to meet other like-minded people can also help to reduce isolation and loneliness.

"The students have said how they prefer being outside and not in a classroom learning environment. They are putting their new skills into practice and have come up with enterprise ideas that can help to benefit the college and raise awareness of SEND young people in a working environment. They are currently working on a veg box and flower selling scheme and will be utilising the courtyard for growing the produce. Produce has also been used by the hospitality students in their cooking classes. It would be detrimental for the students if the funding was no longer available for them to build on their original growing project and increase their employability skills and confidence. Marketing, promotion, research, budgeting, planning."

Important Outcomes for this Project:

This isn’t just about gardening—it’s about skills development, qualifications, linking interests to employment, positive mental health and real opportunities for young people to step into employment or further education.

This opportunity for SEND young people to be involved in the development of an enterprise is unique, it allows for the project to become sustainable as well as it will be an ongoing project for those on the enterprise programme.

As well as building confidence, team working and transferable horticultural skills, the project also gives students the opportunity to also gain experience in essential business and financial management skills including:
• Budgeting and planning
• Purchasing
• Stock management
• Sales and marketing
• Revenue management

How will the funds raised be used?

Money raised will fund staff delivery costs, materials and equipment to support 10 young people and the development of the enterprise.

Hear a little more about Seed2Plate:

The Seed2Plate project engages with volunteers to repurpose plots of land to grow fresh fruit and veg for local low income communities, whilst gaining skills and qualifications through the National Open College Network (NOCN). The project highlights the benefits of working outdoors with positive mental health and wellness. Participants benefit by gaining practical skills and training in horticulture, working with like-minded people in a relaxed and friendly environment, which gives them the option to progress into higher education, employment or self employment in related industries.

The idea for Seed2Plate came through our Building Better Opportunities (BBO) funded employment programme (Inspire Dorset), where a group of participants recognised a need within their own communities for a growing space to provide free fresh fruit and veg for low-income families unable to afford a healthy diet in areas of deprivation. By showing the community how to grow their own food we are offering the community a way to work together and help each other.

Offering an accredited award gives members of the community the option of obtaining a qualification that could help them build confidence and work towards growing their own food or working within the horticulture sector.

Where else do Seed2Plate projects happen?

Current plots are:

Wimborne Community Centre – A kitchen courtyard and sensory garden. Produce grown here is used by the Community Lounge and Fridge, there is also a ‘pick your own section’ for users of the centre. This space is also used as a quiet and relaxed space for other groups and community members that use the centre.
The Centre Ferndown (Family Hub) – We have a growing garden outside The Centre where we are currently running sessions with young people that are being home schooled. They are learning all about planning, growing and harvesting and will be involved in coming up with recipes ideas too. Produce is donated to the centre to go out to the most vulnerable members of the community.
Littlemoor Community Food Garden, St Francis of Assisi Church – A community food garden growing produce to be donated to the Foodbank at the Church and for local community to pick and take away. A local SEN college is raising money to buy seeds and plants for the plot and will be working in the garden as well as providing recipe cards and cooking tips.
Tumbledown Farm, Weymouth – A new plot that is currently being looked after by local volunteers. We hope to be running groups there soon.

Previous plots have been:

Bedford Road, Weymouth – An unused piece of land transformed into a growing space with produce being donated to local residents and S2P volunteers who lived in the local community.
Bridport – A bed at an allotment run by a mental health organisation. Working with volunteers to grow produce for the local community kitchen. Produce was harvested and taken to the kitchen by a volunteer who told us ‘I like being able to give back. I don’t have much I can give away personally so being able to do this has really helped me’.
Kingston Lacy – An allotment at the National Trust Kingston Lacy site enabled us to grow larger vegetables to donate to the Community Lounge and Fridge at Wimborne Community Centre.
Somerford – A small growing space outside the family hub and part of the primary school grounds. This enabled us to get the young pupils involved in growing produce and learning where food comes from.