Three old age pensioners have sprouted an ‘immense’ community garden that is feeding an impoverished community in Bolton when prices are sky high. Sue and Gordon Parsonson, 70 and 74, as well as Hughie Brogon, 70, have transformed a disused site on the Johnson Fold Estate into a community space which is providing fresh fruit and vegetables as well as freshly laid eggs for those in need.
Now, with the cost of living crisis still ongoing, Sabden Growers are helping those who can’t afford to keep food on the table by providing carrots, huge courgettes, leeks, onions, strawberries and much more. In their Covid bubble back in 2020, married couple Sue and Gordon cleared scrap and created planting beds as well as polytunnels from recycled material, putting in countless hours to provide this area with purpose, community, and food to eat.
The people in this estate have been hard hit by the recent spike in costs which has made this community garden a vital commodity for sustenance.
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“It is immense, it has just got bigger and bigger," Sue said. "There was nothing here, and it has all been rebuilt.
“It has been labour for two years and now we are getting the payoff. Sustainability and recycling is the philosophy of the site.
“Johnson Fold is not a bad area, this is what we are all about. You get good and bad everywhere.
“This epitomises what Johnson Fold really is. Everyone here wants to help make the estate better.
“When people first come around the corner they just say ‘wow’. They just don’t expect this.”
Sue is the one who mainly organises what will go where, and Gordon uses his background as a heating engineer to build and create whatever is needed for the site - including a ‘shed’ which contains a sitting area, kitchen and toilet. Almost all of the site has been created using repurposed or recycled materials. The former foster carers were asked to help out almost as soon as they returned to the area back in 2020.
The former foster carers got involved back in 2020 after returning from the Scottish Highlands where they ran a hotel for five years. Sue and Gordon said that this has ‘given them purpose’ in their retirement.
Saturday will see their first Summer Fair event (August 6, 11am-4pm) where locals can come down and take part in activities and even get their blood pressure checks courtesy of the Moss Bank Pharmacy. They have hosted Halloween and Christmas events successfully in the past, and the community is kept at the heart of everything they do.
Now Sue is keen to help educate the future generation after coming across children who had no clue about the process of what they are doing. Volunteer Milly-Anne Stanworth claimed she knew nothing before coming to volunteer, now she is a regular volunteer.
Sabden Growers have sky high ambitions with hopes to be open four days a week and host regular community events like coffee mornings for local groups. They are still looking for sponsors and local businesses to help them get to the next level.
They have appreciated the support of all their current sponsors but really need more financial help and volunteers, to get them to the next stage. Sue and Gordon have funded this project almost single-handedly.
They are hoping to make the site more accessible and even install a disabled toilet. The sky really is the limit for this ambitious group.
The group are hoping that the event on Saturday can generate some much needed funds for the site.
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