Despite the lack of good news worth celebrating lately, here at The Bowgie we’re always striving to find ways to keep those smiles alive… So we’re beyond excited to share with you some amazing news that we hope will keep everyone smiling for days.
Following our achievement in September 2020 of winning a Great British Pub Award (which we’re all still over the moon about!), we were invited to apply for a £10,000 grant from the well-known drinks giant Coca-Cola, to fund business improvements or a community project of our choice. And we’re thrilled to say that we’ve been successful!
Having spent months supporting and being supported by our local and online communities, we knew straight away we wanted to use the donation to benefit the people around us. The trickier part was deciding on how to use it. After many discussions and brainstorming sessions, we couldn’t be happier with the idea we’ve landed on, and know it’s something that will sit right at the heart of The Bowgie.
Introducing The Bowgie’s very own Wellbeing and Sensory Garden!
Planning has already started on this exciting new project, which is being created in the grounds of our beer garden with the gorgeous views of the ocean and beach. It will be a calming space to serve as a retreat for everyone in our community, an area for learning about plants and growing food, and a place to understand new smells, scents, sights and natural life. Overall, it will be somewhere people can feel connected to nature, away from the daily stresses and challenges of life that we’re all facing at the moment, and beyond!
Using local horticulturalists, gardeners and specialists, including G H Landscaping, our garden will incorporate various elements to benefit different groups and generations of people. It will include a sensory space for those with mental health issues, special needs or learning difficulties, a community herb garden allowing visitors to learn about horticulture and enjoy produce, various surfaces, objects and plants that stimulate all of our five senses, and even a sensory fibre-optic light show for night-time display – we know, we’re mega excited about this too!
Along with providing something for our community to enjoy, throughout these challenging times we’ve noticed how much everyone is really valuing being outside in nature. This hugely contributed to our inspiration behind the idea, fuelling our desire to create a tranquil and peaceful outside space that will also be safe for individuals to enjoy in these times.
We have so many ideas for outreach systems that we’re hoping to establish in the future, including inviting visitors from local schools and encourage outdoor garden activities to help those with mental health conditions as well as individuals who are disabled, special needs, partially-sighted or blind. The possibilities connected to our garden are endless, which is what makes the project so exciting.
Our general wellbeing is intrinsically linked to the natural world, so to have the chance to be able create a beautiful space to facilitate this, especially in these taxing and troubled times, makes us extremely proud.
We’re aiming to have our new garden ready for summer 2021, and we’re keeping everything crossed that we can welcome you all with open arms to come and enjoy it when it’s complete!
Watch this space!