A Garden Wander, organised by Ilkley Soroptimists, took place on Saturday, July 5, to raise money for Nell Bank, particularly for their assisted places scheme to enable inner city children to experience nature.
The event saw Ilkley Soroptimists at the Baptist Church on Kings Road, selling cream teas, tickets and maps for the garden wander revealing the exact location of the eight gardens where proud owners would be opening their gates to reveal their sculptures, flowers and planting plans.
Felicité White and Jo Thornley Ilkley Soroptimists preparing the cream teas
As well as an information desk run by Nell Bank volunteers there were also stalls selling plants, crafts and books and a raffle was held which all helped raise funds for the centre.
Thanks to the generosity of local people, home owners and a care home opening their gates to share there gardening secrets, a total of £1,100 was raised for Nell Bank.
Ilkley Soroptimists preparing to sell plants in aid of Nell Bank at the Garden Wander
“We have been delighted by the response to our event,” said Chris Buxton, the Ilkley Soroptimist’s contact with Dan Goodey, Head of Centre at the Denton Road Outdoor Learning centre.
“We celebrated our ongoing link with Nell Bank and the success of our Garden Wander by having a tour of the centre grounds on Thursday evening. All members of our club had the opportunity to look round and hear about some of the inventive activities that Dan and his team and volunteers pack into the outdoor learning experience for young people to try to help every child connect with nature.
“We finished the evening sharing a fish and chip supper with Dan who showed some of the photos taken at night of the Nell Bank wildlife, hares and rabbits, which were taken by the night camera bought recently for the centre by the Soroptimists.
“We also received generous cash donations from friends, family and many people of the town. We were all delighted to hear how a member of our club explained to her hairdresser about the purpose of the Garden Wander and how we were working to help Nell Bank remain accessible to children from all economic backgrounds. The hairdresser was so impressed he had immediately handed her a £100 donation to add to the £1,000 collected on the preceding Saturday.”
Nell Bank volunteers Nicola and Moira with Chris Buxton of Ilkley Soroptimists on the information desk (Image: submitted)
Dan adds his thanks to all of the Nell Bank Charitable Trust’s supporters and to the Soroptimist club, saying: “Nell Bank supported 2,555 children with a subsidised visit last year and we want to increase this to over 5,000 by 2027.
“Support from voluntary organisations such as the Soroptimists will be key to us achieving this ambition.”