Young people "Bridging the Gap" at Hansel

Hansel has welcomed several young people who have joined our “Bridging the Gap” project at Broadmeadows, Symington. The project aims to get young people, with a disability or barrier to employment, into a work habit whilst upskilling them on aspects of horticulture, grounds maintenance and land management in and around the Hansel grounds at Broadmeadows, Symington. The young people will get hands on and gain experience in several activities including hedging, landscaping, growing their own food, plant propagation and amenity gardening.

Ethan of Troon said “Hansel seems a nice comfortable environment to learn new things,” whilst Cameron of Dunure added “I enjoy learning about all the plants, it’s fun and interesting.”

Supported by the National Lottery Community Fund, the project is being delivered by Hansel 3e (employment, education and enterprise) with placements lasting for a year and including accredited modules from Ayrshire College. Participants will also have the opportunity to network with wider community projects in gardening and environmental improvement.

Hansel Horticultural Development Worker, Stuart Douglas explained that “the Hansel Bridging the Gap project is a person centred programme which assists young people to achieve their goals. We’re extremely grateful for the support from the National Lottery Community fund to help us deliver it.  We’d love to hear from anyone aged 16 to 24 who has a disability and lives in the Ayrshire area who would like to know more about the project”   Stuart can be contacted on 01563 830340.