COMMUNITY Garden Is Latest Recruit For Chamber Of Commerce
INVERCLYDE Chamber of Commerce has welcomed one of Inverclyde’s leading third sector organisations to its membership.
Since opening in 2014, Belville Community Garden Trust has cemented its status within the community as a central food growing hub, organising and co-ordinating community groups and schools in growing projects.
The charity also co-ordinates school visits, community arts projects and health-related initiatives such as green gyms.
In recent months, Belville has been at the forefront of the community response to the Covid-19 pandemic, working in collaboration with Inverclyde Council, Inverclyde Community Action Response Group (ICARG) and other agencies to deliver food boxes across the area.
The organisation is based at its gardens headquarters in Belville Street in Greenock and is led by manager Laura Reilly who joined the project in 2016.
Laura said: “We are delighted to be able to join the Inverclyde Chamber of Commerce, and we have been impressed by the support provided.
“Our projects have enjoyed fantastic growth and more recently we have played a vital role in our ability to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic locally.
“Our aim from joining the Chamber is to raise further the profile of the Garden amongst both members and the wider business community within Inverclyde.
“We would like to work alongside other businesses locally to expand our projects and support the push towards a more prosperous and community-led Inverclyde for our residents.”
The garden employs five staff working on a range of projects with a strategy to engage local groups, training people in construction skills, food growing and cookery skills.
Inverclyde Chamber provides regular networking events, national policy and local news updates as well as connecting local organisations to improve their business.
President Gavin McDonagh said:
“We are delighted to welcome Belville Community Garden as the newest member to Inverclyde Chamber of Commerce, and we wish Laura and her team continued success with their vital projects to support the communities across Inverclyde.
“The Chamber is deliberately striving to expand its offering to more third sector organisations locally that can benefit from a strong membership and collaborative network.
“ICC continues to enjoy a rising interest in membership, and we are proud of our response during the pandemic for both members but also those locally when it was needed most.
“Our door is firmly open to all businesses that want to contribute to the local economy, and we look forward to continued growth in 2020 as we climb towards an economic recovery nationally.”
| Inverclyde Chamber of Commerce
