Scouts - 4th Crosby & District (St William of York)
4th Crosby Scouts have been working with us and the Desmond Family Canoe Trail in Sefton since 2017.
The Scouts approached us asking to do ‘A Pocket Adoption' as part of the A Million Hands Partnership with the Scouts Association.
After adopting a length of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal in Litherland, Sefton near their hut, the Scouts wanted to focus on using their section of canal to promote mental health awareness.
Involving mental health charity Mind in their planning, the Scouts envisaged that it would be a place where people could come to relax and enjoy the surroundings, improving their mental health and making life better by water.
I want to support mental health because some people don’t know enough about it.
Young person, Scout group
The initial plan for the garden included clearing the area of any litter, cutting back and clearing vegetation to make space for planters. The next step was building planters from scratch with instruction from Start Creative CIC, an arts and creative social enterprise based in SAFE Regeneration Ltd, where the Desmond Family Canoe Trail is also based.
The 4th Crosby Scouts are continuing to improve this area, with further plans to add a noticeboard featuring contact details for Mind and description of their ‘A Million Hands’ project.