The area of Glasgow where the project is based (Pollokshields and Govanhill) is unique within Scotland with a BME population of 28% compared to the Scottish average of 2%. The majority of BME residents locally are Asian, with the largest percentage having Pakistani Muslim heritage, although there is also a considerable Sikh community locally. As a result, much of our community development work engages with the majority white population in tandem with the Pakistani Muslim population. We do also actively engage with people from across the cultural and religious spectrum. In recent years diversity within Glasgow has increased significantly, through both the arrival of asylum seekers and refugees from across the globe and, more recently, with the increased in the number of migrant workers from Eastern Europe. Neighbourhoods close to the Gardens have become engaged, through local integration networks, in establishing support and integration structures for these new communities. We hope to improve social and learning networks and reducing isolation for local individuals. Through our programmes at the gardens we inform, equip, support, involve and empower participants. Also the Gardens hope to aid the creation of safer and more stable communities of different cultures and faith, and as a result, cohesion, trust, and understanding are improved. We hope there will also be improved co-ordination between local agencies. Through our community development role within the wider community, and through working with partnership agencies the Hidden Gardens can contribute to the creation of more responsive policies and services.

The Gardens themselves were created as a sanctuary space, providing much needed respite front he hectic, and often isolating, nature of city living. The award winning design makes a reference to a range of faiths and gardening traditions. It exists as a beautiful, neutral space which encourages visitors to explore the common roots of humanity, religious belief and culture through reference to horticulture. Through the development and implementation of services and programmes of activity we utilise a needs based, multi-disciplinary approach to delivering services that address indentified local needs in the areas of integration, cohesion, health improvement, skills and learning. We employ a range of delivery tools to do this including gardening, cookery, and arts and crafts. This work provides important opportunities for people to engage in shared cross cultural activities and is impacting positively on people’s lives, and increasing their abilities to play a fuller part in society Finally we act as a neutral facilitator, supporting local integration and cohesion initiatives and by delivering a vital “bridge building” role between communities and individuals. We are active in the development of a range of local initiatives, community festivals and events which seek to bring together different communities and are engaged in ongoing discussions with partners to identify and address structural barriers that may inhibit these goals.

The Hidden Gardens are committed to working within local communities for the long term. We believe that the work we are engaged in and the changes that we hope this will bring about (integrated, confident and equal communities) will take at least a generation to be fully realised. Having opened in 2003, we feel that we have on the just begun to make an impact on some of the significant social and economic challenges that exist for communities and individuals locally What we have achieved already, though the creation of the gardens themselves, is a safe beautiful space, for local people which has both significantly enhanced the local environment and made a significant contribution to the physical regeneration of the local area. In doing so, we have created a wonderful space within which to insure, initiate and support dialogue between local communities. Our work now is around engaging people, through this sanctuary space, in joint dialogue, learning and sharing.

The success of this is demonstrated in the levels of trust that are placed in us by local agencies. For example, we have been asked, due to our neutral position within the area to be facilitators of the emerging Pollokshields Interfaith Group. We are regularly asked to “broker” relationships between diverse individuals and groups, again due to our position of trust within the community. We measure success within our service delivery programmes by looking firstly at the level of interaction between people from diverse communities that our programmes provide, and then by looking at people’s responses to this engagement, both in terms of levels of enjoyment, leaning, and continues engagement with our programmes. One of the most satisfying outcomes for us is seeing friendships blossom between people as a result of attending out programmes.

The scheme benefits the population of Pollokshields and Govanhill, for all people in this location to help integration and community cohesion in these areas.

The initial capital development of the Hidden Gardens had a budget in excess of £1m. Our annual costs for both running the Gardens, and all of the programmes that we deliver are in the region of £230,000/. We have a service level agreement with our local authority for the operation of the gardens and each year, in addition to the funding committed by Glasgow City Council, we generated an additional £150,000 in investment from Trusts and Foundations.