Volunteers spring into life at Reg's Garden
- Simon Jarvis
- Mar 26
- 2 min read
'It's wonderful coming back every year to add a bit more to the garden and see how it's changed, and to check in on the jobs we've undertaken in previous years.
We absolutely love it!'
The words of a volunteer, returning for this, the fifth year of CMP's annual volunteering day at Reg's Community Garden next to Farnborough North railway station.
The garden, named after a former station master, is hidden away alongside the railway platform. It is a welcoming, tranquil spot where visitors can enjoy the beauty of the garden and, if you're lucky, a refreshing drink courtesy of Mike Knott who runs the occasional warm cafe located in the old station master's house. CMP volunteers have been proud to work with the local residents association to help maintain this lovely gem of a place.
This year, nature treated the 60+ hard-working volunteers to blue skies, warm sunshine, bitter winds, biting rain and hail...four seasons in one day but were our intrepid volunteers deterred by the inclement/clement weather? Not for a moment!
'It's so nice to be outside, doing something for the community in the company of all these great people. I can't wait for the next one!' said one emotional volunteer.
Eleven different Member companies were represented this year:
360 Mortgages Amazon Filters Aviator Butt Miller Dynavics
Farnborough Airport Herrington Carmichael Siemens Healthineers
Tecna UK Valiant Village Hotel
By the end of a brilliant day, the crew could take satisfaction from their superb efforts: new planters created from recycled materials; paths cleared; garden beds free from weeds; furniture renovated and painted... inside the house, the teams had worked tirelessly to decorate, paint, restore meeting rooms and provide much-needed TLC.
Rachel Austen, who manages the volunteering programme for CMP, was understandably pleased with the day's achievements. Reflecting on five years' of working in collaboration with the Garden, Rachel beamed with pride:
'Since our first day here in 2022, well over 500 volunteers have dedicated time here - that amounts to a massive 2,600 hours contributed to the maintenance and upkeep of the Garden for the benefit of the community. That's incredible!'
Indeed it is.
I liked the way the article highlights volunteers coming together to tackle seasonal jobs like cutting back and planting at Reg’s Garden, especially how it turns what could feel like routine maintenance into something more meaningful for the whole community. It’s interesting how a space described as a “hidden gem” becomes a shared responsibility, and how those few hours of work can completely shift how people connect with it. It made me think about how collective effort often goes unnoticed, even though it has a really visible impact—kind of like when people quietly work through complex things behind the scenes, sometimes even leaning on something like Data Science Assignment Help UK to make sense of it all before results show.…