Since autumn 2023, we’ve been working on establishing an open-access natural dye garden in Victoria Park. It’s a collaborative project with Friends of Victoria Park Stretford. The initial idea was seed funded by RHS, then further funding from the Green Spaces Fund enabled us to get growing!

OUR INITIAL PLANS

  • Involve local people in all areas of developing the project via a volunteer programme
  • Drum up enthusiasm for natural dyes via monthly, free, family-friendly workshops
  • Enlist natural dye experts to share their knowledge via a programme of Masterclasses
  • Provide local makers with a source of dyestuffs
  • Create an online Knowledge Bank where we can share our natural dyeing successes (and failures) with each other and the wider community

HOW WE’RE GETTING ON

The Stretford Community Dye Garden (SCDG) is blooming! We now have a larger plot within Victoria Park, and collaborate with Hulme Community Garden Centre, where we raise young plants and help to maintain a dye plant area. The SCDG project now has its own website, where we’re sharing progress updates, workshops, volunteering opportunities and more, so if you’re interested to find out what we’re up to, visit the project website.

SCDG website

GET INVOLVED

WOrkshops

Throughout 2024 and 2025 we hosted a series of workshops and Masterclasses, aiming to inspire the local community to have a go with various techniques for getting colour from plants. While the funding for this programme of workshops has now ended, we are always open to collaborations. If you’re interested in hosting a session or want to suggest a topic, get in touch!

VOLUNTEERING

If you’re interested in joining our volunteer team, you can see and sign up for sessions here. Plus we also have other ways you can contribute to the project, helping us create promotional materials or plan and put together community engagement activities. We’re also planning a monthly volunteers meeting and social to share updates and ideas about the project.

If you’re planning to join any sessions, do please sign up beforehand, otherwise you may have a wasted trip. We sometimes need to cancel or rearrange sessions due to the weather and conditions and if you’re signed up we can keep you informed of any changes.

ANYTHING ELSE

If you’re interested in chatting more to us about the project, have some ideas or recommendations for us, or anything else, feel free to drop us a line.