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FIRST AWARD OF 2009 

Mow & Grow were delighted to receive the  Norfolk Waste Partnership Award Social enterprise category earlier this month for its work recycling green waste. The recycling project was inspired after CEO Trevor Lynn attended the Master Composter training course run by Garden Organic.Mow & Grow now employs a full time Master Composter and now recycles over 500 metric tons a year.

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Norfolk Public Vote Mow & Grow Number 1.
Following a public vote of over 200 people from across Norfolk, Mow & Grow were voted the number one choice to to receive special funding in 2009.  The Norfolk Ambition funding comes from the council tax on 2nd homes in the county and is designed to give people a say in Norfolk's long term strategy.
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Beating off fierce competition from over 55 major charities and professional organisations Mow & Grow where also awarded the lion share of £200,000 worth of available funding. The Grow Norfolk project was a consortium bid which if successful will be rolled out across all the districts of Norfolk for several years.The Grow Organisation brings together three social firms: Learn & Grow, Catering for Life, Mow & Grow. 

The project will provide free gardening services to vulnerable people in the community whilst providing work experience, life skills, accredited qualifications, mentoring and support to those disadvantaged in the labour market. Also improves healthy eating, general well-being, catering qualifications and work experience to include: 'feed your family for a fiver' and basic food safety and hygiene.

Director Alex Cosgrove said, "We must say a huge thank you to everyone who voted for us. We look forward to inviting them back to see our work first hand, and see the difference we are making in our communities.
This public support brings great responsibility and we're honoured to represent the people of Norfolk. We are under no illusion as to the serious nature of the work ahead of us in the coming months. We are not just changing lives for those directly involved in Grow Norfolk, but sowing the seeds for generations to come."

DETERMINATION

It is the size of one's will which determines success...


Origin of an enterprise...

In 2006 Trevor Lynn was complaining about the untidy gardens in his neighbourhood and the lack of pride in the community. He decided to do something about it, and from the original small group of volunteers, Trevor has built up a phenomenally successful garden service, Mow & Grow, winning the Enterprise Award and scooping the Pride of East award  and Enterprise of the Year at the 2007 Celebrate Awards. While working full time as produce manager in Sainsbury’s he used his spare time to gather volunteers whom he could train as gardeners and provide a free or low cost gardening service to the elderly and vulnerable people in his local area. In doing so he hoped to enhance local gardens and public spaces, generate pride in the neighbourhood, cutting litter levels and improving safety for residents.

In June 2006 Trevor received funding from European Social Funds to set up a two year long Mow and Grow scheme in Waveney. He recruited volunteers who were struggling to find work, either through disabilities or disadvantaged backgrounds. As Trevor explained:

“We are able to provide training and a route to qualifications to our volunteer staff so they can go on to find paid employment. At the same time, clients who can’t cope with their gardens benefit from a bespoke service, outdoor areas are improved for all to enjoy and the police have even noted a huge drop in crime in the neighbourhood since we started.”

Trevor was soon approached by Norwich City Council to set up an operation to help council tenants with their gardens. Again, it was an instant success and Trevor has since found himself meeting interested organisations across the country, and even as far afield as Kenya.

Trevor has been overwhelmed by the success of his service:
“I never imagined the scheme would take off like this. People have realised that Mow & Grow is not just about cutting grass. It is a practical way of helping all kinds of individuals who are struggling in life, and as a result, society as a whole. We have been able to develop strong partnerships with various organisations from councils, the police and social services to professional bodies, particularly Sainsbury’s, UnLtd*, the Aspire Foundation and Norwich City Council all of whom have identified the potential of Mow & Grow.” he said.

The future certainly looks rosy for Mow & Grow. The operation is now a fully sustainable company with three fulltime employees. It has helped over 1000 vulnerable people and more than 70 voluntary bodies, won numerous awards and gained the BBC ‘neighbourhood garden’ licence to promote good practice. Since the 2007 Celebrate awards ceremony, Trevor has been approached with funding to set up a branch of the service in Ipswich, is expanding the Norwich operation and opened a branch in North Lincolnshire and there is potential to set up operations across the UK. In the meantime, Trevor is off to India to spread the word there.

Award winning enterprise

Latest News


Finalist for Enterprise Oscars
East of England based community gardening enterprise Mow & Grow was shortlisted for the Enterprising Solutions Award for Best New Social Enterprise 2008.
Founder and Director Trevor Lynn said: “we are honoured to be short listed for this prestigious award. In our industry it is seen as The Oscars and we would like to thank the Social Enterprise Coalition for recognising the difference we make to the community. Mow & Grow wouldn't’t be here without the hard work, determination and dedication of our volunteers and staff.”

 

Norwich City Council Mow & Grow win ARCH Best Practice Award 2008 for a scheme that helps vulnerable Norwich City Council tenants maintain and enjoy their garden.

The Council delivers the service in partnership with Mow & Grow, an award-winning social enterprise.

Mow & Grow scheme

Norwich’s Mow & Grow scheme was first launched in May 2007. It offers two services – one-off garden clearance and optional follow-on regular maintenance visits.

The service is delivered by a team of volunteers led by a paid coordinator from Mow & Grow. The social enterprise started in Suffolk and has the motto ‘’Cutting Grass, Cutting Crime, Cultivating Futures’, reflecting its vision that by working with residents and volunteers to improve local gardens and neighbourhoods people gain pride in their community, and litter levels, crime rates and safety improve.

Since its introduction 100 tenants have benefited from a one-off £10 garden clearance and 80 tenants have signed up to the followup maintenance visits. A number of gardens required several full day visits to initially clear undergrowth, sometimes from both front and back of the property. The team take green waste back to their training centre to pellet and compost, keeping the disposal of non-recyclable rubbish to a minimum.

The service reached full capacity at the end of 2007 and currently has a waiting list of 30 customers. Norwich City Council hopes to build on the scheme’s success and has doubled its financial support in 2008, allowing Mow and Grow to recruit and train a second team, which should be up and running by July 2008. This will allow even more vulnerable tenants to benefit from the service during summer 2008.

How the scheme works

To qualify for the scheme, applicants must:

  • not have any household members or relatives or friends living nearby who are capable of maintaining the garden
  • be in receipt of qualifying benefits.

Applicants who are not in receipt of the qualifying benefits may still be assessed for eligibility if they have a health problem or disability which renders it difficult for them to maintain their garden themselves, even if they are not formally registered as disabled.

Those ineligible for the service are Mow & Grow’s commercial service, a national award winning service that helps vulnerable people.

Referrals are made through the customer contact team or as the result of an officer visit, and the scheme has been promoted both in the tenants' newsletter 'Tenant Talk', the Council's website and to staff within the Community and Neighbourhoods directorate.

A detailed procedure has been developed for staff handling requests for help maintaining their garden. Neighbourhood housing officers and sheltered housing scheme managers make assessment visits to verify information and confirm eligibility. Referrals are then logged on to the workflow management system and the appropriate charges added to rent accounts on the housing management system. Regular contact is made with the Mow & Grow coordinator to ensure new referrals are passed on and to monitor feedback of the service.

All tenants eligible for garden clearance pay a £10 charge, irrespective of whether they are on benefits, and the optional maintenance service allows for six additional visits throughout the year at a cost of £3.60 per week. For tenants in receipt of housing benefit the maintenance charge will be fully covered, as it is a condition of tenancy that the garden is maintained.

Tenants in rent arrears are not necessarily eligible for the maintenance service – it is at the discretion of the Council's arrears team.

One satisfied customer said "I cannot express the pleasure it has given me having my garden sorted, and with your assistance it means I can now get outside a lot which was difficult due to my disabilities."

Funding

Norwich City Council contributed over £23,000 to the cost of the project in 2007/08. Because the scheme has been so successful, it has agreed to more than double this funding in 2008/09, allowing Mow and Grow to set up a second / third gardening team. This is supplemented by the modest charge paid by tenants.

Mow & Grow is adept at forging partnerships and securing additional grant and charitable funding to match fund the Council’s contribution. Any profit from its commercial contracts are reinvested to further the organisation’s social objectives.

The future

Mow & Grow is supporting similar schemes around the country,, and recently established a training centre near Lowestoft where volunteers can learn new skills and gain qualifications.

There are currently developing links with the Probation Service in Norwich in a scheme to help offenders get back into employment.


ARCH is the Association of Retained Council Housing, set up for councils whose tenants have chosen the local authority as their landlord.

 

Mow & Grow wins Portal Award…

Sue being presented with the Mow and Grow Award by Cllr Cliff Cocker from Suffolk Coastal District CouncilEach year 'One Suffolk' hosts an awards evening for the best web sites in several different categories.

www.mowandgrow.org.uk was lucky enough to win runner up in the best community web site category and was presented with a lovely framed certificate. The evening was hosted by the delightful Rachel Sloane from BBC Radio Suffolk, who had looked at all the winning sites and made comments about each one. The certificates were presented by Cliff Cocker Chairman of Suffolk Coastal District council. Susan Cooper the garden coordinator for Waveney Mow & Grow proudly collected the award. The evening ended with a lovely Buffet and a chance to talk to the other web site managers. Mow & Grow Founder and Director Trevor Lynn, said a huge part of our success at MNG is due to the fantastic work by Kerry Burn at One Suffolk. Her work on the website is outstanding, she’s our unsung hero and we owe her a huge debt of thanks.

Aspiring Garden Created by Mow & Grow leads to Enterprise nomination:

Mow & Grow have teamed up with the Aspire Centre at Lowestoft to design and build “green learning space” for its users. Garden before Mow & GrowThe Garden is the first stage of a joint project to start offering local peoples the opportunity to enjoy the outdoor environment whilst giving them the opportunity to gain practical learning and formal qualifications in horticulture. The Garden Designed by Mow & Grow volunteers has sustainable and low maintenance plantings, a wildlife section, formal borders and drought resistant plantings to reduce the need for watering. The green space includes a sensory section with different fragrant shrubs and herbs, sounds and textures to the plants, with even a new croquet lawn and set for users to enjoy. The garden was completed in just a day by a team of 6 volunteers.

10 hours later after Mow and GrowAspire Centre coordinator Lorna Reynolds said. “We're delighted at the garden Mow & Grow has created for us. This green learning space will provide the perfect area to train Horticultural NVQ’s and LANTRA qualifications. As well as providing an attractive backdrop to the centre for all our users to come and experience. Mow & Grow have advised us every step of the way and made the entire process a simply operation that will benefit the centre for years to come."


Go East and Suffolk County council representatives with Lorna Reynolds of the Aspire centre visit Mow & Grow in action…During the days volunteering Mow & Grow were visited by representatives from Go East (the government office for the east of England, and Suffolk County Council, who originally funded Mow & grow 2 years ago with a conditional grant of £10000 through the global grant award from the European Social fund. Mow & Grow went on to win enterprise of the year 2006 for the east of England and have been nominated for the same award again in 2007.



Royal Palace win for Lowestoft Entrepreneur

Lowestoft and Norwich based gardening social enterprise Mow & Grow are celebrating this week after winning a UK award. The Newstatesman Edge Upstarts awards recognise excellence in all aspects of social enterprise, including providing a rich learning environment for the young and disadvantaged.

Trvor Lynn recieves his award from HRH THe Duke of KentHRH the Duke of Kent and minister for the Third Sector, Ed Miliband MP,awarded Mow & Grow founder and Director Trevor Lynn the award for social enterprise Mentor of the year 2007. The ceremony took place held at the prestigious St. James Palace

The Upstarts Awards began in 2001 to encourage and reward extraordinary vision, ethical business practice and social responsibility. They aim to showcase businesses that offer innovative and sustainable solutions to social issues.

St James PalaceThe 2007 awards recognised Trevor Lynn for his method of passing on practical skills from learning-by-doing.

Founder and Director Trevor Lynn said “I’m thrilled to win such a prestigious award and help put Lowestoft on the map as a centre of enterprise. Its amazing how small we were just a year ago, and how quickly anyone can make a difference to there community. Now we’re providing local authorities with a professional service and alternative to tender contracts to from the third sector whilst offering great value and greater corporate responsibility.

This award is a huge accolade to all the hard work and dedication our volunteers give throughout the year.

These awards will open many doors for our volunteers and opportunities to expand mow and grow across the UK.. Trevor wins a meal for 2 and a years free business support.

This is the second award this year Mow and Grow and comes on the back of the recently launched Norwich City Mow & Grow which the group set up in partnership with Norwich City Council.

Local Heroes LogoMow and Grow Founder and Director Trevor Lynn was awarded winner of the “Voluntary Contribution Award” in the Sainsburys Local Heroes Award 2006 at a glittering award ceremony held in London.

Lowestoft resident Trevor Lynn who works for the Queens Road branch in Norwich as a produce and floral manager started the voluntary organisation Mow & Grow, cutting grass, cutting crime, cultivating futures in June 2006. In that time the group has become a social enterprise and has helped 100’s of elderly and vulnerable people with a free gardening service, whilst providing skills, experience and qualifications for its volunteers.

Mow and Grow which started in the Waveney area has now expanded into the rest of Suffolk and Norfolk area in less than a year.

Trevor Lynn said, “Its fantastic to receive this award from Sainsburys. They were one of the few companies which supported us when we were a tiny voluntary group. There funding in our early days ensured our survival until we were Starsable to stand on our own 2 feet. A big thank you must go to Justin King at Sainsburys and all the staff who have supported our project from its humble roots.”

Trevor wins a cheque for £300 for the organisation and a holiday to Kenya to visit fair-trade coffee and floral businesses.

Click here to find out more about Sainsbury's Local Heroes

Case study from the Government Office for the East of England pdf 228Kb

Presentation of new ride on Mower from Cllr Malcolm CherrySince its inception Mow & Grow has won a raft of awards to help establish its model across Waveney and now further a field. Its first major award came from UnLtd* with a level 1 award, and then moving on to win the national competition to win £20,000 at the level 2 stage.

UnLtd Millennium Awards are funded by the income from a legacy of £100 million granted by the Millennium Commission. This legacy is carefully invested so that the income can be obtained for awards for the future - this is what is called a permanent endowment.
The Millennium Commission is the only distributor of lottery funds to good causes who some time ago decided to provide awards to individuals. Around 25,000 of these have been made so far and they have been so successful that they decided to provide the legacy to UnLtd to carry on this work for the future.

About our Award Winners

UnLtd's social entrepreneurs are real visionaries - people who want to change the world. That doesn't mean they necessarily develop complex, global solutions to large-scale issues; often, social entrepreneurs simply take a problem in their own community and make a commitment to tackle it. This may lead to something bigger, or it may not; what makes a true social entrepreneur is that they have the will to make a difference, the vision to know how to go about it and the determination to make that vision happen.

Level 2 Awards support individuals whose ideas are already off the ground and now want help taking them to the next level; a Level 2 Award can pay for the living expenses of Award Winners to help them devote more time to their projects. UnLtd has Level 2 Awards of between £10,000 to £20,000 to give out each year across the UK.. These awards are for:

  • People who have a powerful idea for changing society for the better
  • People whose projects will be sustainable after the UnLtd award has finished
  • Projects which have the potential to operate on a wider scale or be replicated in other parts of the UK
  • People who have real vision and commitment to make the project work
  • People who have knowledge of similar initiatives or work

Qualities of an UnLtd Award Winner

Our Award Winners come from a hugely diverse range of backgrounds, ethnicity and locations. They all have different reasons for wanting to change the world, and different ideas about how to go about it. However, some of the characteristics our Award Winners demonstrate include:

  • Vision
  • Determination
  • Passion
  • Self motivation and self belief
  • Flexibility
  • Resourcefulness

Celebrate Awards 2006

Mow and Grow recieve their Celebrate Award In October 2006 Mow & Grow were short listed as finalists’ in this years Celebrate awards. From the 11 categories available Mow & Grow won an award for the best enterprise group.

Enterprise Award – for a small business (in line with the agreed EU definition of a small business) which has developed successfully as a result of assistance provided through a European funded project. The entry must clearly explain what benefits they have received and how these have resulted in specific and tangible business success.

In 2000, the first bids for European Structural Funds were received. By 2006 more than £300 million will have been distributed throughout the East of England. This money funds initiatives that are making fundamental differences to people and communities in Norfolk, Essex, Suffolk, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire.

The Celebrate Awards are an opportunity to celebrate some of the fantastic achievements which have been made possible thanks, in part, to European funding. The Awards recognise the projects, people, businesses, places and communities which have been benefited from the European Social Fund, the European Regional Development Fund and the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund. The winners were announced at a lunchtime awards ceremony on Thursday 5 October.

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