Dobbies is helping Britain’s green spaces blossom this spring with the return of its much-loved Helping Your Community Grow initiative, with an enhanced sustainable focus for 2022.

Launched in 2010, the initiative encourages people across the country to take care of their green spaces. For 2022, Dobbies is seeking local groups that are striving to help their community space flourish in a sustainable way. Whether it’s a community allotment project to get kids eating more fruit and vegetables, a wildflower garden with pollinating flowers for bees and insects or a calming outdoor space for boosting mental health, Dobbies wants to help communities transform their local areas.

Helping Your Community Grow will provide 69 local groups with advice, products and time to help transform their outdoor spaces, using their sustainable product ranges wherever possible. This could include peat-free compost, recycled and recyclable pots, UK-sourced plants and safer pest control products.

This year, the little dobbies city centre stores will also be taking part, providing a houseplant makeover for five lucky community groups to help them bring the outside in. In addition to the 74 regional winners, one national winner will receive further support.

Graeme Jenkins, CEO of Dobbies said: “Community is at the forefront of what we do at Dobbies and we’re proud to be relaunching our Helping Your Community Grow initiative again this spring. We had a brilliant variety of applications last year and it was great to see local community spaces, school vegetable patches and memorial gardens benefit from our support.

“This year we are particularly keen to hear from projects who have a sustainable focus to their work and our teams will share their knowledge of sustainable products and practices, to ensure a truly eco-friendly approach.”

Claire Blowers from Noadswood PSA, the national winner from 2021, said: “We really benefitted from entering Helping Your Community Grow in 2021. We had invaluable support and advice from the team, along with products that enabled us to transform our space. I would highly recommend community projects submitting entries for this year’s initiative.”

In addition to Helping Your Community Grow, there will be further opportunities for community groups looking to brighten up their local areas, with access to small grants from their nearest Dobbies or little dobbies store. Community groups are invited to contact their local stores for details.

Getting involved couldn’t be easier. Eligible projects must be located within 20 miles of a Dobbies store or 5 miles of a little dobbies store.

Applications are now open until 25 March 2022. For more information on how to take part, visit Helping Your Community Grow | Dobbies Garden Centres