Greenwood Community Update – October 2025
Our Greenwood Community scheme has soared in 2025, and we are delighted to confirm that we have surpassed our target of thirty plant donations and delivered an incredible thirty-seven donations in total! This summer, we have forged new Greenwood Community partnerships, as well as continuing our work with longstanding collaborators. Here is a recap of some of our most recent donations.
The Laurels
Our first donation of the summer was to a new partner – The Laurels in Rustington, which is a day opportunity service for adults with a variety of care and support needs. It provides a wide range of activities and facilities, including kitchens, culture, community engagement and outdoor projects. Greenwood donated a variety of mixed herbaceous plants and shrubs to be planted on their site. Hannah Jones, who works for the service, said “Thank you so much to Greenwood for their generous donation of plants for our gardens. They will brighten the courtyard up considerably.”
Greening Arundel
Having previously donated to the organisation in 2024, we were delighted to collaborate with the Arundel-based planting group once again. The community-backed scheme aims to provide Arundel Town and surrounding areas with green spaces, providing year-round colour to the local residents and visitors. The latest donation from Greenwood was used to replenish the beds outside the historic Arundel Railway Station, which, sadly, were damaged by water infrastructure works. Recently, we were able to visit the station for their ‘Green Welcome’ event during the Great Big Green Week, where new green features including a bug castle, wildflower planting and perennial-filled planters were unveiled. Greenwood was proud to contribute plants to the project and celebrate the ongoing efforts of the Greening Arundel team in creating sustainable, vibrant green spaces for the local community.
Hannah Jones from the Laurels with the plants donated
Nick Jones from Southern Hospice Group collecting the plants
Southern Hospice Group
Greenwood was delighted to donate plants to longstanding collaborators, Southern Hospice Group, once again in 2025. The group, comprising St Barnabas and Chestnut Tree House, recently formed following a merger with Martlets Hospice in Hove. Our most recent collaboration saw a first-time donation of mixed herbaceous plants to the hove-based hospice, to help regenerate the surrounding gardens. Nick Jones, Head Gardener for the group, said “Greenwood have donated kindly, they’ve helped to create beautiful spaces within the grounds, and we look forward to continuing to work with them in the future”
Planting scheme in Yapton Village, donated by Greenwood
Yapton Eco Group
In August, we donated a selection of mixed plants to Yapton Eco Group. A frequent Greenwood Community Collaborator, the group aims to make the village of Yapton more sustainable, through community initiatives such as planting in public spaces to provide a boost to biodiversity. Mark Andrews, who works for the group, said “Greenwood Nursery made another generous plant donation to a group with whom they have worked on several occasions. The plants donated by Greenwood were used in a variety of different locations around the village. Yapton village thank Greenwood Nursery for their continued support and generous donations.”
Aldingbourne Trust
Over the last few months, two different donations went to Aldingbourne Trust, a charity which helps adults with learning disabilities lead fulfilling lives. The charity operates from the newly constructed Aldingbourne Country Centre, and provides a wide range of services, including community planting for local railways stations and town centres. The plants donated will contribute towards replenishing beds which the trust has been contracted to maintain. The trust employs adults with disabilities to undertake the planting and maintenance of the beds, providing them with employment opportunities and valuable life skills. It was a pleasure to visit the team in their nursery, based on the grounds of the centre, to learn more about the project. We are excited to contribute more to the organisation in the future, as they provide social and ecological value to a variety of different locations in Sussex.
Aurora Vincent House School
In September, we donated plants to a new special educational needs school, Aurora Vincent House. The school, based in Horsham, specialises in providing vital support to students with various forms of autism and other learning difficulties. The headmaster, Rob Walton, says “Our mission at Aurora Vincent House School is to prepare our students for life beyond school and support their transformation into independent young adults.” The plants donated by Greenwood, which included a variety of herbaceous perennials and evergreen shrubs, shall be planted in the school’s grounds in the near future.
Sussex Green Living
Lastly, our partnership with Sussex Green Living is continuing to thrive, with an incredible EIGHT different donations to pollinator education station projects for autumn! The Pollination Education Stations (PES) provide children and adults with vital knowledge about the benefits of biodiversity, and the role which pollinating insects play in plant and foot production. Sussex Green Living CEO, Carrie Cort, gratefully collected the plants in September, and will spend the coming months installing the stations into various schools and community projects across the county. Greenwood have now contributed plants to more than twenty projects, and look forward to continuing the partnership with Sussex Green Living in the future.
Roland Leask (left) of Aldingbourne Trust, with his team inside their nursery at the Country Centre
Garden Designer Jemma Bennett collecting plants for Aurora Vincent House School
Greenwood Community Manager Kevin Merritt (left) with Sussex Green Living CEO Carrie Cort (right) with a donation of pollinator friendly plants for PES installations
On a final, bittersweet note, after 12 years of faithful service, Greenwood Community Founder and Manager Kevin Merritt is retiring. His dedication to supporting community-backed projects and charities, as well as the wealth of horticultural knowledge he shared with the team will be sorely missed. Greenwood would like to thank to Kevin for his services over the past decade and wish him a long and happy retirement. Greenwood Community will continue, and we look forward to working with community partners, both old and new, into the new year.
If you have a community or non-profit organisation that you would like to nominate to receive a donation of plants, please contact us here.