The Mulberry Project

Phase 1. The Horticultural and Social Inclusion Project

We are delighted to say that the project is almost at completion.  Looking out from the Mencap Centre in Enborne Walk it is a delight to see two enormous new poly tunnels, an array of raised flower beds and buildings which will house the pottery, woodwork, canteen and changing rooms.

Of course, what we cannot see is the amount of work that went into underground piping and drains and a special thanks must go to the Geoff and Fiona Squire Trust for their support of this less visible and certainly less attractive but absolutely essential part of the whole project.

There is a small but effective car parking area, new gates and fencing to the site and secure storage for all the team’s tools and equipment.

We really can see the end in sight!

All that is left to complete is the internal plumbing and installation of sinks and toilets.  Once in place the team can enjoy spending the amazing donations we have received for the pottery kiln, woodworking tools, bulbs, seeds and plants.

All buildings on site have excellent disabled access and there are slabbed pathways for easy navigation around the site.

We cannot say a big enough thank you to everyone who donated and has helped us reach this point. A huge thank you must be said to our corporate partners, Verogen Construction, who have given their time and resources to bring this project to life – free of charge.

We are still fundraising to complete the final tasks – so if you want to help us over the finish line we would be sincerely grateful!  You can donate here.

Phase 2.  Café Club and Children’s Area Upgrades

We hope our horticultural project will be somewhere you will visit with your friends and family to purchase plants and baskets, Christmas wreaths. Our wood working project will continue with better purpose built facilities enabling us to continue recycling wood to make planters for your gardens.

To enable families and children to enjoy a visit and stay a while we are creating a café club which will be just a few steps from the horticultural site with its own entrance and comfy seating areas. It will offer bespoke coffee mornings for our families, to meet other parents and carers.

For the last two years we have been planning major upgrades to the Mencap Centre which was completed in 1996 and as you can imagine is in need of a complete update and refresh. We are delighted to say the children’s outdoor garden is now bright and refreshed through donations and the support of Vodaphone volunteers!

Next we will tackle moving and upgrading the Sensory Room which is a much loved and well used facility. This will be sited just a few feet from its current location but in a more spacious room and with new equipment. We will also be a complete upgrade and refresh of our large soft play room.

By moving the play rooms we will be able to develop the café club seating area adjoining a new training kitchen. Once open the café area will provide much needed social space for a range of our parents, such as those with very young children with learning disabilities who find it difficult to enjoy a ‘coffee out’ in a high street setting.

We have been fortunate to receive some donations already towards these ambitious changes and are currently fundraising for:

A Hobbit Hotel – large glamping facility in the children’s garden to offer a camping experience for our children, with our staff carers, while parents have a night off!  Great fun for the children and a well-earned rest for family.

Funds to purchase café style chairs and tables to create an informal, modern setting for our customers.  We are extremely grateful to have received some funding already from Trusts and Foundations.

The café will provide a training facility for some of our adult members, so we need aprons, gloves, hats and other resources to ensure their training is first class.

We are delighted and grateful to have the support of The Wooden Spoon Charity helping us to complete the Sensory Room and Soft Play room developments.

You can make a donation towards the children’s area developments or the café club area here.