Eco Youth Group Eco Rangers
Welcome to the ECO Youth Group Eco Rangers, launched in March 2026 at the Edible Forest Garden & Allotment site! Thanks to the generous funding from Teesside University, the Institute for Collective Place Leaders, and Middlesbrough Council Youth Seed Funding, we're excited to offer a unique opportunity for young people aged 8-16. Sessions are led by Julie from Inspiron Learning, along with Eze, Kinga, and other Boro Doughnut members, our program focuses on nature, sustainability, and caring for local green spaces. Join us every Saturday from 11 AM to 2 PM for workshops, outdoor activities, and community engagement—sign up for free on our Events page for each session.
Edible Forest Garden & Bradhope Allotment
Regeneration Project following permaculture and making connections with the local community
These sites have been abandoned number of years. After our launch in October 2022, Climate Action Middlesbrough, the Council and NHS have trusted us to look after this place and the space to be used for the wellbeing of the community. Since then, we have made links with the local residents and community groups, working together to make this special place 'Thriving' for the people and the environment.
Folk Story Telling Workshops
Our local poet, performer, literary activist Bob Beagrie and local independent children's publisher Rumana Yasmin, Bok Bok Books hosted story telling workshops exploring folktales, myths, and personal/family stories. Participants got a chance to share stories and try some creative activities. Stories collected will be shared at Middlesbrough’s very first storytelling festival this June 2026.
Bird Craft Making Workshop
Join Kinga Czarnocka, talented Boro Doughnut member, as she leads a series of engaging workshops on nature clay work, upcycling, and bird craft making. Her workshop emphasises the importance of appreciating nature and promotes eco-friendly practices. These mindful activities not only enhance our connection to the environment but also foster community spirit, allowing participants to thrive together in a supportive setting. Experience Doughnut Economics in action as we create, learn, and grow as a community! Look out for future events on our Events page or FB.
Bee Hive Workshop
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We are lucky to get support from the Environment Specialist from Thirteen Group, John Woods. He helps us with tree planting, pruning and facilitating various workshops. In February 2026, he hosted a Bee Hive workshop for half term fun and learning. Great to have hands-on experience, listening to interesting stories and facts about bees and beekeeping. Doughnut Economics in action - we learnt that beekeeping is to help grow the bee population and so leave plenty of honey for the bees. always gentle, talk to them and they would be familiar with your vibration. Wonderful to witness the importance of all to thrive together. Also fascinating how nature creates incredible designs such as the most efficient, effective hives. We hope that biomimicry will spread further and we can coexist with nature harmoniously.
 Thursday SeriesEvery Thursdays 10-1pm-Gardening, listen to stories of journeys to Middlesbrough, and experience various cultures |  VietnameseRolling Vietnamese Summer rolls: share the joys of eating together |  20250508_124739Describe your image |
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Boro Story: Journeys and Voices
Bug Hotels and Seed Bombs: Spring Half-Term Fun at the Edible Forest Garden
Our spring half-term double workshop on Thursday 24th April brought the Edible Forest Garden to life with families creating wildlife habitats and planting for the future as part of our ongoing mission to make space for wildlife while building a vibrant community.
Supported by Thirteen Group, The National Trust and Near Neighbours, our free event featured John from Thirteen guiding participants in building creative bug hotels—some resembling luxury accommodations for our garden's smallest residents! Meanwhile, Kinga from Boro Doughnut led a hands-on seed bomb workshop where visitors of all ages mixed soil and seeds into colorful packages of future blooms.
Participants enjoyed refreshments and took home their creations or contributed them to our growing garden space. We were especially delighted to welcome many newcomers alongside our regular visitors, and grateful to volunteer Temi for donating his handcrafted bug house to our garden's bug station.
Missed the fun? Join us at our regular sessions:
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Mondays: 11am–1pm
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Thursdays: 10am–1pm
Whether you're keen to garden, learn new skills, or simply enjoy our welcoming community space, we'd love to see you!
Celebrating Nature, History, and Community: Nature Walk Event from National Trust Ormesby Hall to the Edible Forest Garden
19th April 2025
Our Easter Weekend collaboration with the National Trust's "Festival of Blossom" at Ormesby Hall brought together people of all ages and backgrounds for a memorable day of exploration and learning.
Participants enjoyed a nature walk led by local Nordic Walkers, who shared their knowledge of the area's best trails. The event became a wonderful exchange of ideas, with younger visitors displaying impressive knowledge about local flora and birds, and showing remarkable environmental consciousness when encountering litter along our route.
The day also offered a fascinating glimpse into local history, as many discovered the area's Viking heritage for the first time. "Ormesby" itself derives from "Village of King Orme" (meaning Dragon or Serpent), highlighting the deep connection our ancestors had with the natural world.
True to our Boro Doughnut values, we encouraged sustainable practices throughout the event—reusing cups, recycling materials, and composting food waste—demonstrating the "Doughnut way" in action.
What Our Participants Said
"I've lived here all my life and never knew about these Viking links!"
"We're looking after the environment like the Vikings!"
"The children around this area usually don't have things to do during holidays, so it's great to have these events. It was a lovely walk and the kids really enjoyed it."
Barbara Griffin Workshops:
Upcycled hessian bag decorated with braids and tassels
March 2025
Artist Barbara Griffin showed us how to upcycle hessian almond bags into colourful decorative bags by adding braids and tassels. Each participant chose various colour combinations, celebrating our uniqueness while nurturing new friendships and creativity towards circular economy.
Bird house making Workshops:
Upcycled material to increase biodiversity of endangered bird species
March 2025
Thirteen Group Environment Specialist, John Woods led two workshops making birdhouses. He showed us hammering techniques as well as his knowledge about hole sizes depending on the types of birds we want to attract. He recommends facing the bird houses northeast to protect from harsh winds.
Learning from the Experts: Communities Growing Together Workshops and others
David Scriven from Community Growing Together, Middlesbrough Environment City leads various workshops at the Edible Forest Garden. Pruning workshops, Woodchipping workshops, Tool maintenance workshops to name a few. He has a wealth of knowledge and appreciate his sessions. We also have other experts, Paul, John, Laurissa, Spana and others who give us great advice. They help us do our best to be ecological and inspire us with fascinating facts about plants and animals.
Tool Maintenance Workshops
May 2025
Partnership with Community Growing Together
Series of workshops lead by David Scriven, Middlesbrough Environmental City - Check our Event page for further dates to join.
COMMUNITY, CONNECT, ACTION!
Every session, we make new friends from the local area and our network is growing. Our current weekly sessions are Mondays 11-1pm and Thursdays 10-1pm but we are looking for more volunteers who can lead and host session whether it is gardening, eco-club, youth club or an art workshop.
Get in touch!
Past Events 2023-4
Celebrate Green & Diversity in Volunteering Event
June 2024 Summer event was held during Volunteering Week and Green Week celebrating diversity and collaboration, spreading the ‘Doughnut’ regenerative and distributive vision through arts and fun activities.
Video credit: Graham Williamson
Halloween First Burning
October 2024
Following the success from the previous year, we responded to the requests from the local community and found another great way to celebrate Halloween. Fire community officer Barry gave us talks and intergenerational connections were made around the fire. More on a blog by Scott Campbell
2023 Celebrating Halloween in Ancient Nature Way
The children used upcycled materials and plants to decorate their Halloween costumes and celebrated the changes in season like it was in the ancient days. We ensure that every event has the educational aspect of learning about nature, circular economy and wellbeing.
The beginning
Since we started managing the Edible Forest Garden in January 2023, we had so many volunteers help regenerate this permaculture community space.
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School Visits
Eco & Forest Schools
We promote Eco School and Forest School. They follow the Global Goals, which is the same goals as the Doughnut vision. We found a role model school Harrow Gate Primary and the lead teacher Rebecca has presented and held a workshop at our launch event, then hosted an open afternoon for us. Various researches show that ECO & FOREST SCHOOLS not only promote wellbeing of the pupils and the environment, but also helps physical, academic, and emotional development. We should reconsider what is important in education and we would like you to join us.
Rekalibrator:
Mindful Permaculture activity to realign your compass
David Spence aka Spana leads The Rekalibrator, a permaculture activity to invite you on a contemplative walk in a spiral labirynth symbolising EARTH CARE, PEOPLE CARE and FAIR SHARE.
This activity has a profound effect on you, reminding us of having gratitude and future intention for positive action towards ourselves, the Earth and each other.
Join our summer and Global Donut Day events (2026 July 18th & October 17th) or you can book a session directly on their website.
Alleyway Improvement
Starting from litterpick, investigating waste management and provision has led us to make links with one alleyway community. We aim to raise awareness of collective responsibilities and collaborate with the residents, the council, councillors and other community groups. We also plan to highlight good practice and urge systems change with the support of Teesside University Business School.
