Our Story

  • Green Synergy was originally founded by Mary Hollis as a community group in 2012.
  • We became a company limited by guarantee on 12th February 2013 and a registered charity on 20th September 2013.
  • The founding principles for Green Synergy were:
  • Synergy: Together we can create something better. We can help to bring out the best in ourselves and each other.
  • Sustainability: Look after each other and our plant now and for the future.
  • Co-Creation and Community Ownership: Green Synergy is created together with the people it serves. Green synergy belongs to everyone who is actively involved in it and everyone who has helped to create it becomes part of its legacy.
  • The primary driver for setting up Green Synergy was the discovery that Lincoln did not have its own city farm or even a large community garden. Despite being set in a very rural county, Lincoln still suffers from the same disconnections to food production, farming and the countryside as other cities. It is particularly hard for people living in disadvantage to access the countryside so, we wanted to bring a slice of it right into the heart of the city for everyone to enjoy.
  • The charity received its first funding from Community First and the Health Lottery.

  • Green Synergy then supported the development of a series of community garden projects in Lincoln including:
    • Stamp End Community Growing Project
    • Ellie’s Community Garden
    • Olsen Park Community Garden
    • St Giles Community Garden
    • The Global Garden – Sincil Bank
    • Birchwood Green Spaces Wildflower Areas
    • Gaunt Street Community Garden
  • The charity also delivered therapeutic gardening sessions to the YMCA, Nomad Trust, Discovery House, Busy Days and Mint Lane and developed a dementia friendly gardening training course and activity programme with funding from Public Health.
  • Through the hard work and dedication of the staff team and an incredible group of volunteers and Trustees, it took Green Synergy four years to find a suitable piece of land on which to deliver this type of work from one base.

  • In 2017 Green Synergy were granted a lease on 2.5 acres of derelict land at the back of Lincoln County Hospital (owned by United Lincoln Hospitals Trust). Formerly used as allotments, the site was covered in thirty-years of brambles and fly-tipped waste. Together with the local community, hospital, schools, businesses and voluntary groups, the space has been transformed into a beautiful, edible, accessible, education, healing, community space for people to enjoy.
  • Hillside Garden was formally opened in 2019 and now offers a tranquil green space in an urban city with social and therapeutic horticulture activities, heritage orchard, a peace garden, kitchen garden, wildlife and conservation area, children and families garden, polytunnel and store and accessible toilet.

Winter 2017   

Summer 2019     

Autumn 2022

Hillside Garden Opening AGM 2019

  • The focus of Green Synergy’s work between 2017 to 2023 has been:
    • Mental Health and Wellbeing: Therapeutic Horticulture with delivery of projects such as:
      • Better Together 2018 to 2024
      • Eco Therapy WRAP 2020
      • Green WRAP 2023
    • Community Connections: Social gardening, volunteering, community outreach events and activities and activities for children, young people and families. These have included:
      • Tower Power 2017-2019
      • Tower Power Kids and Teens – 2018 to 2024
      • Community Consultations 2020
      • See How Our Garden Grows – 2021 to 2024.
    • Skills and Learning: Informal Training, Work Experience and Skills Building with the delivery of projects such as:
      • BBO Move
      • BBO Steps
      • Community Renewal Fund – 2022
      • Get into Gardening.
      • Landscaping Courses.
    • Environmental Sustainability: As a cross cutting theme, this has informed our approach to garden management through developing organic vegetable gardens showcasing sustainable growing systems and demonstrating eco-designs.
  • The COVID-19 pandemic presented a significant challenge to Green Synergy, the gardens and the local community ins which we are based. The charity supported the local community and we were so grateful that Green Synergy was able to secure the funding it needed to remain fully operational. Our staff team worked exceptionally hard to adapt our projects so beneficiaries could keep engaging safely and accessing the help they need.

2021

  • In 2021, Green Synergy secured £322,000 of funding from the National Lottery Community Fund to support with organisational development and to increase our engagement with local community and develop new projects and income generating opportunities.

2022

  • In February 2022 Mary stepped down as CEO to move to new challenges and the whole team thank Mary for her vision in establishing such an inspiring concept.
  • In September 2022 Ali Talbot joined Green Synergy as CEO and is supporting the Board of Trustees, staff and volunteers to build the future direction, funding and sustainability of the charity for 2024-2027 and beyond.

2023

  • Green Synergy celebrated our 10th Anniversary with a wonderful community Summer Celebration celebration.
  • The charity secured new sources of funding from the Suicide Prevention for Lincolnshire Wave 3 Fund for Green Shoots of Wellness
  • We also secured funding for our Innovation project Green Nature and Nature and three years of funding from our Green Wrap (Wellness Recovery Action Planning) project from the Mental Health and Wellbeing Community Investment Fund managed by Shone Lincolnshire.
  • The charity secured funding to create a new Willow and Hazel Grove on the Hillside Garden from the National Grid Green Spaces Fund enabling us to increase the species, specimens and biodiversity on the garden.
  • Green Synergy was honoured to win the Gardening and Horticulture Charity of theYear Award East Midlands

The Green Synergy team with our award

Rose – our much loved volunteer with our award

Copyright 2022 Green Synergy | Charity Number 1153883