Phill has been volunteering at Hulme Community Garden Centre for four months today. You can see a short interview with Phil at www.MySpace.com/thehulmetune

'Being a volunteer brings me closer to nature in my neighbourhood. It feels rewarding to know that the projects and work I do goes into people's homes. The co-workers are very friendly and helpful, the emphasis being on enjoying the work.

There can be differet things to do - I am not just a labourer. I am looking forward to seeing how the work evolves in different seasons. Learning gardening skills means you can take them into other areas of life and work.

Knowing that a lot of animals, insects and birds visit the garden, it is clear that we are helping the environment - long may this continue!

Andrew a relatively recent volunteer talks about his experience and reasons for volunteering:

Get your hands dirty
' I, like many others who live in the Hulme/Moss Side area live in a flat, with no communal garden,
no balcony or room for pots, no recycling/composting facility, and more importantly for me
no greenery. I would watch gardening programmes on TV and really get the bug but I had no outlet.
The Hulme Community Garden Centre (HCGC) has given me the freedom to come along when I can and dive in and get my hands dirty.

Flexibility and learning new skills
The beauty for me is the flexibility with volunteering. I work shifts so cannot commit to every
Wednesday or Sunday. The friendly staff are always about to answer my questions and as a
complete novice to gardening they have helped me build my planting confidence. Also as the other
volunteers are all of different levels, some have their own allotments, some have been gardening
at home for many years but largely each person brings with them enthusiasm which helps make it fun.

Better work out than gym
Health wise I have to say doing a days volunteering at HGC is a better work out than going to any
gym. It also has the added bonus of helping to cope with a stressful job, day to day life and
just by being outside in the fresh air (or inside depending on the weather). I always seem to get a good nights sleep after it too. For me just being around all the plant colours and greenery is a nice break from the everyday city centre working/living. What constantly amazed me about the gardens are the different smells, whether it is in the hub with the pumpkins, tomato plants & onions or outside around the lavender scented pathways the whole place has a very calming influence on me.

At one with nature
I have to say that over the months I have been a volunteer I have become more aware of re-use/recycle and what is meant by 'organic'. I have learned how to compost, how to maintain a garden compost heap, all the way through to bagging up compost for sale. This to me has been the most fascinating part of the gardening as it has meant I feel I can be 'at one with nature' without having a garden. The other fulfilling part of this for me is meeting the other volunteers and working as part of a group as it enables interaction on a knowledgeable level as well as the ability to have a fun.'