A new Swindon care home and a primary school have joined forces to create a community garden.

Willowbrook View, a care home in the Connaught Care Collection, has partnered with Kingfisher Primary School to create Willowbrook Gardens.

The shared space will include a selection of wildflowers, vegetable crops and seasonal plants.

The project was the brainchild of Chris Guest, customer relationship manager at Willowbrook View.

He spotted an underused patch of land close to the care home after a walk around the school grounds and proposed the idea to headteacher, Sharon Bishop.

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Mrs Bishop welcomed the idea of a shared garden, which will be tended by both the school's students and the residents of Willowbrook View.

Mrs Bishop said: "What a wonderful gesture from Willowbrook View Care Home - our children are thrilled to have Willowbrook Gardens as a place to understand nature and interact with residents who will become our new neighbours.

"We look forward to visiting the care home when it opens next year and can't wait to join up with them on lots of exciting projects for our pupils and staff."

She said previous attempts by the school to revive the area had failed due to lack of funding.

Willowbrook View has agreed to invest in the land, designing the new garden and supplying child-friendly gardening tools and gloves to the school.

Natasha Stone, deputy manager at Willowbrook, said: "The hope is that when Willowbrook View opens, both residents and students will work together to grow and maintain the garden.

"This will be not only a valuable educational opportunity for the youngsters, but also a fun form of therapeutic exercise for the residents.

"Gardening can be an effective way to stay sharper in later life, and is often associated with better cognitive function and improved mental wellbeing overall."

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Mr Guest added: "This project will give our residents the opportunity to interact with the younger generation whenever they like, whilst enjoying some fresh air and nature to boot.

"This is only the start of our ongoing collaboration with Kingfisher, and we have many more exciting intergenerational projects in the pipeline.

"We can’t wait to start."

At the opening of gardens, staff from the care home joined teachers and students to plant tulips, pansies, violas, lettuces, and radishes.

These are expected to be in full bloom by the time Willowbrook View opens in February next year.

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