Age Concern Leominster and District has appointed Alex Outhwaite as its new Greenagers co-ordinator, following the retirement of Tony Cooper.
The Greenagers initiative, part of the national ‘Fit as a Fiddle’ campaign, which is financed by the Big Lottery Fund and aims to help older people exercise through gardening and encourage them to grow their own fruit and vegetables to keep to a healthy diet.
Alex will be based at West Street and while her first passion is the theatre, she is also Development Officer and Webmaster for the Leominster Fairtrade Town Committee. Gardening is her next love and she saw the opportunity to develop the role whilst working on a temporary basis at the West Street office.
Alex says: “Tony Cooper set up some extraordinary projects for Greenagers including development of allotment at Orleton and working with Echo to transform a patch of overgrown scrubland on Vicarage Street into an allotment.
“I have lots of ideas to build on the foundations Tony has left me and I am excited about the chance to work with the community and in particular older people in the area.
“This is an opportunity for anyone who is interested in gardening at whatever level to meet some likeminded people and share the workload!”.
Greenagers is currently looking for further land and is hoping to develop a scheme in conjunction with home owners who cannot manage their gardens by teaming them with one or two Greenagers who have no land of their own, for mutual benefit.
If you have any land you think might be available or want more information on how to become a Greenager, contact Alex or Wendy on 01568 611054 at Age Concern Leominster and District.