At JSM, we’re proud to empower our people to support the causes they care about through our Community Grant scheme. One recent project comes from Oliver Wales, Project Manager at JSM, who applied successfully for funding on behalf of his local allotment community, an initiative focused on improving shared spaces, protecting crops, and creating long‑term sustainability for all plot holders.
Thanks to the grant, the allotment was able to rent an excavator for a weekend in December to dig the trenches required for a brand-new shared chicken coop. Since then, volunteers have been hard at work, and the boundary fencing was fully installed just last weekend. Once complete, the coop will be shared between allotment holders, with a rotational care system and plans for up to 12 chickens, providing participating members with fresh eggs daily. Final touches, including securing the perimeter with chicken wire, will take place over the coming months, with hopes of welcoming the chickens later this summer.
The larger portion of the funding went toward purchasing as many fence posts and as much chicken wire as possible to protect three vulnerable plots that were facing ongoing damage from rabbits. Through savvy negotiating with local suppliers, the team managed to stretch the budget far beyond expectations, enough to fence six plots in total, doubling the original plan. This included repairing an older plot in need of attention and fencing two additional plots whose owners didn’t expect to be included. They were thrilled with the outcome.
Committee Chairman, Peter Smith, shared this message of thanks:
We are extremely pleased to be able to make progress at the allotment, and we are all extremely thankful to JSM for the opportunity to not only offer the grants in the first place but more so to be awarded this funding. We’re not run as a charity as such but rely on community and council grants to maintain amenities within the shared space, which you can imagine is hard to come by. All the committee members who benefit from your kind donation have expressed their thanks, and I’ve always communicated that it came from Oliver’s place of work – JSM. Thank you again.
We’re delighted to see how this funding has supported both practical improvements and community spirit. A huge well done to Oliver and the allotment team, we can’t wait to see photos of the completed chicken coop later this year!
