Advent Day 1: Junior Sports Hub and Breaking Down Barriers Community Garden Space

Welcome to the Advent Calendar, this is day 1, and right in the heart of the Summer, something extraordinary and colourful came out of a drab concrete yard at the old TradeX site on Ashton Road.

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For me, it all started with a message, as many things have this year

We have a session tomorrow planting at the Bilal Centre Garden if you happen to be free to help out between 2-4:30 – Hope your well
The man, the legend, Adam Aslam 20th August 2022

So, of course, I went along. I had seen some posts before this on the Breaking Down Barriers Facebook group, Junior Sports Hub Twitter, and Facebook pages.

This gives you an idea of the space they were working with. Doesn’t look like much of a space, does it? It’s a loading bay to a commercial building, ageing concrete, breaking up paint, and not even remotely inspiring.

Unless you’re the young people of Harehills.

The young people, their supporters at Junior Sports Hub and Breaking Down Barriers, Woodcraft Folk, and Back to Front set about turning this drab concrete into a community garden and barbecue in a fantastic transformation.

From concrete to a vibrant green, expanded facilities through the use of a storage container, amazing wooden furniture and planters are such a delight to see as you go up Ashton Road.

This was a day of planting and preparing the space, with plants provided by Back to Front and elbow grease from anyone that could be pulled into it. The young people of JSH and BDB worked tirelessly to make this already burgeoning space into something truly memorable.

They weren’t done yet, though. If you’ve put this much effort in, you should have a grand opening. This is precisely what they had during the August bank holiday. I got another message asking if I’d like to come on Saturday the 27th. As if I’d say no to a barbecue and a green space.

So, I set off and got up to Ashton Road, and this greeted everyone approaching, a real signifier that something different was happening there.

Amazing weather deserving of a grand garden party to open such a lovely space. So many people were there, and Councillor Salma Arif was there to cut the ribbon and later present certificates to the young people who have done so much.

It’s tremendous to see things like this in Harehills. It highlights the best the young people and older volunteers bring to our area and the passion for making things better and even more beautiful.

Oh, and did I mention barbecue? Just a small one…

I have nothing but thanks and appreciation for everyone involved – it’s a fantastic thing that’s been done here.

There are a lot more photos of such a fantastic day, so here’s a slideshow of an amazing day in a unique place, (yes I’m gushing, this really was a highlight of the year to me)