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January 2022

  • In January, we provided grants totalling £1500 to help fund essential household items for local families in need

  • The Budding Foundation donated a defibrillator to Old Barn Garden Centre. Founder Clive Gravett said: “The Tate family have been very supportive of the charity over the years and this year, the grottos at two of their centres had 8,000 visitors, which raised many thousands of pounds for local disadvantaged children. With their help, we also support various gardening projects in local schools. We were aware that several customers had said it would be great if the centre could have a defibrillator on site so we thought it would be a nice way of saying thank you to all those customers who came and visited the grotto with their children and grandchildren.”

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February 2022

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  • 20 members of the U3A (Towns & Villages group4) visited Tates Hassocks for coffee and a talk and tour of The Museum of Gardening with founder Clive Gravett. Organiser Ruby said: "I wish to thank you for giving us your time with such an interesting & entertaining talk yesterday. We are all agreed that the history, anecdotes & exhibits shown to us made a very good morning out. Best wishes for your work with the charity." The group purchased six copies of Clive's book, 'Two Men went to Mow' and made a generous donation.

  • In conjuction with Tates Garden Centres, Clive Gravett presented plants, compost, seeds and pots to staff from Northease Manor School, Rodmell, Lewes (for children with Special Educational Needs) and to St Margaret's Primary School, Ditchling.

  • In February, we provided grants totalling over £3500 to support 190 disadvantaged children with varying special needs from Shoreham, Horsham and Haywards Heath to attend and enjoy theatre based activities and also funded essential household items and requests for local families and young people in need.

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  • Founder Clive Gravett gave a talk to 30 members of the Partridge Green Horticultural Society. Organiser Susie said: "Thank you so much for your interesting talk, and for taking the trouble to bring all those fascinating artefacts to show us. Such innovation in those days, we are very spoiled now. I am glad you did a brisk trade with your books too, and we wish you well with your fundraising, obviously much needed and appreciated." £100 was raised and the group purchased six copies of Clive's book, 'Two Men went to Mow'.

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March 2022

  • ​In March, we provided grants totalling £2721 to help fund essential household items and requests for local families in need as well as supporting Sussex Clubs for Young People with their 2022 Streetmate project. The project's 'Purple Bus' will run 9 events in Sussex, providing refreshments, art, sport and emotional support for young people during the summer holidays.

  • In conjunction with Tates Garden Centres, Clive Gravett presented plants, compost, seeds and pots to staff and representatives from:

  • Harbour Primary School, Newhaven

  • Tower House School, Seaford

  • Hangleton Primary School

  • Southdown Nursery & Forest School, Steyning

  • 1st Hurstpierpoint Girls Brigade.

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May 2022

  • In May, we provided grants totalling £2193 to fund disability equipment and respite breaks for local young people and families, as well as plants and gardening equipment for Bright Stars Children's Home, charity ESTEEM, Escape Youth Club, Lindfield Primary Academy, St Wildred's Primary, Aldrington Primary, Carden Primary and Hill Park School, Portslade. 

  • Founder Clive Gravett attended the funeral of John Edwin Budding, the Great, Great Grandson of Edwin Beard Budding, inventor of the Lawn Mower in 1830. He first met John & his wife Joan in 2014 pictured here with a replica of the original 1830 mower. Clive said: "Although sad circumstances it was a pleasure to meet John's family, together with his widow Joan who remembered our previous meeting. Somewhat strange being in a room with around 30 of Edwin Beard Budding's direct descendants, including Great, Great, Great, Great, Great Grandchildren."

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June 2022
April 2022

  • In April, we provided grants totalling £900 to help fund essential household items for local young people and families in need as well as funding gardening equipment for Aldrington Primary School.

  • The Museum of Gardening is really excited to reveal our new official brown tourist signs on the north, east and west approaches to Stonepound crossroads. This coincides with the current revamp of our museum to display the many rare and exciting recent acquisitions.

  • Check out our new blog post on this website with nestbox videos following the hatching and progress of five Robin chicks! 

  • Together with Tates of Sussex Garden Centres, Mayberry Garden Centre we provided plantable seed books for charity Andy's Angels' Earth day celebration. The charity provides a Grief Play Café which is a safe space for children and their families to go to whilst grieving for a loved one.

  • Together with Tates of Sussex Garden Centres, South Downs Nurseries we donated an Oak tree to the Sussex Clubs for Young People Hurst Mini Community Ambassadors, a small group of young people aiming to improve their local neighbourhood. Founder Clive Gravett assisted with planting the tree in the grounds of Court Bushes Community Hub in Hurstpierpoint on Monday 9th May. 

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  • In June, we provided grants totalling £655 to help fund essential household requests for local families in need as well as funding plants and gardening equipment for St Nicholas & St Mary School Shoreham and William Penn Primary School, Horsham.

  • 90 children in three classes from Hassocks Infants visited Tates South Down Nurseries to learn about plants and how the garden centre works. Founder Clive Gravett said: "It was a pleasure to meet the children who asked some very interesting questions. They were extremely well behaved and enjoyed their visit winding through the trees for sale and bamboo jungle. Their visit ended with a tour of Museum of Gardening where I demonstrated seed sowing implements."

July 2022
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  • Founder Clive Gravett entertained a 60 strong audience at Ropetackle Arts Centre, Shoreham-by-Sea (Catalyst Club & Shoreham Wordfest event) with his Budding inspired talk: 'In search of my hero an engineering genius’

  • In July, we provided grants totalling £1164 to help fund essential household requests for local families in need as well as garden furniture for Sussex YMCA centres (charity preventing youth homelessness) and plants and equipment for a sensory garden for Sussex Clubs for Young People's Brentwood Hub, Haywards Heath.

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August to October 2022

  • In August, September, October we provided grants totalling £4132 to fund school uniforms and essential household items for families in need, a trampolining park trip for the Sussex Clubs for Young People Hurstpierpoint Mini CAPs project, Forget-Me-Not seeds for bereavement charity Andy's Angels, vegetable beds & a garden arch for St Peter's CE Primary School, Cowfold, compost & pots to organisation Greening Steyning for Steyning Grammar School as well as planters, pots, compost & bulbs to The Burgess Hill Academy. We also provided grant support for Harbour Primary's Forest School, Newhaven, Chatsworth Park Volunteers at Telescombe Cliffs, Midhurst Primary School's Gardening Club, Northease Manor School, Lewes & St Andrews CE Primary School, Crawley.  

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  • Tickets for our grottos went live and 4000 presents have been handwrapped by our lovely elves! Volunteer Christmas Elves also needed for the grotto at South Downs Nurseries, Hassocks age 16+ please email clive@thebuddingfoundation.co.uk 

November & December 2022
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  • 4500 happy young people (as well as their adults) enjoyed magical Santa visits at our two 2022 Tates of Sussex Garden Centre charity Christmas grottos. Check out our photo gallery if you visited and agreed to be photographed...and THANK YOU to everyone involved!

  • We provided 800 free Santa grotto visits for families in need (including two Ukrainian families), vulnerable young families in supported accommodation and to pupils with Special Educational Needs from Herons Dale Primary School (as featured on BBC South Today Evening News on 6.12.22!)

  • In December we provided grants totalling over £3500 to fund visiting theatre performances/day trips for 250 children with varying special needs from Burgess Hill, Horsham & Haywards Heath, garden lights for East Sussex Forest School Nursery, an after school outreach club in East Preston as well as essential household items for a family in need. ​

  • ​Founder Clive Gravett gave a talk to Ferring Gardening Club in November about our Museum of Gardening and history of the lawn and lawnmower. To book a talk about gardening and its history for any age group please email clive@thebuddingfoundation.co.uk

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