A CHURCH has achieved big things with its garden.

Wharton and Cleggs Lane Church and Community Centre garden in Little Hulton won £750 when it was announced the winner of the Community Nurture Award in a special ceremony at Lambeth Palace.

The church, which is in one of the most deprived neighbourhoods in Britain, has built up a community garden that features allotments, an orchard, two greenhouses, and a nature walk.

It has forged a bond with a neighbouring mental-health NHS facility, and regularly receives referrals from psychiatrists there. A primary school uses the nature trail for education in healthy eating, and all the surplus produce grown in the garden is donated to a Christian charity for homeless people in the area.

Rt Rev James Newcome, the church of England’s lead bishop for health and social care presented the award during the Green Health Live conference

The Green Health Awards celebrate the efforts made by churches and Christian organisations to use gardens and churchyards creatively for well-being.

The focus is on gardens that get local people involved and boost the community’s spiritual, mental and physical health.

The award was sponsored by the Allchurches Trust, which supports the repair, restoration and wider community use of churches and cathedrals of all denominations.

Trust spokesman, James Laing, said: “From the Garden of Eden onwards God’s people have found spiritual, physical and mental health intertwined with a healthy environment.”

He added: “We’re thrilled that the Allchurches Trust Community Nurture Award has been won by Wharton and Cleggs Lane Church and Community Centre, especially as funding from both Allchurches Trust and through the Methodist Insurance Fund is supporting their dream of a new building”.

As well as the award, Wharton and Cleggs Lane Church received gardening gloves, seeds, and recycled tools.