AN OLD and 'tired looking' garden in a centre that provides support for vulnerable people has been transformed into a ‘beautiful area’ by Bracknell volunteers.

Volunteers from 3M spent the day at the Tager Centre in Crowthorne on Tuesday, March 5.

The centre is home to 16 people who have complex learning difficulties, including 14 with autism.

Sue, Ravey, home manager at the centre believes everyone will now love looking out their windows.

She said: “I have never seen the Tager garden looking so smart. The 3M volunteers did an amazing job and we’re incredibly grateful.

“I’m sure the people we support will enjoy looking out of their windows at this beautiful area, which had previously looked very tired.

“This will also help us to encourage them to increase their use and enjoyment of the outdoors, which greatly supports their physical and mental wellbeing.”

The work included creating a new square area by levelling grass, paving the area with a patio and stones and placing two companion seats, which had been donated by 3M.

Nicky Oakley, talent development specialist for HR domestic operations at 3M, added: “We had a brilliant, productive and sunny day at Ravenswood. We’re thrilled to hear that the garden and seating area that the 3M HR team created will be such a benefit to the residents of Tager and their families.”

The team also planted a range of things to bring the garden back to life including a cherry tree, a high Photinia Red Robin hedge to disguise the bike shed and colourful low-level hedging on three sides of the garden.

In addition, they pressure washed a paved area, pulled weeds, removed moss, reshaped boxed hedging and got rid of unwanted shrubs.

Julia Hall, the head of adult services at Norwood in Berkshire believes that the project provides a big difference to the support they provide.

She said: “From all of us here at Ravenswood, I want to thank the amazing 3M team for delivering such a fantastic project for the people we support at Tager.

“They have given the residents a wonderful space to enjoy the outdoors in a safe and calming environment.

“Projects like these make a significant difference to the support and services we are able to provide and we are incredibly thankful to 3M and the volunteers.”

The project was organised as part of the 3Mgives volunteering programme, which encourages 3M employees across the UK to volunteer in local communities.

For more information about the centre, visit: http://www.norwood.org.uk/.