Midwife transforms green spaces for community

Louise Howell says the response to her gardening has been "overwhelmingly positive"

A woman from Derby has taken over the upkeep of a number of patches of land in her village to help people reconnect with nature.

Louise Howell has transformed 12 spaces in Alvaston from weed and litter-filled spots into thriving areas full of plants and flowers.

The 38-year-old midwife said her efforts had received an overwhelmingly positive response from people locally and on social media.

"It improves the place for everybody who walks past to see the flowers and for the wildlife that live here," she said.

Louise visits all the beds each week to carry out maintenance work on them

It all began with a flowerbed outside her local shop, Bembidge Convenience Store.

Since asking the owners if she could garden it for them, she has taken on 11 more beds and has started experimenting with growing food for the community too.

Louise, who works at the Royal Derby Hospital, said she hoped people walking past would be encouraged to try gardening for themselves.

"For me it's a coping mechanism," she said. "If I'm really stressed at home or at work, I come home and just go into the garden and it just brings me that peace, and I think a lot of people have lost connection to nature in our busy lives that we lead.

"I think everyday places in the middle of the city need nature and beauty more than ever."

Louise tries to get round all the beds once a week to water and weed them but has made some self-sufficient so they don't need weekly maintenance.

She said she was also keen to take on more spaces.

Louise says gardening brings her "a sense of peace"

Her efforts have been praised by Derby City Council.

Ndukwe Onuoha, cabinet member for streetpride, parks and leisure, said: "Louise is one of our community champions and we appreciate the fantastic work she's doing to look after the planters in Holbrook Road and Crayford Road.

"The council has installed planters across the city in recent years to improve the environment in our communities.

"Around 100 of these were made by students at Engineered Learning, as a way for young people to give back to their community.

"While some are maintained by the council, others are looked after by residents and community groups, which is a great example of how our teams work alongside local residents to make the city a better place for everyone."