Southern fosters blossoming partnership for adults with learning difficulties
A 15-year-old partnership between Southern Railway and a charity for adults with learning difficulties is once again delighting thousands of passengers with fresh floral displays at stations in West Sussex.
Funded by Southern, a team of volunteers from The Aldingbourne Trust near Arundel, has been out and about planting and installing colourful beds and hanging baskets that they will maintain until the autumn (see editors’ notes for the full list of stations).
Karen Tyrrell, Visitor and Enterprise Operations Manager, said: “Our volunteers get loads of feedback from passengers getting off the trains who say how fabulous the flowers look. It makes them proud of what they do and know they’re contributing to their local community.
“It’s great for their mental well-being too. Some of the volunteers used to spend a lot of their time quite isolated at home, especially after the pandemic, and this ‘Adopt A Station’ enterprise with Southern encourages our volunteers to get out and about to meet people and be more social.
“One volunteer has just lost a very close relative and visiting the stations to tend to the plants gives them a sense of purpose at an unsettling time in their personal life.”
The ‘Adopt A Station’ programme also gives its volunteer skills in communication, independent travel and health and safety.
Volunteer Kieran Hellyer, 28, from Bognor said: “I’m more confident. It’s interesting and fun as well. We’ve made friends and help each other. We’re friends with the station staff as well.”
Tracy Jarvis, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at Govia Thameslink Railway, which runs Southern, said: “The people in our organisation live and work in the communities we serve and we really care about creating a positive impact locally. Funding this enterprise helps the trust to demonstrate to the wider community that everybody has a part to play in society. It doesn’t matter what your ability is, there’s a value you can add to your community.”
The Adopt A Station scheme has been running for 15 years, greening up and brightening up 20 stations across West Sussex, creating a better space for passengers.
Every year, a team of five adults with learning difficulties (‘volunteers’) join two paid employees of The Aldingbourne Trust to plant up station planters and bring in hanging baskets.
Once established, a wider team of 35 volunteers visit every station every day to keep the displays in tip-top condition.
The stations are:
Arundel
Ford
Amberley
Barnham
Chichester
Bosham
Pulborough
Billingshurst
Christs Hospital
Horsham
Littlehaven
Crawley
Burgess Hill
Angmering
Goring
West Worthing
Worthing
Durrington
Littlehampton
The Aldingbourne Trust is dedicated to helping local businesses, communities and people with learning disabilities and/or autism to enjoy life, together. It has several day care centres across the county including a family-orientated open farm, café and indoor and outdoor play areas, based near Arundel in West Sussex, where people they support play an active role in welcoming over 90,000 visitors a year.
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