A NEW after school gardening club allowing autistic children and their families to get green fingered has opened in Bridport.

Gardenscape is at St Mary’s School on Skilling Hill Road on Tuesdays from 4.30pm-5.30pm and is for autistic children aged 5-11 and their families to plant and grow organic food as well as eat the fruit and vegetables they produce.

The initiative has been launched by ASCape, Bridport's charity for autistic young people, which have been allowed use of a plot at St Mary’s School’s Edible Garden.

Karen Wright, chairman at ASCape said: “This is the first after school club in Bridport aimed at supporting children on the autistic spectrum.

“Autistic and socially anxious children benefit from smaller groups with one-to-one encouragement, they usually thrive outdoors and working with the soil and growing plants can be extremely grounding and therapeutic.”

The children will be shown how to prepare the planting area and discussions about the lifecycle of plants and how seeds germinate will also take place by lead gardener Kat.

There will be additional opportunities to share the planning process, the selection of plants and sowing of seeds in a safe and secure area, with a range of fun activities on offer whatever the weather.

Ms Wright added: “ASCape is hugely grateful to St Mary's School and the Edible Garden team for their support, and for funds made available by the Cowshed and from the Dorset Community Foundation.”

The club will run until October and is open to all children who have an autism diagnosis or who are on the diagnostic pathway in the West Dorset area, a parent or carer must remain with the child at all times.

ASCape has supported more than 75 children and their families through a range of family-based activities since they launched in 2018 and they also offer monthly clubs and activities for teenagers and young people aged up to 25, based at Bridport Youth Centre.

The pandemic made it impossible to offer face to face support for the children and their families, creating further challenges as the children could not meet their peers for two years, ‘with whom they could be themselves.’

The charity's innovative projects directly address the growing social and mental health issues faced by local autistic children who also face a range of challenges that can make it difficult for them to access activities at school and outside school.

For further details see ascape.club/whats-on