"From my first experience on the taster day I have enjoyed every minute of my time at Highfields and would wholeheartedly recommend volunteering here.

Gardening tasks could be seen as repetitive; you sow seeds, you water, you weed, you harvest and then you start all over again; but no day is ever the same for me at Highfields. The knowledge, characters and personalities of the service users and the dedicated staff and volunteers provide a never ending source of learning, as well as lots of fun and laughter, so it never seems like hard work (even though it can be!).

As a volunteer at Highfields you are encouraged to make use of your skills and experience to benefit the service users. I also volunteer with the National Trust, Marsden Moor Estate and from this link was given the opportunity to support service users from Highfields and Honley to participate in the John Muir award. This is a conservation award that requires them to discover, explore, conserve and share their experiences of a wild place. I'm sure the six service users that took part would say that Marsden Moors on a wet and windy day is a "wild place", but equally that they enjoyed being able to "bash" rhododendrons, remove fencing, identify plants and wildlife and just enjoy the wonderful landscapes.

Highfields Gardens is still a work in progress but the transition from the original brown field that I first saw to the present colour filled environment is fantastic. To have been even a small part of this journey gives me an incredible sense of personal satisfaction. It shows what can be achieved through team work and where every individual is given the opportunity to contribute and make Highfields Garden Project the special place that it is."

• Volunteering
  

"I first came as a volunteer to the Gardens Project in September 2007 when it was based at Briarcourt, which had been created over many years to provide a haven for plants and wildlife. Having recently moved from East Yorkshire I was looking for something to do to help me use my love of gardening and working with people and to get me out of the house.

I was met with a warm and friendly welcome from the staff and service users and quickly felt like one of the team.

The move to Highfields was completed at the beginning of 2010 and we began to tackle a sea of clay and docks.

I always look forward to Fridays as it is different to other jobs I have done and the happy atmosphere is always guaranteed to cheer me up if I have had a bad week.

The jobs change with the seasons, starting with sowing seeds in spring, preparing the ground and pricking out seedlings. There is always someone willing to sweep up, turn the compost heap or sort out plant pots and we are al rewarded in the summer by a bright display of flowers and fresh salad crops to add to our lunchtime sandwiches.

It can be cold in the winter, even in the poly tunnel making Christmas wreathes, but I would much rather be outside than in a stuffy office or classroom.

As well as the plants we are surrounded by a wide variety of birds and insects, as well as squirrels and frogs. Some wildlife is less welcome, such as the pigeons that eat our cabbages!

The think I like most of all is that everyone is accepted for who they are and everyone has something important to contribute. It is rewarding to see everyone working together as a team and the fantastic progress that has been made at Highfields In such a short space of time.

We have been involved in various activities such as making scarecrows, apple day, selling plants on market stalls, taking part in a variety of events, a trip to Harrogate Flower Show and have had opportunities to attend training courses.

I have learnt a lot during my time as a volunteer.

Life in the gardens is certainly never boring!"