About Common Ground Suffolk
We help people grow food.
We help nature thrive.
We are your neighbours.
Common Ground Suffolk is a community benefit society registered in England. We exist to help people grow food and support local wildlife, with the hands-on help of trained community volunteers. We are not a company and not driven by profit. Every penny we raise goes back into the work. Every decision we make is shaped by the community around us.
👥 Who we are
We were founded in 2026 by a small group of people who live and work in Suffolk, and who believe that growing food is one of the most powerful things a community can do: for its own resilience, for the wellbeing of its members, and for the health of the land and wildlife around it. We are based in Kesgrave, and we work across Kesgrave, Martlesham, and the surrounding areas.
Our ambition is to grow. Not for the sake of it, but because the more gardens we can help bring to life, the stronger and more resilient this part of Suffolk becomes.
We are not just growing vegetables. We are building the kind of community where people look out for each other, and where the land looks out for all of us.
🌿 What we do
Our volunteers visit people at home to help them make the most of their growing space. Whether you have a large garden you have never known what to do with, a small patio with a few pots, or a raised bed that has seen better days, we can help. We will sit with you, listen to what you want, look at your space, and offer practical, honest suggestions that fit your life.
We help with planning: deciding what to grow, where to grow it, and when. We advise on soil health, composting, water harvesting, and the kinds of plants that will give you the best return for the least effort. And wherever we go, we design growing spaces to support wildlife as well as people, incorporating pollinator-friendly planting, habitat features, and year-round nectar sources that keep insects alive and thriving long after the summer is over.
We also install things. Raised beds, water butts, compost bins, native hedging, wildlife ponds, solitary bee homes. If your space needs infrastructure to make it work, we can help you put it in place.
Beyond individual gardens, we are building a network of publicly accessible growing and ecological restoration sites across our area: spaces where anyone can come to grow food, learn new skills, volunteer, and spend time with others who care about the same things.
Visit households to help plan and improve growing spaces, free of charge
Install raised beds, water harvesting equipment, and growing infrastructure
Design every growing space to support pollinators and local wildlife
Create and maintain community growing and ecological restoration sites
Run education and outreach sessions on food growing, soil health, and wildlife-friendly gardening
Connect people with each other and with the natural world around them
👐 Who we help
Everyone. Our services are open to any resident of Suffolk who wants support with food growing. There are no eligibility criteria, no waiting lists, and no charges. That said, we are especially committed to reaching people who would find it genuinely difficult to manage a growing space without support: older residents who have a garden they love but can no longer tend as they once did, people with disabilities who want to grow but face practical barriers, and anyone who feels daunted by the idea of starting from scratch.
If you have ever looked at your garden and wished you knew what to do with it, we are here for you. Just get in touch.
You do not need experience, a big garden, or any particular knowledge. You just need to want to grow something.
🏛️ How we are run
Common Ground Suffolk is governed by its members. Anyone who buys a share in the Society becomes a member, with the right to vote on how we are run, attend our Annual General Meeting, and stand for election to the board. This is not window dressing. It is how we are legally structured. The people we serve have a genuine say in the direction of the organisation.
Our board of directors is made up of volunteers from the local community. We have no paid staff and no offices. The money we raise goes into delivering the work, not running an organisation around it.
We are registered as a community benefit society under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014, and we have a full asset lock. This means our assets are permanently dedicated to community benefit and cannot be distributed to members or directors for private gain: not now, and not ever.
Get involved
Whether you want help with your growing space, would like to volunteer, or simply want to find out more, we would love to hear from you. We will always reply.