Water Saving Support for the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star, Moss Side

The Brotherhood of the Cross and Star is a thriving community garden and food-growing project based in Moss Side, Manchester. The project brings local people together through gardening activities, family events and a food bank that supports the community twice a week.

Our relationship with the project began in 2022, when we first met Michelle, who leads the initiative. At the time, Groundwork’s landscaping team carried out groundwork to transform a previously tarmacked area into a more suitable space for gardening activities and tree planting, helping to lay the foundations for what has become a flourishing community space.

In May 2026, Michelle was introduced to Groundwork’s water efficiency service through Sow the City and contacted us to learn more. By this stage, the garden had expanded significantly and featured 26 raised beds and a polytunnel dedicated to food growing, all of which required substantial amounts of water to maintain.

A visit from our water efficiency team identified several opportunities to improve water efficiency both inside and outside the building. Alongside a number of smaller water-saving measures, the survey uncovered a significant issue: a dripping bath tap that was wasting an estimated 300 litres of water every day. Although specialist parts were required, the repair was completed within a few weeks at no cost to the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star.

In July, our landscaping team returned to Moss Side to install a water butt through the United Utilities water-saving programme. With such a large growing space, Michelle and local volunteers typically spend around two hours each day watering plants. The new water butt provides a sustainable alternative to using a hosepipe and has the potential to save up to 2,000 litres of mains water in a single day when used to meet the garden’s watering needs.

Reflecting on the support received, Michelle said:

I am genuinely delighted by Groundwork’s visit. As well as the water-saving advice, I learnt so much about biodiversity and the ecosystem we have unwittingly established within our polytunnel.

Michelle said she would happily recommend Groundwork’s water-saving service to others, highlighting not only the practical benefits of reducing water use and costs, but also the valuable environmental knowledge gained through the visit.

Made possible thanks to funding from: