WE’VE BUILT A BUILDING

When I started working at the Triangle site at the end of 2024 I didn’t know what to expect. I hadn’t really done anything like it before but was ready to throw myself in. My aim at the start of the year had been simple: I wanted to keep pushing myself, gain confidence and find myself being paid to do something I truly enjoyed. When I saw an email from Global Generation saying I had got a Build Trainee position, it felt like my hard work was paying off.

The past four months at the Triangle site have been a truly unique experience that has allowed me to grow in confidence, gain a deeper understanding of myself and has led me to meet some amazing people. Not to mention all the skills I’ve learnt.

“It’s only been 18 days but sitting down in the polytunnel with a warm bowl of soup, bread and cheese feels like home” - reflection from the end of the third week.

I felt comfortable from my first week on site helped by expectations of us being made clear: we were there to learn and ask questions, we weren’t there to already be masters in everything that was thrown at us. We certainly asked lots of questions; “what’s that”, “what are you doing” and “why are we doing this” over and over again over the four months. These questions were always answered with patience and care, even when it was the 20th time that day someone had asked what the difference between a screw and a nail was!

“It’s refreshing to work somewhere which feels worthwhile. More than just waking up and going to work to earn money. Maybe part of that is because it’s a traineeship but I think it’s also that the physical work is so stimulating and the community that’s already been created at the Triangle site is so warm.”

I’ve enjoyed the rhythms I’ve found myself in. Each morning I would leave home feeling undercaffeinated, cold and grumpy and cycle to work. The cycle would wake me up a bit but it was the coffee that I knew was waiting for me at the other end that made the 25 minute cycle feel more like 10. By the time I’d arrive at work, stowed my bike and greeted everyone, the coffee pot would have already been made and I’d quickly be handed a steaming mug of hot coffee in a dented enamel mug. I’d instantly feel less grumpy, less tired and no longer cold warmed by the cycle, coffee and morning catch-ups.

Most mornings after we’d changed our shoes and donned our hi-vis we’d stand in a circle and stretch; taking a moment to reconnect with the day after the rush of the morning and before the work day truly begins. With coffee drunk, stretches done and catch-ups had we’d settle into our morning tasks.

By 11am, the kettle is put on, the tea order taken and the biscuit tin replenished. These moments, when we stop what we’re doing and reconvene together, mug of tea in hand, allowed us to take a step back and look at what we’ve achieved. Back when we first arrived we were four strangers who knew little about carpentry not knowing a screw from a nail or an impact driver from drill. On site when we first arrived there were only foundations. Now I’ve made new friends, learnt the difference between drill and impact driver, used a trillion different tools, been taught a million different techniques and am still finding new things to learn and observe everyday I spend on site! Now unlike then, through learning, teaching and community.....

.....we’ve built a building!

Em Aldridge

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Notes from the Garden