You don't have to live in the country - or even own a garden -
to grow your own fruit and vegetables. Community gardening schemes
offer everyone the chance to grow and be a little more
self-sufficient. Each scheme varies, and you can get involved in
all sorts of ways - whether by donating space, time, expertise or
just enthusiasm.
In a nutshell
Community gardens are typically a shared growing space, often
sponsored by the local authority, where neighbours can meet, plan
and grow together. Some schemes work by trying to match up the
"space-poor" with "time-poor" so that land, for example, can be
swapped for labour and the yields shared.
Other groups offer advice and a starter pack to get whole
streets growing what they can on whatever room is available. With
long waiting lists for allotments, and city land hard to come by,
the schemes also offer city-dwellers the chance to reconnect with
the roots of their food.
Growing numbers
More than 300,000 people are currently involved in at least 450
community gardening programmes across the UK. Some schemes are run
in partnership with charities or local authorities, but most are
organised by local people with an interest in growing their own
fruit and vegetables.
If you'd like to get involved in a community gardening project
to help a local organisation or charity, there are plenty of
volunteering opportunities around. The Women's Environmental
Network (WEN), for example, has been running vegetable and herb
gardens for many years and runs a national network of food growing
groups, called the Taste of Better Future Network.
Many community gardens also provide fresh food, exercise and
outside contact for people with mental and physical disabilities
and out-day hospital patients. Here are just a few examples of
successful schemes around the UK.
Food Up Front
The founders of Food Up Front in South London started a small
petition to encourage neighbours to grow what they can on roofs,
balconies and window sills. By sharing their yields, knowledge and
tools participants can supplement their weekly food shop with
home-grown produce. You don't need to be an expert to join - 47% of
members have never grown food before. In 2010, the group helped
devise the One Pot Pledge campaign for gardening charity Garden
Organic, which aims to get 30,000 people who have never grown
anything before to give growing a go.
Landshare
Landshare brings together people who have
a passion for home-grown food, connecting those who have land to
share with those who need land for cultivating food. Since its
launch through River Cottage in 2009 it has grown into a thriving
community of more than 55,000 growers, sharers and
helpers. Landshare is for people who either want to grow veg
but don't have anywhere to do it, have a spare bit of land they're
prepared to share, or can help in some way - from sharing knowledge
and lending tools to helping out on the plot itself.
GroFun
The GroFun (Growing Real Organic Food in Urban
Neighbourhoods) project in Bristol works as a gardening exchange
system. After you've contributed ten hours work to other people's
gardens, you can call an 'action day' in your own garden for others
to chip in and help. Everything that is produced must be offered
out among members of the group, so everyone has a wide range of
home-grown fruit and vegetables at their disposal.
Capital Growth campaign
The Capital Growth project aims to get Londoners
growing their own food. They want to transform the city, creating
2,012 new food growing spaces by - you guessed it - 2012. They
offer practical advice and funding for people interested in
starting a community food growing project, including how to access
land and affordable gardening courses. Schools can also join the
project.
Useful links
Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens
(FCFCG)
FCFCG Allotments Regeneration
Initiative