Growing Places Members’ magazine - Issue 2 2013, May
• Growing the movement in Northern Ireland • Cooking up a treat in Briardale Kids’ Kitchen • Busy bees at Brockwell Community Greenhouses • Growing in the Highlands • Leaves not on the line at London Rd Station
Inside this issue
W
elcome to the spring issue of Growing Places 2013. We hope you’ve enjoyed at least some spring sunshine and that your gardens and plots are beginning to grow. This issue features a variety of new projects for spring - some just starting out and others offshoots of more established projects. All of them with inspiring stories to tell of how they’ve got their projects up and running. The report from our 30th Anniversary Oral History Project is now available on our website. Following the success of this project, we are looking into the possibility of a new application to the Heritage Lottery Fund for another project telling the story of city farms and community gardens. You’ll also find enclosed a complementary copy of our
Contents News and updates
3-5
Kewstoke Community Farm
6
Leaves not on the line...
7
Alice Park Community Garden
8
anniverary postcard book. We hope you like it. If you would like to order further copies for sale in your shop, please contact us. admin@farmgarden.org.uk
Kids Kitchen and Cafe at Briardale
9
The copy date for the next issue is 24 June. We always love to hear from you. Please send any items for inclusion to the editor. diane@farmgarden.org.uk
Events, networking and diary
Busy bees at Brockwell Community Greenhouses
10
13-14
Management
14
Resources
15
On the cover: Young volunteers hard at work at Adamsdown Environmental Action Group, Cardiff
Funding, training and other opportunities
16 - 17
Above; unusual garden visitors at Briardale Community Centre, Northumberland (see page 9)
Member services and FCFCG contact details
18 - 19
New members We now have 618 members. A warm welcome to all those that have joined since the last issue: • Bradford on Avon Community Agriculture, Wiltshire • Brechfa Growers, Carmarthenshire • Brill Village Community Herd, Buckinghamshire • Cefneithin Growing Spaces Associations, Carmarthenshire • Countryside Conservation Centre, Cambourne • Dyfi Land Share, Powys • Erlas Victorian Walled Garden, Wrexham • Flower Pod, Nottinghamshire • Gardening in Mind, Coventry • Gower Power Organics, Swansea • Grassmarket Residents Association, Edinburgh • Green Isle Growers, Powys Page
• Growing Support CIC, Bristol • Incredible Edible Market Drayton, Shropshire • Kewstoke Youth and Community Farm, Somerset • Myatts Fields Park Project, London • New Barn Farm Community Growers, Plymouth • Pembroke Community Garden, London • People and Wildlife, Blaenau Gwent • Riverbank Community Cafe and Market Garden CIC, Manchester • Roots of Ruchill Community Growing Group, Glasgow • Southmead Community Fruit Garden, Bristol • Spring Barn Farm, East Sussex
• St Lawrence Special School Rural Activities Area, Lincolnshire • St Raphael’s Edible Garden, London • Swing Bridge Foraging Orchard, Bridgend • Tarland Community Garden, Aberdeenshire • The Bracken Trust Gardens, Powys • The Community Farm, North Somerset • The Grove - Fountainbridge Community Garden, Edinburgh • The Kaleyard Community Food and Wildlife Garden, Fife • The Rainbow Project, Staffordshire • Transition Stratford, Warwickshire
News
Growing together through thick and thin... T
he Federation’s ethos and business plan emphasises our commitment to working in partnership with a wide range of external groups where these add value to our charitable objectives. These partnerships take different shapes across the UK but it seems likely that such alliances will be ever more important as we, and other agencies, ensure that make the best use of limited resources. We are aware that in England funding is getting ever harder to secure and that some members are struggling to make ends meet. The same is true at the national level, with some organisations closing their doors and others looking at ways to restructure. We are sorry to report on the closure of the organisation GreenSpace (previously known as the Urban Parks Forum) which closed down in April. FCFCG and other organisations are looking to see how we might continue to promote work previously undertaken by GreenSpace. To this end, discussions are currently underway with The Conservation Volunteers, Groundwork UK, and Keep Britain Tidy – all of which we have existing partnerships with – to see what advantages might be achieved by collaboration and sharing of resources.
FCFCG Social Media
At the same time, we and others are reviewing how we might generate income from other sources – contracts and training for example and collaboration to bid for services - but this will take time to develop. And the emerging work on Growing Together is providing the opportunity to test out new work around crowd-funding and community shares to see how these might be promoted to support community farms and growing projects. In the meantime, we are actively reviewing what we can best deliver in England, bearing in mind our current limited resources and the imminent end of Local Food funding for our four regional development workers. In many cases, there is the opportunity to deliver more in England by working more closely with city/ area wide networks, more of which are across the country. By contrast, our work in Wales is expanding and there are also some opportunities emerging to expand our work in both Northern Ireland and Scotland. See pages 4-5 for more on these developments. Wherever we work and whatever we can deliver, the message of co-operation, rather than competition, is as valid today as ever.
The Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens is on Twitter. As always when we devote time to social media, we think carefully about how it will benefit our members and the wider movement. Our new Twitter account will help us further raise the profile of community growing groups in the UK and showcase their work direct to media contacts, other community-sector organisations and the public. So if you are on Twitter and want to follow our tweets, go to www.twitter.com/fcfcg Our facebook page is a great place to find out what other groups are up to, catch up on FCFCG events and a chance to network and raise the profile of your group. New videos have been added to our Youtube channel and we have also created a new group on the video website Vimeo. Visit www.farmgarden. org.uk/videos for more. Finally, member groups can also share photos of their sites, events etc with FCFCG and other members by joining the FCFCG group on the image-sharing website Flickr.
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News
Growing the movement in Northern Ireland The 8th Northern Ireland Community Garden & Allotment Forum took place in Armagh on 26 April. FCFCG Board member Mick Magennis and CEO Jeremy Iles visited Belfast to attend the forum and a series of meetings and discussions with the Community Foundation NI, The Conservation Volunteers, Northern Ireland Environment Link and the Big Lottery Fund. On the day, the forum heard from a variety of speakers including Philip Murphy who recounted the Armagh Allotments Story and Georgina Buffini of Healthy Food For All who shared her thoughts about “What makes a good community growing project?”. Healthy Food For All has just launched an all-Ireland Community Food Initiative with funding awarded to ten projects to promote greater access to healthy food in low-income areas. Workshops focused on land acquisition, planning and use agreements, keeping people engaged and motivating volunteers, networks and communication, and DIY and practical sustainability. The delegates were also consulted on FCFCG’s future plans and role in Northern Ireland to ensure that FCFCG’s approach is complementary to existing and future work of Government, local authorities and partner NGO organisations. The day concluded with a site visit to Armagh Allotments and Callan Bank Community Garden. Page
Fed faces Beccy Marshall is one of the Community Land Advisors in England. She joined us in March 2012.
Social farming across borders Social farming, or care farming is a growing movement and there are now over two thousand care farms in Europe. In Northern Ireland there are a small number of well-established social farming projects for example Kilcreggan Urban Farm, the Camphill Farms and the relatively recent Growing Connections at Quarries Farm. A recent networking day, held at the Growing Connections project near Bangor, was a great opportunity for groups involved in or interested in care farming and social therapeutic horticulture in Northern Ireland to meet up with each other. The great range of participants suggests there are many new and developing projects in the pipeline. The Social Farming Across Borders (SoFAB) programme is a project which operates in the Border counties of Ireland and all of Northern Ireland. SoFAB plans to start 20 farm-based pilot projects and a full programme of networking and training. These developments are bound to make a massive impact on the social farming scene in NI and the Republic of Ireland. FCFCG will be working closely with SoFAB to place social/ therapeutic farming/horticulture firmly on the agenda of decision makers.
“I am originally from a tiny village north of Bristol and the pull of home meant I returned 2 years ago to set up my own land agency business, advising farmers with a particular focus on those who rent their farms. “My qualifications are as a Rural Chartered Surveyor and Agricultural Valuer. I was attracted to the CLAS Advisor’s job as I had previously worked as an advisor for the Tenant Farmers Association and understood how helpful clear advice is and that you can really help a project flourish. It’s been great to help demystify some of the more technical aspects of land use for landlords and community groups. “I don’t have a community growing background, but luckily I work alongside Jade Bashford and I’ve learnt loads from her. She’s got practical experience of all types of growing projects and if I’ve never heard of an organisation, then chances are Jade has and vice versa. We make a great team!”
Beccy, left with CLAS England colleague, Jade Bashford right - and a piggy in the middle!
News
New shoots in Wales this spring After such a cold start to the year, finally everything in Wales is beginning to blossom and grow, including our Welsh team and the programmes they are delivering. We are delighted to welcome two new Funding and Community Enterprise Advisors for South & North Wales, Moishe Merry and Katie Trent. Hannah Townsend, formally from Vauxhall City Farm in London, is also helping with social media and publicity work on a freelance basis. These 3 will be joining our Tyfu Pobl team, bringing with them a wealth of experience. As we welcome in the new, we also say goodbye and a big thank you to Gary Mitchell, our Mid Wales Development Worker, who will be leaving the team to work
full time with the Cwm Harry Land Trust developing their food company and community growing projects. And the Community Land Advisory Service in Wales is also taking off. We have appointed three new advisors; Morgan Parry, Lucie Taylor and Jodie Pritchard, who will be delivering the 5 year Big Lottery Funded programme, CLAS Cymru, aimed at increasing the availability of land for communities to grow. We hope to have the new programme fully up and running by July. We have also teamed up with the Co-operative in Wales to deliver 4 regional events on member projects this summer - at Swansea Community Farm, Riverside Community Garden,
Ashfield Community Enterprise and Moelyci Environmental Centre. The events will be open to the public and free of charge and include a range of gardening, food and environmental activities. For further details of these and other events visit the website. www.farmgarden.org.uk/wales
Funding success for our work in Scotland Landowners Guide published
We’re delighted to announce that Scottish Natural Heritage will be funding our work in Scotland again over the next two years, to promote the benefits of community gardens as hubs for health and biodiversity. We’ll be training our fieldworkers in biological recording procedures that are relevant and proportionate for small scale community projects. The fieldworkers will then be able to pass these skills on during site visits, and we’ll be organising training and workshops on this and related topics. We know that projects are interested in learning more about wildlife and habitat management, so we’ll be working with partner organisations (eg Froglife, Paths for All) to make information on these subjects available (eg how to maintain more unusual habitats,
such as hedgerows along paths near your community garden). And, finally, this year, we’ll be promoting the Year of Natural Scotland and how you can get involved! Keep an eye out for our enewsletters with more details.
This new publication was launched at the Scottish Parliament on 7 March by Paul Wheelhouse MSP, Minister for the Environment and Climate Change. Produced by the Community Land Advisory Service, Scottish Land and Estates and the Scottish Government, the guide contains lots of practical information, including template leases, advice on negotiation, what to include in heads of terms and legal and regulatory issues to consider when allowing community use of land. We hope it will be useful to landowners and result in more land being used for community growing. We will also be publishing versions for use by landowners in England and in Wales shortly. Page
Members
Kewstoke Youth and Community Farm K
ewstoke Youth and Community Farm is a brand new project in Somerset set up on a site that had been unused for six years. It was launched on 10 April with an official open day attended by The Mayor and Mayoress of Weston-super-Mare and local parish councillors. The project has been set up as a social enterprise, not for profit organisation. Work actually commenced back in September when a landshare agreement was signed by Cygnet Hospital which allowed volunteers to start the process of clearing and tidying the site ready for the official opening. The farm provides work placements for the long term unemployed, people with mental health issues, NEETS, students from PRU’s/EOTAS or those who are struggling with mainstream education. It offers an alternative to classroom studies. The project is mainly horticultural, with the use of glasshouses and outdoor space affording an opportunity for hands on learning and training. Individuals wishing to get involved are also very welcome and may well have skills that they can pass on, helping others and the project. Due to limited space the concentration will be on growing unusual crops including lemon crystal cucumbers, 14 varieties of chillies, purple radishes, Italian cauliflower, elephant garlic and okra, to name just a few. To date, work completed includes re-instating working Page
glasshouses, building animal pens and housing, setting up the wormery, planting trees and a small fruiting bush area, pruning established apple trees, and a general tidy up of the site. The farm does have some livestock: a kune kune pig, three pygmy goats (who came with collars and leads and will be taught to go out on walks) and nine chickens, six of whom are rescue birds from battery farming. This will be all for the time being unless the group are able to acquire the use of additional land. They’d love to have more, as Jackie Williams, Project Manager explains:“When working with disengaged young people especially, there are just so many seeds you can put in a pot before it becomes boring. The animals add another dimension to their time spent with us”. Work either underway or to commence shortly includes re-skinning the polytunnel, installing a bio-loo, re-instating the allotments, replacing panel
fencing, building an earth oven, moving in a bee hive, creating an ant farm and continued planting and growing activities. Initial funding has been received from Awards for All and a part time salary for the project manager from UnLtd, a fund which supports young people with entrepreneurial ideas that can be developed into worthwhile projects. There has also been support by way of a donation towards the cost of seeds from Rose Tree Caravan Park and individuals who have donated unwanted tools, pots and plants. Ultimately the project aims to become sustainable and self funding. Find Kewstoke Youth and Community Farm on Facebook.
We would really love to hear from you! Please send us your news so we can include it in the next issue of Growing Places. diane@farmgarden.org.uk
Members
Leaves not on the line at London Road Station...
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his case study from the Community Land Advisory Service shows how community groups can adopt their local station and help make it a great environment for the local community and commuters alike. London Road Station Garden is a community garden producing food in a small space next to a Brighton station. The garden began in 2011 after the local Resident’s Association saw the leaflet ‘Southern Station Partnership’ (which can befound here: www.southernrailway.com/ southern/our-stakeholders/stationpartnerships). The land for the garden was unused and needed care. It is owned by Network Rail and leased to Southern Rail. The group use the land for free. The railway have been very helpful since the group have signed up as ‘Station Partners’. The group said “We couldn’t believe how easy it was”. The railway provides insurance and have paid for woodchip and water butts. Other support with cash, plants, publicity and information has come from nearby businesses, Brighton Permaculture Trust, Brighton and Hove Food Partnership, Brighton and Hove City Council and RHS. The ground was hardcore and concrete with some concerns about contamination. Initially the group used containers but now there are raised beds built from donated scaffolding planks. Soil is brought in, some derived from the group’s new composting scheme on a nearby plot. The group has gone on to take on the care of nearby council planters.
Stories for youngsters based on city farms A new series of books has been published set on the Harvest Hope Project at a fictional city farm.
London Road Station is one of many gardens on railway land. Others include FCFCG members Bedminster Station Garden and Eastside Roots, both in Bristol. Network Rail owns all railway land but most land at stations is leased to train operators. Most train operators have ‘Adopt a Station’ schemes. For example see: www.acorp.uk.com/Assets/Acorp Station Adoption.pdf If you would like to use railway land, ask your local station who is responsible for the land you are interested in. Because of the way it is regulated, the Network Rail scheme does involve a licence agreement, which is annually renewable. At most of its sites food-growing would need to be in raised beds. Mike Franklin runs the national Community Scheme on Network Rail directly managed land. www. networkrail.co.uk/aspx/5847.aspx mike.franklin@networkrail.co.uk For more about the London Road Station project see: http://londonrdstationpartnership. wordpress.com
Aimed at readers aged 8-10 years old, each title features two main characters - a child and an animal at the farm - and focuses on how the child’s involvement in the project and with the animals helps them cope with challenges they are facing. The first two titles in the series are ‘Emily and Patch’ and ‘Zoe and Swift’. Esme age 7, enjoyed ‘Emily and Patch’. She says: “I loved this book and I want to get the rest in the series. My big sister is 10 and she likes it too. It reminded me a lot of visiting the city farm, I could picture it all and it made me feel like going back to the city farm.” Esme’s mum, Jade, adds: “My kids loved these books and I was pleased with the way they were able to relate to the sympathetically described accounts of the issues children face. I think the books will encourage tolerance of other people.” Your project might wish to contact the publisher to discuss offering stock for sale in your on-site shop. www.curious-fox.com
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Members
Alice Park Community Garden J
ulia Butler describes how this exciting new community garden in a public park in Larkhall, Bath got off the ground, their successes to date and the group’s plans for the future. “In 2010, a piece of unused ground hidden behind a tall hedge in a corner of Alice Park was spotted by local resident and Transition Larkhall member Kathy Cook. Transition Larkhall had the idea of creating a community space or hub where local people could gain skills and knowledge to grow their own fruit and vegetables. Recognising the site’s potential, Kathy obtained permission from the park trustees and the local council and Alice Park Community Garden began to grow. “A core group of volunteers from Transition Larkhall were gradually joined by other local residents. In the first year, the group used funding raised through open garden events, donations for produce, tree sponsorships and cake sales, to buy seeds, materials to build raised beds and fencing for espalier fruit trees. “A bountiful first harvest encouraged us to apply for more funding to develop the garden. A successful Awards for All bid provided funds for a part-time paid post for volunteer development. We ran a programme of events to attract new volunteers including making willow structures, building compost bins, organic gardening, creating a pond, the basics of permaculture and pruning, cooking outside and activities for children. “At the end of 2012, the community garden secured a £20,000 Community Spaces Grant from the Big Lottery Fund.The Page
money has been put towards a traditional green oak shelter, the construction of which has involved the local community and students from local colleges. The grant will also enable us to build seating, lay a path for disabled access, create a sensory planting scheme, landscape a pond and add fencing. “With the future of the community garden secure, the small group of regular volunteers has been running to keep up as the project has grown. We have had to learn new skills along the way including how to manage a website and publicity, keeping to deadlines and contractual criteria set out by the grant providers, dealing with a large budget and overcoming obstacles that have caused delays (eg, the soil had to be tested and some of it replaced due to contamination). “We have a passionate team of people committed to the garden and although at times it can feel overwhelming, we somehow find the time to make things happen when they need to. Having said that, it’s very important for us not to forget that what we are growing only responds to the
right conditions and a great deal of nurturing - and that goes for people as well as plants! Meeting regularly to share food is key to not only keeping the project on track but also enjoying it. “Building the team of volunteers continues to be crucial to the longterm success of the community garden. Our focus once the structural work is finished will be to put our energy into making new links and strengthening those we have already with our local community. A group of children from a local infant school will be making weekly visits in the summer term to enjoy planting and harvesting in the garden and a regular parent and pre-school group use the garden throughout the year. “We hope to attract new volunteers and friends of the garden through continued training, skill-shares, education and social events and look forward to celebrating this year’s harvest with many items on our wish list from three years ago ticked off!” http://aliceparkcommunitygarden. org
Members
Briardale Kids’ Kitchen and Café
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riardale Community Centre in Blyth, Northumberland is a purpose built centre with meeting rooms, a café, sports facilities, crèche and community gardens.The gardens and growing area have developed over the last 13 years, largely by relying on volunteers. However, this past year the centre has received funding from Catch 22 Community Spaces Challenge, Northumberland Youth Offending Service and Remedy. Their funding success has allowed the centre to extend their reach further into the community and to develop several new projects. In return they were awarded the community benefit award in the annual Northumberlands’ Finest Awards. The centre also played host to attendees on an FCFCG/Co-operative Membership ‘Together We Can’ event last autumn and ran a fruit-grafting course in their newly extended community orchard. Possibly the centre’s most exciting project, according to centre manager Jean Bell, is it’s innovative ‘Kids Kitchen and Café’. Jean explains: “I love this project. We have a core group of seven young volunteers aged between 7 and 13 years old who for the past year have worked hard attending weekly cookery lessons
and have passed thier level 1 Food Hygiene certificate. Their ultimate goal was to open up a cafe for the community - not just at the centre but a mobile café that could be taken out to schools, fairs and other local events. “The young people have been involved at every stage in the development of the project from creating their own recipe books and menus, applying for funding, designing logos, running cookery competitions, and cleaning and painting the summer house in preparation for the cafe’s grand opening last summer. Wherever possible, they use produce from the centre gardens as the basis for the menus on offer.
“Hopefully the success of the Kids’ Kitchen and Café project to date means that these youngsters have learned these lessons and can spread the word.” Meanwhile, the rest of the team are busy grafting their own fruit trees to help set up new orchards in the area, developing the growing areas, running gardening courses, expanding their plant sales to include natural and herbal remedies and making full use of their new polytunnel! Never a dull moment. www.briardalecentre.org.uk
“They have been encouraged to look at the kitchen and café as an opportunity to get an insight on how to run your own business with support from partners and centre staff. And, of course, to learn about healthy eating and exercise in a fun way. “We started out with the question ‘what can we learn from our grandparents? The answers we came up with were: • how to cook proper food • a little bit of muck does not harm you • grow your own veggies • do all of these and have a long and healthy life!
We would really love to hear from you! Please send us your news so we can include it in the next issue of Growing Places. diane@farmgarden.org.uk Page
Members
Busy bees at Brockwell Community Gr B
rockwell Park Community Greenhouses is a small charity within Brockwell Park in Lambeth, South London. Since 1998, the project has provided opportunities for recreational, therapeutic and educational activities in a community garden setting. With its inclusive approach to volunteering, and a strong commitment to working with local schools and families, the organisation is going from strength to strength and, after being entirely volunteer-run for 14 years, now has three part-time workers. This unique site has two large greenhouses and was originally designed to grow plants and produce for the main house, now Brockwell Hall. It was then taken over by Lambeth Council and, in latter years, given over to the community. The one acre gardens include an orchard, a kitchen garden, herb and dye plant areas and an apiary for bees and is popular with park users and local residents. The last two years have seen significant developments in the work and capacity of the community greenhouses. In particular the employment of a short-term Project Development Worker enabled the charity to secure funding for three part-time posts over three years. A paid Education Officer, Community Gardener and Director now lead and support the work of the volunteers. In addition, as part of wider works and restoration in Brockwell Park, the community greenhouses have received Heritage Lottery Funding for its own site improvements. These have included a muchneeded new kitchen/community Page 10
room and toilet, accessible paths, storage facilities, and improved water access. The charity is now extending its reach and impact by establishing closer links with the park in which it is based. It has also been selected to be one of three ‘growing hubs’ within the borough of Lambeth. This means it will be providing valuable support and advice to local people and other local growing initiatives. Many new projects have already been launched on site and off, such as a popular ‘Nature Explorers’ club for children and families, and a series of horticultural workshops for adults. The recent new developments have not come without challenges. Building work on site impacted significantly on last years’ planting and wider activities. A flexible approach was needed to adapt to the situation, whilst continuing to provide an amenity to the public. The organisation had to recognise the constraints and thus adapt activities and rein-in plans. Meanwhile, the transition from being completely volunteer-run to employing three staff members
has been a learning curve in terms of understanding the formal responsibilities of employing staff and becoming a more professionally-run organisation. It has meant taking time to reassess the site and the charity, reflecting on how to do things in a more managed way, expanding and broadening the capacity of the board of trustees - all the while trying to retain the informal and relaxed atmosphere of the community greenhouses which visitors and volunteers enjoy. The ability to engage the diverse and knowledgeable local community has been key to the organisation’s success over recent years. The activities and projects of the community greenhouses have been hugely influenced by the areas of interest of local residents and volunteers. For example, volunteers with significant knowledge of nontraditional plants have enabled the project to trial a rice paddy and grow many Asian vegetables including a wide variety of gourds and Asian herbs. This has tied in with cooking events, trips to nearby Brixton market and propagating workshops.
Members
reenhouses
Loch na Mhoid Community Garden Highland communities are growing! One of our furthest flung new members is Loch na Mhoid Community Garden, one of two community gardens project initiated by Transition Black Isle. The Black Isle is a peninsula of about 100 sq miles north east of Inverness in Scotland. Zane Wright a new volunteer at the garden describes what being involved in the project means to him.
An inclusive approach to volunteering has meant that people of diverse backgrounds and needs are able to participate. The community greenhouses seeks to combine the formalisation of volunteering (by providing support to volunteers, updating policies and procedures and working to good practice guidelines) with the ability to be flexible, appeal to different kinds of people and create opportunities for all. It has found that enabling practical on-site experience has helped increase the confidence of many volunteers at all levels. There are big plans to expand current volunteer, horticulture and education activities. This includes looking at the feasibility of ideas such as a field kitchen, horticultural training schemes, increased opening times to the public and more work with other partners in the park. Funding options will also be explored to make the organisation sustainable, ensuring a lasting benefit for the community, and for future capital projects to further improve and restore different parts of the garden. www.brockwellgreenhouses. org.uk
“I joined Loch na Mhoid Community Garden early in the spring and although I had done some gardening, I hadn’t any experience of growing vegetables. Several things, including the warm welcome and friendly folk, attracted me to the community garden. I liked the idea that I could choose any size of plot so it isn’t too daunting and lots of help and advice is available. We have a polytunnel to propagate and grow more delicate plants - plus the summer house provides a great place for taking a tea break. “Outside work has included digging over beds and adding edging woven with wood cuttings from the willow plantation at the croft. We prepared the community tattie patch in March and in late April, planted Orla and Duke of York seed potatoes. We dug over the patch in the snow and planted in a hail storm so we are hoping to harvest in warm sunshine! The weather has been a challenge for everyone this spring - not least up here in the highlands. Our polytunnel
certainly earns its keep. We have an excellent watering system so there are no worries about the beds drying out. “It’s been a great decision to join in. I really enjoy the time spent working, both by myself and with other gardeners. I’m looking forward to spending more time working on the outdoor beds and eventually sampling the produce.” www.transitionblackisle.org/ loch-na-mhoid
Networking Event: ‘Grow the Future - Community Growing in the Highlands’ 21 June, Inverness An event for everyone interested in community growing in Highlands Region. The day will include presentations from a range of community growing projects in the region, workshops and opportunities to speak with a range of funders. We’ll be looking at how to make community growing work in the Highlands and how the Highland Council can support and promote community growing. www.farmgarden.org.uk/events/ fcfcg-events-in-scotland
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Events and networking
© Ian Traynor
‘Hands on for Habitat Heroes’ in the North
Following the success of the ‘Together we can’ programme of events run in partnership with The Co-operative in 2012, our members in the North are hosting another series of events this year, for cooperative members and the public. Inspired by the Habitat Heroes programme on co-operative Farms, the aim is to work together to improve habitats for protected and endangered species including otters, dragonflies, crayfish, grass snakes, water voles, bats and barn owls. It’s also a great way for our members to raise their profile in the wider community. The events will be taking place between June and October at Ouseburn Farm (Newcastleupon-Tyne), Northcliffe Nurseries (Bradford), York Environment Centre, Low Luckens Resource Centre (Carlisle), Springvale Community Garden (Sheffield) and Meanwood Valley Urban Farm (Leeds). Full details and booking on our website: www.farmgarden. org.uk/habitatheroes
New futures in farmland ownership This event on 2 July in Bristol, run by the Soil Association and Biodynamic Land Trust in partnership with the Community Land Advisory Service, will look at farmland ownership, how we can make it stack up economically and how communities in France have taken real ownership of their land and food supply through the work of Terre de Liens. This event is part of an EU wide project on access to land for sustainable farming and will include participants from across Europe with stories to share about sustainable management of agricultural land. In particular we will hear from Terre de Liens, the phenomenal story of how a civil society organisation set up to address
This event is open to all and will be particularly relevant for nonprofit landowners, community growers and new farmers seeking to buy land and organisations interested in improving access to land. The event is free with lunch provided at £6/head. Contact Rachel Harries to book your place. rharries@soilassociation.org For more information about Terre de Liens visit: www.landco.nl/uploads/Case Study_Terre de Liens.pdf
Chicken keeping - it’s all the rage Chicken-keeping is one of Britain’s fastest growing hobbies. This spring Heeley City Farm has been helping amateur poultry keepers get started with a DIY chicken-keeping course. Sarah Wild, who leads the one-day ‘Get hands on with chickens’ course, explains: “We get so many requests for guidance and information from would-be chicken keepers, we knew the course would be popular. We ran the course last year and half of those who came are now happy hen-owners and the others are still planning to be.” We’d like to build up a picture of the range and extent of this type of informal training on offer from
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the difficulties faced by organic and peasant farmers in securing land, has raised €22.5million and acquired more than 100 organic and biodynamic farms in the past 6 years. Founder Sjoerd Wartena will talk about their experiences of setting up a national farmland ownership body in France.
our members and how these services are funded. If your project runs a similar course in chicken keeping or other aspects of animal husbandry or self-sufficiency please get in touch. And of course, we can also help publicise your events on our website. admin@farmgarden.org.uk
Events and networking
Setting up a city farm Our team in the north of England has seen a surge of interest in setting up city farms recently, with a flurry of queries from across Greater Manchester, and as far afield as York, Teeside and Liverpool. Consequently, on a crisp February morning a group of potential city farmers gathered at Rice Lane City Farm in Liverpool for a day of discussion, learning, sharing ideas and networking. All the projects were at different stages: some still firmly in the planning stages, one had just been given land to develop, one with funding and no site, and others with sites but no funding. A couple of the projects were already up and running, with strong community bases but wanting to expand. Given this diversity there were different visions to describe, a lot of experience to share and, being at Rice Lane City Farm, plenty of opportunity to listen to and learn from a seasoned city farmer. Maria Hornsby, Youth Worker at Rice Lane and FCFCG Board Member, gave a tour of the farm and led discussions on issues
20-24 June, EFCF Conference 2014, Norway The first EFCF Conference to take place in the Arctic will focus on giving our children ‘roots and wings’. Intrigued? Find out more at: www. cityfarms.org/events/view/23
1-7 June, Volunteers Week around growing food, raising livestock, funding, diversifying income and community involvement. Ali, from Operation Farm, shared the vision they had created through their community consultation, while other groups wanted to know about farm overhead costs, such as feed stuffs, or discuss concepts and models of farming such as ‘pocket farms’ and market gardening. The session was well-received thanks to people being willing to discuss their problems and their successes and since then some of the projects have made exciting progress. Hopefully their stories will be appearing in forthcoming issues of ‘Growing Places’.
‘Can do’ guidance to make organising community events simpler The government is to publish improved guidance to make it easier for people to organise voluntary events in their communities, removing inconsistencies and confusion highlighted by a recent review of existing information and support. The ‘Can Do’ Events Guidance will contain easy-to-understand information on planning, health and safety, access
Diary
issues, budgeting, booking and licensing, insurance and use of public land. It will provide useful links to specialist information, advice for sporting and other specialist events, and a ‘myth-buster’ to overcome misconceptions around volunteering. The new guidance will be published later this year.
This year’s Volunteers’ Week focuses on saying ‘Thank You’ to the millions of volunteers who regularly contribute to society and sets out to celebrate the work of volunteers across the UK. http://volunteersweek.org
2 June, The Big Lunch An opportunity for people throughout the UK to get together with their neighbours on the first Sunday in June and have lunch - with your project as the venue? www.thebiglunch.com
25 June, Communities buying land, Birmingham This event is aimed at community groups interested in buying land. www.farmgarden.org.uk/ events/fcfcg-events-in-england
5-6 July, Growing Education - School Farms Conference at Phoenix High School, London Aimed at everyone involved in education, including community groups supporting schools with food growing. The conference will be a mix of expert presentations, workshops and site visits to nearby community gardens and gardens. www.schoolfarms.org.uk Page 13
Management
Safeguarding FAQ’s Some recent changes have taken place relating to safeguarding. The Criminal Record Bureau and Independent Safeguarding Authority have now merged to form the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). Some of the terminology and definitions relating to safeguarding have also changed.
Portable checks Criminal record checks are now portable. Employees and volunteers only have to apply once to the DBS. They can then check online at a later date to see if their certificate is still up to date. Employers can also do this but there may be a charge to them for this service.
Different types of checks There are five different type of check offered by the DBS depending on the type of activity involved and the client group engaged in that activity, e.g. children or vulnerable adults.
They are: standard; enhanced; enhanced and barred list check (child); enhanced and barred list check (adult): and enhanced and barred list check (child and adult).
Regulated activity The barred list checks apply when an employee or volunteer is involved in a regulated activity. This definition covers unsupervised activities (teach, train, instruct, care for or supervise children) or providing advice/guidance on well-being, or drive a vehicle (only for children). It also covers working in ‘specified places’ with the opportunity for contact, e.g. schools. It does not cover supervised volunteers. There is guidance on what is classed as supervision. How regularly or frequently work is carried out will also determine whether it is a regulated activity. Further details at: www. homeoffice.gov.uk/agenciespublic-bodies/dbs
Management resources Gift aid is going online - reminder If you claim Gift Aid, you must take action now to prepare for the new online system. The transition period for implementing the changes will end on 30 September this year. This is a tight timescale so it’s important that you take steps now to ensure you have everything in place. If you don’t, your claims may end up being delayed or even reduced in value. For a step by step guide to how to prepare for the new system visit: www.ncvo-vol. org.uk/advice-support/fundingfinance/financial-management/ tax/giftaid
...and PAYE is now in real time (RTI) Most employers will now report PAYE information to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in real time. This means that employers (or their accountant, bookkeeper or payroll bureau) must: • send details to HMRC every time they pay an employee, at the time they pay them • use payroll software to send this information electronically as part of their routine payroll process For full details of how to implement the necessary changes visit: www.hmrc.gov. uk/payerti/getting-started
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Resources Hot Beds – How to grow early crops using an age-old technique Jane Robinson, FCFCG Fieldworker reviews this new book all about harnessing heat generated by the composting process to produce a range of early crops.
This new service brings together top digital tools and tips in one place - grouping them under common activities like managing or evaluating projects, recruiting volunteers, fundraising and profile raising. Includes case studies and reviews from people using the tools already to help you assess how useful it would be for you.
“Jack First has decanted his wealth of expertise and experience into this book which will inspire and encourage everyone to ‘have a go’ for themselves. Making hot beds is an old technique but one which is definitely overdue for a revival. “The basic technique involves collecting fresh manure and managing this in such a way as to heat a covered growing bed. This enables the gardener to advance crops by two months or so using very simple materials. For those who prefer to avoid manure or where it is not available, there are plenty of alternatives – autumn leaves, cotton or wool textiles, cardboard, straw, often enhanced by that easily available accelerator, urine. “The book is rich in inspiring photographs and helpful diagrams which make it absolutely clear how to set about making your own hot bed. Jack’s passion for experimentation shines through every chapter, and despite the depth of his own knowledge, he still encourages the reader to try further research for themselves. Any question about the technique is predicted and answered fully and honestly, always mindful of wildlife and nature and of making good use of waste resources. “You may have been lucky enough to catch Jack on Gardener’s World, when presenter Joe Swift made his way to visit the Keighley allotments where
Community How To - digital tool guide
www.communityhowto.com
Grow your charity online
Jack co-ordinates volunteers from the Cellar Project (still available for viewing - www.bbc.co.uk/ programmes/p00r9xf5 ). Joe was bowled over by Jack’s knowledge and expertise – and now you can access it yourself through this handsome little volume.” Price: £9.95 ISBN: 9780857841063 www.greenbooks.co.uk Jack First also runs practical hot bed workshops from the Cellar Project Allotments in Keighley, West Yorkshire. To find out when the next course will be, see the website: www. thecellarproject.co.uk For any other information, Jack can be contacted direct by email: jackfirstgrove@aol.com
Another website aiming to demystify the web, social media and other online tools to help charities maximise the benefits of using these.There are stacks of free tools to try, and you could even get extra support from Google Grants. www.growyourcharityonline. com
Edible City - the movie Edible City: Grow the Revolution is a fun, fast-paced, feature-length documentary journey through the local Good Food movement that’s taking root in the San Francisco Bay Area, across the nation and around the world. Edible City shows how everyone can get involved in transforming our food system. You can watch the film for free online or organise a screening in your community. http://ediblecitythemovie.com Page 15
Funding, training and other opportunities Active Communities A programme which aims to close the gap between those communities which experience the worst health in England, Scotland and Wales and the majority of the population. Grants of between £5,000 and £25,000 are available for small projects designed and run by local people that address issues relevant to them and benefit and improve their local community. Visit the website to check whether the funding programme in your area is open to receive applications and that your organisation is eligible to apply. www.peopleshealthtrust.org.uk
The Bernard Sunley Charitable Foundation This foundation makes three types of grant: major grants of £50,000 and above, medium grants between £5,000 and £50,000 and small grants below £5,000. Small grants account for 80% of those awarded annually. Applicants must be registered charities and fall into one of several criteria including community, animal welfare, education and environment. www.bernardsunley.org
Co-operative Community Fund Community Fund grants between £100 and £2,000 are awarded to community, voluntary, or self-help groups to run projects that: • address a community issue • provide a good long-term benefit to the community • support co-operative values and principles • ideally are innovative in their approach. Page 16
Applications can be submitted at any time using the online form. www.co-operative.coop/ membership/local-communities/ community-fund
Finding Finance The Community Development Finance Association have a website called ‘Finding Finance’ to help third sector organisations search their members for sources of loan finance. www.findingfinance.org.uk/ find-finance
Foyle Foundation Small Grants One year grants of between £1,000 and £10,000 are available to smaller charities (annual turnover of less than £100,000), working at grassroots and local community level, in any field, across a wide range of activities. Applicants must be able to demonstrate that such a grant will make a significant difference to their work. www.foylefoundation.org.uk/ small-grants-scheme
Grimple’s Green Grants Grants of up to £1,000 for green projects across the UK. Further details and application form available at: www.greeninsurancegiving.co.uk/ how-to-apply
Henry Smith’s Charity The Henry Smith Charity makes grants totalling approximately £25 million each year for initiatives and projects that address social inequality and economic disadvantage.
Unfortunately, their small grants programme for grants of under £10,000 per year is currently closed but their main grants programme for larger grants is still open. www.henrysmithcharity.org.uk
Lloyds TSB Foundation for England & Wales The Lloyds TSB Foundation’s Community Programme funds local, regional and national charities working to tackle disadvantage across England and Wales. Their focus is on supporting small and medium underfunded charities that can make a significant difference to the lives of disadvantaged people by helping them to play a fuller role in the community. They make grants over one to three years that are appropriate to the size and needs of each charity. www.lloydstsbfoundations.org.uk
Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland The Foundation distributes its funds to registered charities in Scotland which are focused on improving the quality of life for people in Scotland who are disadvantaged or at risk of becoming disadvantaged. It has a particular emphasis on funding grassroots charities. www.ltsbfoundationforscotland. org.uk
Pure Community Energy Fund The Pure Community Energy Fund provides low-interest loans for small scale renewable energy projects.
Funding, training and other opportunities Technologies eligible for funding include: • anaerobic digestion • hydro power • photovoltaics • wind turbines • air, water and ground source heat pumps • solar thermal • biomass boilers. Charities, community groups and not-for-profit organisations can apply for a loan to cover 50% or a maximum of £50,000 towards the cost of renewable energy installations. Loans can be repaid over a term which suits the cash flow for each individual project up to a maximum of five years. www.puretrust.org.uk
BIG - Reaching Communities Reaching Communities funds projects that help people and communities who are most in need, and can really make a difference. It funds revenue projects of between £10,000 and £500,000 and/or capital projects up to £50,000. A hugely popular programme, but worth a look. www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/prog_ reaching_communities
Santander: Community Plus The Santander Foundation has launched a new £1.23 million Community Plus Fund to support charities helping local disadvantaged people across the UK. Funding of up to £5,000 is available for a specific project that helps disadvantaged people. The applicant must be a local charity or local project of a larger charity. www.santanderfoundation.org. uk/community-plus
Skipton’s Celebration Giveaway Skipton Building Society has launched a new community giving programme, created to support local communities. They are looking for groups such as community allotments, groups running activities for young people, or social groups for the elderly, for example. They would like to support projects which get very little support elsewhere by offering a £500 donation. Closing date: 31 July http://skiptonbig160.co.uk
Trusthouse Charitable Foundation Trusthouse Charitable Foundation are a medium-sized grant maker, awarding around 300 grants totalling circa £2 million each year. Their grants programme supports projects in the UK which address issues in rural communities and/or areas of urban deprivation. Within these two main headings, they are interested in helping established projects which work in the fields of community support, arts, education and heritage, disability and health care. Trusthouse gives grants for running costs or one-off capital costs to charities and not-for-profit organisations. See the website for full details and an application form. www.trusthousecharitable foundation.org.uk
Veolia Trust This trust is committed to supporting community and environmental projects across the UK. These could include projects aiming to install or enhance play
areas and skate parks, restore footpaths and green spaces, protect natural habitats, or improve community halls. Projects need to be within five miles of a site operated by Veolia Environmental Services and must also fall under one of five funding categories detailed on the website www.veoliatrust.org
Yapp Charitable Trust The Yapp Charitable Trust make grants to small registered charities to sustain their existing work with: • elderly people • children and young people • people with disabilities or mental health problems • people trying to overcome lifelimiting problems of a social, rather than medical, origin • education and learning (with a particular interest in people who are educationally disadvantaged, whether adults or children). www.yappcharitabletrust.org.uk
InfoZone Don’t forget that as an FCFCG member you can access a wealth of online information resources via our website. Simply visit: www.farmgarden. org.uk/infozone
Enewsletter Containing funding and other opportunities, the enewsletter is sent out to members inbetween issues of Growing Places. If you would like to make sure you are on the mailing list, please send your email address to: ken@farmgarden.org.uk Page 17
FCFCG member services
Make the most of your FCFCG membership
A
s an FCFCG member you are part of the wider movement of community-managed green spaces that benefit from the support, representation and promotion FCFCG provides. This page summarises the key benefits available to you.
Support Services • Development staff and a pool of experienced Fieldworkers based across the UK provide practical help and advice on a range of subjects and issues. • Emergency information and support (eg for disease outbreaks such as bird flu). • Free financial advice session with our Finance Manager (subject to availability). • Access to specialist support networks and initiatives including the School Farms Network and Growing With Schools. • Networking and training opportunities, including local networking and training events throughout the year on themes requested by our membership. These events are free or highly subsidised for members.
Publications and mailings • You will receive free copies, either by post or email depending on your membership category, of our quarterly members’ newsletter Growing Places, and our Summer Public Newsletter and Annual Review. • Single hard copies of publications are available free to members on request, where available. • Multiple copies of promotional publications such as maps and Page 18
leaflets are also available. • We will circulate your inserts for job vacancies, events etc free of charge in our postal mailings.
Travel Bursaries • Travel bursaries of up to £150 (when available) towards the costs of visits to other community groups in your area or to our training/networking events. For more details contact your local FCFCG staff member.
Online Services • You will have access to our comprehensive online resource centre in the members Info Zone on our website. • Copies of publications and newsletters are available to download. • Using FCFCG website’s online shop to market items for sale (in development). • Advertising and promotion for your events on our website. • Our site has specific regional or country pages with useful local information. • Regular e-newsletters and ebulletins to keep you informed of news, funding, training and information resources.
Other benefits • Information about a public liability insurance scheme designed specifically for allotments and community gardens (joining FCFCG does NOT mean you automatically have insurance cover). • Access to our exhibitions, digital presentations, photographs and videos.
• Access to FCFCG grants and bursaries (when available) and subsidised feasibility studies and consultancy services at discounted rates. • Members who receive visitors are prioritised to be featured in our popular map publications, highlighting city farms and community gardens in regions across the UK which are available free to the general public. • There are opportunities for FCFCG to raise your profile if you: host events that we run, have an article in Growing Places magazine or host a Seeing is Believing tour for policy makers. • Members can nominate someone to the FCFCG Board.
NCVO/SCVO membership NCVO in England and SCVO in Scotland are umbrella bodies providing specialised information, advice and support to the voluntary and community sector. All English FCFCG community members with an income of less than £10,000 per year are automatically eligible for free NCVO community membership. For details of NCVO benefits see: www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/FCFCG All Scottish FCFCG community members with an income of less than £25,000 per year are entitled to free SCVO membership. For details of SCVO benefits see: www.scvo.org.uk Unfortunately, we do not currently offer a similar benefit for members in Wales and Northern Ireland.
FCFCG member services
Get in touch... F
CFCG has several offices throughout the UK through which we deliver our services to members.
Areas covered by our Development Workers Key: Northern Ireland Scotland
General enquiries
Wales
Staff at our UK office in Bristol can deal with general enquiries, press and PR, membership, finance, and requests for information and support. Our Chief Executive, Jeremy Iles, can also be contacted at this office.
South West
Tel. 0117 923 1800 admin@farmgarden.org.uk
Development staff across the UK Our development staff can provide specialist hands-on advice and have a knowledge of sources of information, support and funding in your area. For details of individual staff in each team please see the relevant pages of our website.
Wales Our Wales staff work from offices in Cardiff, Pembrokeshire, and Llanberis. The team in Cardiff deals with general enquiries and can provide contact details for the other offices.
Midlands North England London East England
Northern Ireland Our Northern Ireland team are based in Belfast. Tel. 07725 699 442 ni@farmgarden.org.uk www.farmgarden.org.uk/ northern-ireland
England We have four offices in England:
North
Midlands
Our Midlands team are based in Coventry. Tel. 02476 675 211 midlands@farmgarden.org.uk www.farmgarden.org.uk/midlands
Projects and partnerships
Tel. 01207 562 317 or 0161 275 9725 north@farmgarden.org.uk www.farmgarden.org.uk/north
www.farmgarden.org.uk/ education gws@farmgarden.org.uk
South West
Scotland
Tel. 01752 267 293 southwest@farmgarden.org.uk www.farmgarden.org.uk/ south-west
Tel. 0131 623 7058 scotland@farmgarden.org.uk www.farmgarden.org.uk/scotland
Our London team are based at Kentish Town City Farm. Tel. 0207 485 5001 london@farmgarden.org.uk www.farmgarden.org.uk/london
Our staff in the North of England are based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Manchester.
Tel. 02920 235 535 or 225 942 wales@farmgarden.org.uk www.farmgarden.org.uk/wales
Our Scottish team are based at Gorgie City Farm, Edinburgh.
London and the East
Our South West team are based in Plymouth.
Growing with Schools (GWS)
Community Land Advice Service (CLAS) www.communitylandadvice. org.uk england@communitylandadvice. org.uk scotland@communitylandadvice. org.uk wales@communitylandadvice. org.uk Page 19
Growing Places Members’ magazine - Issue 2 2013, May UK Office The GreenHouse, Hereford Street, Bristol, BS3 4NA Tel. 0117 923 1800 Fax. 0117 923 1900 admin@farmgarden.org.uk
www.farmgarden.org.uk News, events, job vacancies, how to set up a new city farm or community garden, members zone and online seachable database giving details of city farms and community gardens across the UK.
Copy date for next issue: 24 June 2013 We are happy to include items sent in by members, including news about your project, ideas and advice for other projects.
Please note:
Supporting communities to manage their local green spaces. Patron HRH The Prince of Wales Chief Executive Jeremy Iles Chair David Drury Charity no. 294494 Company no. 2011023 Scottish charity no. SCO39440 Printed using vegetable-based inks on recycled paper.
This newsletter can be made available in large type, Braille or on audio-tape. Tel. 0117 923 1800 FCFCG receives funding from many sources including: