Growing Places Members’ magazine, Summer 2014
• Growing Well: Inspiring well-being through community growing • A quiet revolution in alternative education at Lambourne End • Active citizens at Windmill Hill City Farm
• Urban Roots - growing in Glasgow
Inside this issue
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elcome to the summer issue of Growing Places 2014. As this goes to print, here in Bristol we’ve had a fantastic spell of truly lovely summer weather - but rain is forecast just in time for Glastonbury so all our gardens will get a good drink and undoubtably benefit as a result. As we all know community growing is about much more than plants and gardening. Our new programme, Growing Well, funded by the Ellerman Foundation, aims to demonstrate this. See opposite for full details
and there are features on two of the member projects who will be participating in the first year of the programme - Cloughmills Community Action Team in N Ireland and Urban Roots, Glasgow - on pages 11 and 12 respectively.
Contents
Other articles have an education focus. Keeley Thomas, Growing Schools Co-ordinator, shares her experiences of supporting schools with growing and keeping livestock. The team at Lambourne End Outdoor Education Centre describe their creative and flexible approach to education placements and how pupils are reaping the benefits.
Alternative education at Lambourne End
The copy date for the autumn issue is 5 September. Please send your news to the Editor: diane@farmgarden.org.uk On the cover: Enjoying the sunshine at Riverside Community Allotment, Cardiff
Growing Well programme launch
3
News
4-5
Chickens in schools
6-7
Noticeboard
7 8-9
Active citizens at Windmill Hill City Farm
10
Cloughmills Community Action Team, N Ireland
11
Urban Roots, Glasgow
12
Events and networking
13
Management
14
Resources
15
Funding, training and other opportunities
16 - 17
Member services and FCFCG contact details
18 - 19
New members
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e now have 634 members. A warm welcome to all those that have joined since the last issue. South West England • Eastcott Community Garden, Swindon • SPRA Edible Garden & Community Allotment, Cheltenham • Chamomile Project, Helston South East and Eastern England • Shefford Allotments & Leisure Gardens Association, Bedfordshire • Ravensbourne Environmental Learning Centre, Bromley, Kent • Dig 4 Jaywick Community Garden, Essex • Dig It Community Allotment, Saffron Walden, Essex London • Marcus Garvey Park Community Garden, Hammersmith & Fulham Page
• Collingham Gardens, Camden • Tooting Community Garden The Midlands • Eastfield Primary School, Leicester • Our Own Organic Garden, Wolverhampton Northern England • Unicorn Gardens, Wombwell, South Yorks • Rooted in Hull • A Space 2 Grow, Sunderland • Copthill School, Stamford, Lincs • Hesketh Park Community Garden, Southport • Incredible Edible Ashington, Northumberland Scotland • SAUWS Environment, Glasgow • The Mondo Loco Foundation, Midlothian • Govan Community Growers Association, Glasgow • Children’s Wood on North Kelvin Meadow, Glasgow
Wales • Bwyd Bendigedig Conwy/ Incredible Edible Conwy • Penmaenmawr Organic Community Allotment, Conwy • Brun Du Allotment Association, Anglesey • Dwyfor Gardening Projects, Pwllheli, Gwynedd • Llanberis NHS Forest Project, Gwynedd • Hanfod, Llanelli, Carmarthenshire • Llwyncelyn Community Allotment Gardens Association, Tenby
News
Growing Well: Inspiring well-being through community growing T
here is a growing body of evidence which highlights the benefits of community growing for mental and physical well-being, education and social cohesion. This new FCFCG programme, funded by the Ellerman Foundation, aims to document and disseminate good practice both to community growing groups who are expanding their work, and to decision makers who can help influence related policy and funding at a national level (eg promoting the use of ecotherapy within the health service). Examples of potential client groups include people with mental ill health, people with learning difficulties, disabled people, people recovering from drug or alcohol abuse and socially excluded young people. We will be working directly with up to 30 FCFCG member groups across the UK over a two year period, sharing good practice between those running established projects in this field and those setting up new projects. Good practice will be shared through case studies, promotional literature, online resources and ‘see and learn’ training events at the participating projects.
For the first year of the programme we have recruited 15 experienced groups from across the UK. The groups work with a variety of clients in a number of different ways and have committed to sharing their good practice with other community growing projects. Participating groups will receive a small grant to cover their costs, alongside support, advice and information to develop their practice throughout the course of the project. The groups selected for the first year of the programme are: • Greenfields Farm, Wiltshire • Heeley City Farm, Sheffield • Rowdeford School, Wiltshire • Rural Care (Church Farm), Stevenage • Bradford Community Environment Project • Carers Garden, Brighton • Culpeper Community Garden, London (pictured above) • Grow 4 Good SW Ltd, Plymouth • Growing Support, Bristol • Hammersmith Community Gardens Association, London • organicARTS Community Garden, Exeter • Swansea Community Farm
• Cwm Harry - Get Growing, Mid Wales • Cloughmills Community Action Team, Co Antrim, NI (featured on page 11) • Urban Roots, Glasgow (featured on page 12) In 2015 we will be recruiting a similar number of member groups for the second year of the programme. The focus of this part of the project will be groups who are interested in extending wellbeing activities to new users. For further information please contact Ian:Egginton-Metters. ian@farmgarden.org.uk
FCFCG Social Media We use Twitter to raise the profile of community growing groups in the UK directly to media contacts, other community-sector organisations and the public. 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, network and raise the profile of your group. www.facebook.com/fcfcg.uk
We are on Youtube and Vimeo. www. farmgarden.org. uk/videos And you can share your photos with FCFCG and other members. Join the FCFCG group on Flickr. Page
News
New community gardens twinning scheme for Wales At the All Wales Gathering in March it was suggested by member project, Britt Growers, that we introduce a twinning project for community growers. Britt Growers have been twinning with community gardens from all over the world, building relationships with community growers in Hong Kong, India and Australia to name a few. We think there is value in twinning projects that are closer to home, where the possibility of exchange visits, practical help and joint events or work may be slightly more achievable and affordable! We are also setting up a new mentoring scheme in Wales that will encourage closer peer to peer support by and for community growers. All this has been made possible by a very kind donation from
the Primrose Earth Awareness Trust (PEAT). PEAT was formed to reconnect people with nature and the earth and show the relationship between food production and the health of people and the planet. At the heart of PEAT was a commitment to provide inspiration in growing excellence. We hope these new schemes will continue that incredible work and further strengthen the community growing movement. If you would like to give us your views on mentoring or twinning you can find a link to a short survey on the Tyfu Pobl blog: www.tyfupobl.org.uk For more information on this project please contact Louise Cartwright, our Mid Wales Development Worker. louise@farmgarden.org.uk
News from Scotland While sad to be saying goodbye to Naomi Knights who leaves us after 8 years to take up teacher training in September, we are pleased to welcome our new Scottish Development Worker, Roz Corbett, and two new fieldworkers, Jenny Foulkes and Ally Hurcikova – all of whom are currently working on community garden projects, so they understand the needs of the network very well from personal experience. The Scottish team have been busy working with Sanctuary Housing Association in Aberdeen, running events on meanwhile land use and income Page
generation, and have a whole summer of events lined up to spread the word that community gardening is about more than just gardening! They’ll be at the International Community Development Conference in Glasgow in June and the Scottish Learning Festival in September, as well as lots of smaller events in between. FCFCG Scotland’s new factsheet and accompanying case studies covering how commmunity gardens can contribute to biodiversity are available to download from the infozone. www.farmgarden.org. uk/infozone
Fed Faces
Miriam Turley is our Northern Ireland Development Coordinator. “Before joining the Fed I had worked and volunteered on four different community garden projects, and had lots of experience in the kind of challenges small groups are facing. A friend and I had also begun the process of setting up a project to support community gardens in NI as we saw that many of the groups, including ourselves lacked the skills and contacts to run our projects really well. We didn’t get the funding we needed, so when this job came up to do pretty much the same work, I was thrilled!. “I have a broader view of how things work now, as I get to work with all kinds of people, including funders, council staff and other environmental organisations. I really enjoy linking people and projects together. Networking is so valuable! “I still volunteer on two community gardens, including the Eglantine Community Garden in Belfast. Apart from gardening, I love hanging out with my family and friends, especially my two year old niece. I dream of someday starting a housing coop. I like hot whiskies, my bike and capoeira.”
News
Community growing is buzzing in N Ireland The past seven years have seen massive changes in the community growing scene in Northern Ireland. From a few examples, working mostly in isolation, a vibrant and diverse spread of around 300 projects now spans the country and involve thousands of volunteers.
giving people the opportunity to interact with animals, plants and each other in a natural working environment. They empower local people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to build better communities, often in deprived areas, and to make a positive impact on their neighbourhood.
These range from well-established council run projects like Annadale allotments in Belfast, to school projects like the Andrew’s Memorial intergenerational project in Comber, to village development projects like Incredible Edible Ballygowan, to dedicated health and wellbeing projects, like Kilcreggan Urban Farm in Carrickfergus, with many more in-between.
Sixty delegates from community groups, councils, health trusts and NGOs enjoyed a full agenda of discussions and site visits at the 10th Northern Ireland Allotment and Community Garden Forum in April. Twice a year, FCFCG brings together a range of stakeholders from all over Northern Ireland and from the South too. It’s a chance for people to meet, share ideas, get to know each other, and find out what’s going on around the country.
What all these projects have in common is that they are
The success of the day was measured by the constant buzz of unstoppable conversation between delegates, and enthusiastic feedback. The next forum will take place in 2015 and we hope to see even more projects there! ni@farmgarden.org.uk
Celebrating the community at the heart of your garden A new partnership in Greater Manchester between FCFCG, Keep Britain Tidy and the National Housing Federation is enrolling groups on a project where they will get support and training from gardeners from established community gardens to help them to develop thriving community gardens and green spaces. The groups will benefit from finance for tools and planting, one to one support, bespoke training and visits to other sites so learning can be shared. The aim is for the project to build the capacity and confidence of participating communities in managing their own green spaces and to mark this achievement by applying for a Green Flag Community Award.
The project coordinator, FCFCG’s Raichael Lock said, “We hope some of Greater Manchester’s more established community gardens will share their skills, experience and stories with groups who are just setting up their green spaces and gardens. We want to promote the Green Flag Community Award as a way of rewarding everyone’s hard work in maintaining our gardens and parks to an internationally recognised standard. The gardeners of Greater Manchester deserve to be celebrated!” The first training session, held at Hulme Community Garden Centre on 26 June, covered a variety of issues and introduced particpants to the Green Flag Community Award scheme.
For further information contact Raichael Lock. Tel: 0161 275 9725 raichael@farmgarden.org.uk For further information about the Green Flag Community Awards: www.greenflagaward.org/awards/ community-award Page
Projects and partnerships
Chickens in schools K
eeley Thomas has worked for FCFCG’s Growing with Schools project for 5 years. As this programme comes to an end, Keeley shares her thoughts and experiences of supporting schools with growing and keeping livestock. “As a teacher, I understand both the benefits and the challenges of fitting growing and farming activities into school life. It’s so important to teach respect for the natural world and to show where our food comes from and the work that goes in to producing it. A big part of my work has been supporting incubation and chicken keeping projects: they are recognised as a wonderful way to teach life cycles, encourage responsibility and as a practical activity to show enterprise, habitats, adaptation, etc. “It’s even more important to get it right with livestock than plants, of course and I hope that our input gives teachers the confidence to do it. With schools, I have developed some really comprehensive workshops, from incubation right through to
selling eggs. We show schools what legislation applies to them and how to plan the best set up, as well as exploring learning opportunities. “Every incubation project is tailored to each school, we give lots of training and support to ensure the highest standards and best results and we encourage schools to think about why they are hatching and what will happen to the chicks once the project is over. Happily, more schools are hatching as a way of starting their own flock rather than an isolated activity and we encourage them
Case Study: Coundon Court Secondary School Coundon Court Secondary School has always run hatching projects. This year, students wanted to try something a bit different. We provided them with Japanese quail eggs. Quail make great classroom pets, as they can be kept in a large indoor rabbit cage and the males are not as noisy as cockerels (think novelty ringtone). Their eggs hatch in 18 days and young Page
birds can themselves lay their first egg at 6 weeks old, making it as real a life cycle unit as you can get! Students were very proud to show off their little flock at our Celebration Day event and won a prize for ‘Best School Egg’. The quail proved to be exceptionally calm and friendly little things too, completely at home with life in the classroom.
to research species and breeds with students to make it truly their own. Part of our support is to rehome any surplus birds, but we are very honest about the fact that some cockerels will not find a new home and may have to be culled. How this issue is addressed in school is different every time and
Case study: Cardinal Wisman Secondary School Cardinal Wiseman has taken chicken keeping to a whole new level. For over a decade this perfectly normal city school has been developing its own urban farm right on campus. Slotted neatly between departments you’ll find Shetland ponies, Jacob sheep, rare breed pigs, goats and plenty of poultry. They have both chickens and ducks: pure breeds, hybrids, rescues, ex-battery hens and birds they have bred themselves. They have been invaluable to our work throughout the Growing with Schools project.
Projects and partnerships can be used to stimulate some excellent ethical discussions with both staff and older students. “One of the biggest hurdles to a school is how to care for their birds during weekends and holidays. Often, a member of staff or a parent is happy to pop in daily (especially in return for any eggs collected). Finding a good boarding service is another option. As part of the education programme with Coventry Education Industry Partnership, a group of young people constructed some boarding coops. These are kept at a school that has full time staff to care for its livestock and there’s a chance to ask advice or just have a good chat about their chickens and swap ideas when picking up and dropping off the birds.“ Growing Schools started in Coventry in partnership with the City Council and Cardinal Wiseman Secondary School. Over the past 6 years, it has developed into a national
network of providers with hubs in Manchester, Sheffield and Devon, all delivering the same great support to a vast array of outdoor activities. The Coventry project ends this month but support is still available in other regions through the GS hubs and your local city farm and nationally through the School Farms Network. To contact the School Farms Network: ian@schoolfarms.org.uk
Try 3 issues of Your Chickens magazine for £3 This article first appeared in ‘Your Chickens’, a magazine for the back garden chicken keeper. Full of tips, advice and real life stories of people who have joined the chicken keeping boom. Members can try 3 print or digital issues for just £3 by direct debit. Visit: www.subscriptionsave. co.uk/fcf or call 0844 848 8041 quoting VYCFCFG1
Case study: All Souls’ Primary School All Souls’ Primary School had some staff who were a little sceptical about keeping chickens (which is often a good thing: it encourages a lot of research and ensures an excellent set up with every eventuality covered). Two teachers persuaded everyone to give chickens a try after seeing them at other schools. They chose to hatch out a variety of breeds so that they could keep 4 hens. The rest would be sold or re-homed by us. They wanted to support some rare breeds and have some good laying birds. We sourced them a few different varieties (the Rare Breeds Survival Trust website is a useful resource) and they hatched 18 chicks of all shapes and sizes.
Hatch day was a buzz: lessons stopped to watch the live feed webcam linked to every class; staff (especially those sceptics!) constantly went missing only to be found cooing over the new arrivals. When one chick hatched with splayed legs, teachers who had been on our training course knew exactly what to do and expertly splinted “Lucky’s” legs and he had recovered in a few days. Chicken fever is showing no sign of fading at All Souls. They have expanded their project to keep 8 birds and may keep a cockerel. The effect on children and grown-ups alike has been magical. There’s now talk of getting goats and pigs!
Noticeboard Free trees from the Woodland Trust Over 4,000 tree packs are available this autumn for planting by schools and community groups. You need to register by 2 September. There are small (30 saplings), medium (105 saplings) and large (420 saplings) packs available. www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/ plant-trees/in-your-community
How to start a foodbank The Trussell Trust is the UK’s only nationwide network of foodbanks in the country. If you are thinking of starting a foodbank in your community, they can help your organisation get started. The Trussell Trust provides full training and ongoing support – in exchange for a donation. www.trusselltrust.org/start-afoodbank
Get involved in Edible Gardens Open Day 2014 The Big Dig network is holding a community gardens open day on 20 September - an opportunity to show off what you do and get more people involved. Last year 4,000 people visited a garden on the day. The Big Dig will provide publicity and other resources. If you would like to get involved please contact Clare Horrell at Sustain. Tel. 020 7065 0902 thebigdig@sustainweb.org Page
Members
A quiet revolution in alternative educ T
he team at Lambourne End Outdoor Centre in London have a creative and flexible approach to education placements and pupils are reaping the benefits, as described here by Claire Gilmore, Fundraising and Marketing Co-ordinator at the centre. Jimmy arrived with a cap and hoodie over his face. He hardly spoke and wasn’t sure why he was there. Life had taken a bad turn; the violent death of a parent left him traumatized, he dropped out of school, was failing in a Pupil Referral Unit and involved in crime. Jenny, 14, expelled from three schools, had been in care for a while. Her home life had become damaging with drug abuse. Her aspiration was to “marry at 16, to give my children what I never had”. Her future was heading towards a cycle of teenage pregnancy and dependency on benefits. She hated class and poor behaviour masked underlying insecurities. Alfie was bright but his behaviour was considered disruptive and he was not achieving his potential in mainstream education. He lived with his mother, had no male role models and little ability to relate to others in a team. All three arrived at Lambourne End with a plea from a referral agency to help them gain at least something by way of a qualification and self esteem to help them cope with living in London 2014. With increasing pressure on schools to achieve grades and the change of school leaving age to 18, there is potentially an added stress for many teenagers. Page
Teachers can be unwilling to give different attention for fear of failing to meet standards. The basic human need for belonging and significance can be unfulfilled. If this is reinforced with a stressful home life at best, or at worst unloving, then the human spirit can become squashed. A tragedy for an adult. A true disgrace and blot on society for young people. However there is some good news. Alternative education providers are emerging to work alongside traditional teaching to provide much needed balance and diversity. They provide tailored solutions for individuals blending unusual activities that lead to qualifications with exposure to positive role models in safe, nonthreatening environments. Moreover, the Government are waking up to the fact that one size does not fit all as the Children and Families Bill 2013 makes provision to extend the Special Educational Needs system, giving children and parents greater control and choice. The Bill is beginning to change minds as local authorities, health authorities, traditional educational establishments and youth services are being required to work together for the Jimmys, Jennys and Alfies. What is alternative education then? The main philosophy
is rooted in enabling pupils to engage and learn to take responsibility for their own actions in a much less authoritarian environment using experiential learning. The focus is on role modeling by staff who are interested in and have time for each young person. Lambourne End is one such ‘safe haven’, located in 54 acres of rolling hills inside the M25 on the edge of Essex and NE London. The onsite farm provides opportunites to learn occupational skills in, for example, estate management and animal care. Outdoor activities encourage team building and personal development. Sam Gayler, a teacher at the centre, can see both sides of the equation having moved from teaching in mainstream schools where she spent 18 years. She has no doubts about the value of what Lambourne End provides. “Schools need to have confidence in what we offer. They can place students midterm with us, sometimes just for a few months, others for years. “Headteachers want hard outcomes which we can offer through our City & Guilds and BTEC Qualifications. These are all measurable and form part of the school’s academic success.
Members
ation at Lambourne End
“For many, the qualifications they complete here are the only ones they will leave school with. Although we fit with the school structure, we are different enough for students to feel like it is a separate experience. Students have to go outside whatever the weather. They don’t sit down much and it feels less formal, no Sir or Miss – just names. It’s not about ticking boxes or meeting targets; it’s about flesh and blood, highs and lows, tears and tantrums. Students are names and faces, not classes or numbers.” Lambourne End is clearly doing something right. Having started with 16 students five years ago. We now have 53 and have extended the courses on offer from level 1 up to level 3. Significantly, we have a very low drop out rate and the stories of individual transformation are plentiful. And what of Jimmy, Jenny and Alfie? For Jimmy, the centre created a work placement with staff who acted as positive role models. According to his referral agency, at his lowest and depressive period, his time at the centre was the most positive thing in his life. The local authority are funding him to continue. Jenny was placed in a small group where she felt safe. She was
encouraged to help other students and she took them under her wing. She has grown to appreciate positive feedback and build her personal confidence – even in a class setting. Alfie thrived and developed new relationships. Strong male role models even for one day a week provided stability. Direct, challenging feedback to negative behaviour was balanced with consistent, fair boundaries and positive reinforcement for excellent performance. Instead of boredom and poor behaviour, Alfie asked questions and led by example. His youth service reported higher levels of maturity and are reintegrating him into mainstream education. Lambourne End have helped students into apprenticeships and to go on to college - steps previously beyond their wildest expectations. In a world of performance targets and repeated stories of failing schools, it is heartening to see alternative education delivering results in a quiet and focused way that is transforming lives.
Say it with sunflowers - HCGA 30th anniversary Hammersmith Community Gardens Association (HCGA) manage four community gardens in Hammersmith and Fulham in London. HCGA has a range of projects which include conservation training schemes, volunteer gardening sessions, environmental play schemes and environmental education in local schools. They assist local groups in the design, planning and management of their green spaces. They promote environmental sustainability within the borough and manage their sites to maximise biodiversity and encourage wildlife. HCGA will be celebrating their 30th Anniversary by planting 30 sunflowers in each of their community gardens and other places where they work They have also created sunflower growing kits which they are making available at their sites and the many events they attend. They are asking people to use the kits to enter a tallest sunflower competition. Photos of the entries will be uploaded to their website’s sunflower gallery and the winner announced in early September. http://hcga.org.uk
Students’ names have been changed. For further information: Tel. 020 8500 3047 info@lambourne-end.org.uk www.lambourne-end.org.uk Page
Members
Windmill Hill City Farm, Bristol - Activ A
ctive Citizens is a Windmill Hill City Farm Community Programme funded by The Nominet Trust. Jules Allan has been working on this large scale community project as the Community Development Coordinator, working to set up various community and volunteer led projects. She describes how the project came about and the tools they have developed to share with others wanting to take a similar approach. Throughout 2012-2014 we listened to people to find out what community projects they would like to see at the farm. From this feedback we developed a wide range of community inspired opportunities. Each project had volunteers involved in their development and delivery. My role was to support the volunteers and manage the projects. We started with a small and enthusiastic group of volunteers working with us to develop regular ‘Community Call Outs’ at the farm offering a wide range of volunteer opportunities. The ‘Call Outs’ proved to be a great way to encourage people’s ideas, provide flexible volunteering times, include families, work with people with varying abilities and
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My decision to volunteer was born out of frustration at the isolation of being a single parent. I felt I was hidden away, I wanted to give something back to my community. I haven’t volunteered before and found everybody very friendly. I feel like I have something to offer and that I am part of the community.” Lynsey Page 10
experiences, and bring together a diverse community of volunteers. We have been really inspired by the many people offering their time and skills, contributing a rich tapestry of enriching volunteer engagement. We are delighted to see the number of volunteers has grown and grown at the farm, bringing families, friends, people who live in the local and wider community together.
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I love living here but don’t have much connection to the community. Being involved with the farm has changed that. It’s nice to know my skills and ideas are valued” Rob
We found the key to engaging people was to offer flexibility, a wide range of opportunities and engage people through social networking. Projects included foraging walks, gardening for all ages and experiences, food sharing sessions, creative projects, wellbeing projects, film making, learning to blog and even a Radio Station - all based at the farm.
Parents Claire Berry and Claire Crowsley approached me about the need for a gardening group to encourage families to get involved in gardening at the farm. Sara Venn a community gardening specialist was asked to facilitate the project. Claire and her daughter hit upon the wonderful name of ‘Tiny Trowels’ and the group began in May 2013. We expected perhaps 3 or 4 parents to turn up but we had at least 20 in our first session. Steve Sayers, Chief Executive Officer at the farm says: “Tiny Trowels is a fantastic example of how a community-focused organisation like the city farm can support people to grow their own projects. The idea clearly meets a need, the staff and volunteers have worked together brilliantly to nurture the idea and it is great to see the project flourish.” Over the year we have engaged with over 100 families. Tiny Trowels is now a thriving independent community-led group based at the farm linking in with many community growing projects in the local area.
Members
e Citizens
Growing - and eating - Well in County Antrim, N Ireland Cloughmills Community Action Team have created an edible garden in a central village location in Northern Ireland, where they aim to raise awareness of sustainable approaches to food and regularly host visits for others wishing to learn about their project. Patrick Frew, Chair, explains how they will make use of their FCFCG Growing Well grant (see page 3).
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I wanted my daughter to learn about the local environment. We live in a flat and find it challenging to find green spaces to feel safe and play in together. We feel very proud that we have been a part of setting up this unique group.” Claire Berry In the final phase of Active Citizens, we are developing a mentoring programme for the groups and individuals that have taken part, offering support so they can move forward with their ideas and projects. Last but not least, we are developing an online toolkit that will be available from September 2014. Our aim is for the toolkit to be a free valuable resource for all community farms and growers, offering insights into how we developed our projects and full of useful tips and ideas based on our experience within The Active Citizens Programme.
“We will focus on those suffering emotional ill health and socially excluded people of all ages across our community but particularly older people. We have been actively involved in promoting emotional and physical well-being for 16 years now, with a focus on connecting people with each other, their community and the natural environment. Over the last 4 years, we have developed a number of successful programmes for people with learning disabilities and various levels of depression. “Our new programme is called ‘You are what you eat’ and it will focus on the benefits of connecting with the natural environment and engaging in the growing of food. We will begin to examine the medicinal
properties of even the most common of fruit and vegetables. “Participants will work through the programme at their own pace and remain in control at all times. We will introduce simple cooking techniques using produce grown locally. In our experience those suffering emotional ill health often have poor diets and attitudes to food. Through our project, we expect people to revalue food, embracing it for the important role it has in all our lives. “We will explore how community based groups like ours can take control and deliver key health outcomes for and within our community. We wish to ensure that the role of food and food growing is established and respected by health and other professionals tasked with delivering the health and well being agenda and we are confident that we have a role to play in this.” The team are about to launch a new website which will include a blog about the project but until then you can keep up to date with their progress on facebook. www.facebook.com/ CloughmillsCAT
For more information about Active Citizens and the toolkit please contact Jules Allan. info@windmillhillcityfarm.org.uk www.windmillhillcityfarm.org.uk Page 11
Members
Urban Roots, Glasgow
A
nother participant in the first year of our new Growing Well programme, Urban Roots is a community led organisation working across the Southside of Glasgow. They are committed to working with local people on projects that improve the local environment and health of people in the area through a range of activities including community gardening, conservation and biodiversity, courses, workshops and schools projects. Back in 2004 a group of local residents who were passionate about gardening came together to form the Toryglen Gardening Club with the aim of improving their area. They held bulb planting days and gardener’s picnics and established a children’s orchard in a local school. In 2007 they secured funding for a development officer. Then, in 2008, the Toryglen Gardening Club officially became Urban Roots. Still based in Toryglen, where the main office and centre for Page 12
and activities is, Urban Roots works in partnership with several community groups at nineteen locations across the Southside as well as sixteen schools and nurseries. The team have built a successful track record in delivering community projects and are regularly contacted by other organisations looking for advice or help to transform their outdoor spaces. Growing remains the core focus and in particular teaching people how to grow food. They have established a two acre market garden in Toryglen, where they run a variety of activities from regular volunteer gardening sessions to the ever popular ‘Grow Your Own’ course. Much of the produce from this, such as the honey collected from the garden’s beehives, has been supplied to local stores. Not content with all that they also manage a sixteen acre woodland called ‘Malls Mire’ which is located behind the main
office.A conservation group meet s weekly to help maintain this important local resource. Urban Roots continue to grow as an organisation and are always happy to help expand the blossoming local food network within Glasgow. Through their many events and projects they hope to inspire people and communities to connect with nature, and take practical action that makes a positive difference to their own lives, their communities and the planet. Naomi Knights, FCFCG’s Scotland Development Worker says: “Urban Roots is a great example of community involvement and their ability to more with the times (and the funding requirements) has been impressive.”
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
Events
The fringe that launched a thousand maps...
FCFCG hosts 2014 European City Farms conference
Expert gardener Chris Collins, whose TV credits include Blue Peter and Wonder of Weeds, helped launch the new edition of FCFCG’s map of London community farms and gardens at St Mary’s Secret Garden in Hackney on 31 May.
Portobello dock, an aromatic ‘garden of disorientation’ as well as pop-up community gardens and horticultural happenings of all hues. Anyone can enter a project – as long as it’s interesting, legal and about gardens, flowers, veggrowing or landscape.
The event was part of the Chelsea Fringe programme and London Tree Week. There was information available about the trees in the garden, plant sales and growing activities. St Mary’s prepared wheatgrass smoothies for thirsty visitors.
The Chelsea Fringe coincides and overlaps with the RHS Chelsea Flower Show but is completely independent of it and entirely powered by volunteers. The Fringe has spread beyond London, with events being held in Brighton, Kent, Norwich and Bristol (where FCFCG has helped organise a citywide Get Growing Gardening Trail, another Chelsea Fringe event) - and even further afield to Vienna and Ljubljana in Slovenia.
The first Chelsea Fringe took place in 2012 and is a new festival for everyone who’s interested in gardens and gardening. With its emphasis on participation (most events are free), the Fringe is also about pushing the boundaries – its inaugural programme included a peripatetic bicycling beer garden, a floating forest installation in
www. chelseafringe. com
Back to the land with CLAS Cymru The Community Land Advice Service in Wales, CLAS Cymru, welcomed 26 people to their first official event in May. The day began with a presentation of the story of the freehold purchase of Fordhall Farm by the community over ten years ago - an impressive and inspiring model for social enterprise.
people in the audience who were involved in those projects who added detail to the discussion and questions afterwards. Other presentations covered the development of new community allotment sites and gave an insight into the benefits a landowner and a community group can gain from a community growing project.
Lucie Taylor gave a presentation on behalf of Wrexham County Council describing the wide range of community growing projects in their area. It was great to have
“A really fantastic day of extremely important and relevant information.”
The European Federation of City Farms (EFCF) conference is held each year in a member country to further European co-operation and understanding and to promote training, networking and communication of good practice. We are delighted to be hosting this year’s event in Swansea this September. Delegates will have the chance to explore the city and its surroundings and to visit three local projects: • Swansea Community Farm - to hear more about their volunteer and youth programmes • Vetch Veg - a community garden established on the former Swansea City Football ground providing a space for the multi-cultural inner city community to come together and grow • The Down to Earth Project - a social enterprise project working with young people and people on probation through activities such as sustainable building, animal husbandry and growing. The conference takes place from 25-29 September. For further information or to book online, go to: www. farmgarden.org.uk/news
wales@communitylandadvice. org.uk Page 13
Management and resources
Top 10 tips: How to protect your site from development Here’s a checklist of the top ten things you can do to help protect your growing space - ideally well before the threat of development arises! 1. Negotiate a long term lease (without development break clauses). 2. Explore getting your site designated as protected green space in your neighbourhood plan (England only). 3. Consider registering it as an asset of community value (so that you have 6 months to raise the funds to buy it should the landowner decide to sell). 4. Be an ambassador for growing - make sure your site looks well cared for. 5. Check out the history of your site. If it is an allotment site, make sure you know it’s status. Sites owned by local authorities and designated as allotments
New resources from FCFCG The following new resources are all available for members to download from: www. farmgarden.org.uk/infozone
have special protection from development. 6. Hold regular events to get the neighbourhood involved – they might not be day to day growers, but they will value the site more. Don’t forget to invite the press and local councillors. 7. Lobby your council to adopt a policy stating the importance of access to local food growing space. 8. Upload lots beautiful photos of your vegetables and flowers onto google earth, then any developers having a snoop will see how well loved the site is. 9. Apply for Tree Preservation Orders on any suitable trees on the site. 10.Invite the local wildlife group to survey on your site and give advice on making it a more suitable habitat for protected wildlife like bats and newts.
Employers can reduce national insurance contributions If your project employs staff, you may be able to reduce the amount of National Insurance contributions (NICs) you pay for your employees by up to £2,000. This is called the ‘Employment Allowance’ and can be claimed from 6 April 2014. In fact, if you usually pay less than £2,000 a year you won’t have to pay any employer Page 14
National Insurance contributions at all this year. You can use the Employment Allowance calculator to see how the allowance could affect your contributions: www. employmentallowance.com/ allowance-calculator For more information visit www.gov.uk
A-Z Thrifty gardening guide The booklet aims to take things back to basics, including how to make comfrey fertiliser and garlic-based insecticide and how to create an African keyhole garden. Engaging children, families and schools Providing a safe, stimulating environment for children alongside some successful, ‘grown up’ food growing can be done! This handout is a brief introduction to making your project child-friendly, including discussion of the relevant legislation, good practice guidance and some activities to enthuse children about nature and growing. How community gardens can contribute to biodiversity Outlines the many simple, practical ways you can increase biodiveristy on your project with inspiring case studies from FCFCG Scotland.
Just Act A new website from the Community Development Foundation which provides and signposts practical information for people wanting to make a difference and improve their community. The site focuses around 10 Steps, which run through the key stages of running a community project. www.justact.org.uk
Management and resources
Don’t underestimate value of evaluation... External evaluation can be a useful tool when drumming up support for your project. The process involves explaining the value of your work to someone unconnected with it. They then write an impartial report which is unaffected by the potential conflict of interest or bias that could apply to a report written by a member of staff or committee member. Although the process can take a lot of staff and volunteer time, the resulting report can provide valuable evidence of the benefits of your projec for potential and existing funders and supporters. It shows you have thought properly about what you are trying to do and how you go about it - and have confidence in your approach. You can apply for funding for an independent evaluation when you first submit your funding bid for a project, so the cost will be included in the total project cost.
You might like to have a look at the following examples of independent external evaluations carried out for some FCFCG member projects in London: • A Local Food funded project at Bankside Open Spaces Trust : www.bost.org.uk/whats-on/ publications-2 • A therapeutic gardening project at St Mary’s Secret Garden: www. stmaryssecretgarden.org.uk/ StMarysChangingMindsMWIA ExecutiveSummary _final10.06.13.pdf • An Access to Nature funded project at Hammersmith Community Gardens Association: http://hcga.org.uk/ wp-content/uploads/2012/03/ GOT-Evaluation-Final-Report. pdf Other examples are available on request from: admin@farmgarden. org.uk
Adult social care fund The new Better Care Fund, which was announced in the Government’s June 2013 spending review, is now taking shape. In England, each Health and Well-being Board will be required to provide a forum for local discussion and agree with partners, including the voluntary sector, about how investment in social care services is best spent. Members in England interested in providing these services are advised to get on a mailing list for their Local Health Watch to keep up to date with discussions in their area about how funding to support adult social care services will be spent and details of the commissioning process.
Edible Estates Neighbourhoods Green has produced a guide to working on housing estate land with a focus on food growing, though many of the examples could equally apply to general community gardening. You can download the guide here: www. neighbourhoodsgreen.org.uk The guide includes a case study in which both FCFCG London and FCFCG member Walworth Garden Farm were involved dealing with how to work in partnership with housing providers: www.neighbourhoodsgreen. org.uk/resources/ FoodGrowing/ LandorRoadCaseStudy Page 15
Funding, training and other opportunities The Archer Trust This trust supports organisations working in areas of high unemployment and deprivation. They favour charities which make good use of volunteers. Grants of between £250 and £3,000 are given to small UK charity for whom this will make a big difference. There are some exclusions for eligibility listed on their website so be sure to check these before applying. Applications are in writing at any time. www.archertrust.org.uk
Biffaward Often groups only need a small amount of money to make a difference to a local facility, be it a community building, nature reserve, cultural facility or outdoor space. The Biffaward Small Grants Scheme offers quicker access to lower levels of funding to make these projects happen (£250£10,000). Through its main grant scheme, Biffaward also looks to support site-based projects that protect and enhance biodiversity across the UK, particularly those concentrating on species and habitats that have been identified as a priority in Biodiversity Action Plans or similar documents. Grants between £10,000 and £50,000 are available. www.biffa-award.org
Coalfields Regeneration Trust offers £1m more to England The Coalfields Regeneration Trust has relaunched its Coalfields Community Grants Programme for England with £1 million and Page 16
revised guidelines and application form. The Trust has also increased the maximum level of grant from £5,000 to £10,000 to support community organisations and social enterprises with social and economic regeneration projects in coalfield communities in England. A list of eligible coalfield wards can be found on the Trust’s website. Full details and the new application form can be found at: www.coalfields-regen.org.uk
The Co-operative Membership Community Fund The Cooperative Group provide grants of between £100 and £2,000 to community, voluntary or self-help groups that carry out positive work in their community. To be successful, projects must address a community issue, provide good long-term benefit to the community, support cooperative values and principles and ideally be innovative in its approach. Projects should have a charitable purpose, but non charities are able to apply. Applications should be made via their website at any time. www.co-operative.coop/ membership/local-communities/ community-fund
Community Futures programme Courses for local community volunteers from across the UK covering issues such as: • Environmental improvement • Managing green spaces • Recycling • Growing food • Saving money, reducing energy use
• Using the environment to improve health • Keeping chickens • Setting up a social enterprise • Fundraising. Cost to community volunteers: £50 inc VAT for the first delegate from any group. www.traffordhall.com/training/ community-futures-training.aspx
The Ecology Building Society Charitable Foundation The Ecology Building Society Charitable Foundation supports projects working to improve the built environment for the benefit of the community. Maximum grant £2,000. Preference given to projects run by small, communitybased organisations.and small projects to which the Foundation’s funding makes a significant contribution. www.ecology.co.uk/about/ charitablefoundation/
Equitable Charitable Trust The current priorities of this education charity include education projects or services that support the learning and development of disabled children and young people in the UK, as well as formal education projects for disadvantaged children and young people in the UK that support delivery of the National Curriculum (i.e. curriculum enrichment projects) or that deliver accredited vocational learning that will increase employability. www.equitablecharitabletrust. org.uk
Funding, training and other opportunities Foyle Foundation Small Grants Scheme This scheme provides grants of up to £10,000 to support smaller charities in the UK, especially those working at grass roots and local community level in any field, across a wide range of activities. Applicants need to demonstrate that the funding will make a significant difference to an their work and that this is sustainable. www.foylefoundation.org.uk/ small-grants-scheme
Grassroots Giving Following last years success, Grassroots Giving announce the launch of their 2014 Grassroots Giving Campaign. As this year marks their 161st birthday, they have 161 pots of £500 to give away to voluntary groups and community organisations throughout the UK. They are dedicated to helping real grassroots organisations in order to ensure that they can continue. www.skiptonbig160.co.uk/applyfor-funding/application-form
HRUK Healthy Heart Grants Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Grants of up to £10,000 are available for new, original and innovative projects that actively promote heart health and help to prevent, or reduce, the risk of heart disease in specific groups or communities. There are two rounds each year. Applications for the November round can be submitted during July and August with a closing date of 31 August. For further information and application form see the website. www.heartresearch.org.uk/grants/ healthyheartgrant
Recipro Recipro is an online exchange for construction surplus and re-usable materials. The website has a section where your community project can promote your construction projects, highlight what building materials you require and provide updates on your project. Registration is free. http://recipro-uk.com
Trusthouse Charitable Foundation Trusthouse gives around 300 grants totalling around £2 million per year to support projects in the UK which address issues in rural communities and/or areas of rurban deprivation,especially in the fields of community support; arts, education and heritage; disability and health care. www.trusthousecharitable foundation.org.uk
UK Youth - training and resources UK Youth offer a number of practical, effective and competitively priced training courses as well as a wide range of resources to support anyone working with young people.
Unfortunately projects on allotments or in school grounds are not eligible for funding as projects funded need to be open to the public all year round. Closing dates vary according to which area your project is in. www.viridor-credits.co.uk
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). Check your eligibility to apply and download an application form from the website. www.yappcharitabletrust.org.uk
InfoZone
www.ukyouth.org
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
Viridor-credits
Enewsletter
Viridor Credits Environmental Company is an independent, not-for-profit organisation which provides funding for community, heritage and biodiversity projects in England and Scotland through the Landfill Communities Fund. In general, a project needs to be located within 10 miles of one of their local steering groups.
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. Here’s a summary of the key benefits available to you.
Support Services
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.
• 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 (eg School Farms Network, Growing With Schools). • Networking and training opportunities on themes requested by our membership. These events are free or highly subsidised for members.
Online Services
Publications and mailings
Other benefits
• Free copies, either by post or email depending on your membership category/ preference, of our quarterly members’ magazine Growing Places, and other regular publications • Single hard copies of other publications are available free to members on request. • Multiple copies of promotional publications such as maps and leaflets are also available. • Circulate your inserts for job vacancies, events etc free of charge in our postal mailings. Page 18
• 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. • Discounts with various suppliers of goods and services. For details see: www. farmgarden.org.uk/membersupdates • 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 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. • FCFCG can help 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/WCVA membership NCVO in England, SCVO in Scotland and WCVA in Wales are umbrella bodies providing specialised information, advice and support to the voluntary and community sector. All English FCFCG members with an income of less than £10,000 per year are eligible for free NCVO community membership. For details of NCVO benefits see: www.ncvo-vol.org.uk All Scottish FCFCG members with an income of less than £25,000 per year are eligible for free SCVO membership. For details of SCVO benefits see: www.scvo.org.uk All Welsh FCFCG members with an income of less than £10,000 per year are eligible for free WCVA membership. For details of WCVA benefits see: www.wcva.org.uk Unfortunately, we do not currently offer a similar benefit for members in 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. Tel. 02920 235 535 or 225 942 wales@farmgarden.org.uk www.farmgarden.org.uk/wales
Scotland Our Scottish team are based at Gorgie City Farm, Edinburgh. Tel. 0131 623 7058 scotland@farmgarden.org.uk www.farmgarden.org.uk/scotland
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 North Our North of England team is based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Tel. 01207 562 317 north@farmgarden.org.uk www.farmgarden.org.uk/north
London and the East
Our London team is based at Kentish Town City Farm. Tel. 0207 485 5001 london@farmgarden.org.uk www.farmgarden.org.uk/london
Midlands
Our Midlands team is based at Cardinal Wiseman School Farm in Coventry. Tel. 02476 675 211 midlands@farmgarden.org.uk www.farmgarden.org.uk/midlands
South West
Our South West team is based in Exeter. Tel. 01392 243 233 southwest@farmgarden.org.uk www.farmgarden.org.uk/ south-west
Projects and partnerships School Farms Network Tel. 01373 302 204 ian@farmgarden.org.uk www.farmgarden.org.uk/ education/school-farms-network
Community Land Advice Service (CLAS) England: Tel. 0117 966 9491 england@communitylandadvice. org.uk Scotland: Tel. 0131 225 2080 scotland@communitylandadvice. org.uk Wales: Tel. 02921 960 966 wales@communitylandadvice. org.uk www.communitylandadvice. org.uk
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Growing Places Members’ magazine, Summer 2014 UK Office The GreenHouse, Hereford Street, Bristol, BS3 4NA Tel. 0117 923 1800 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 autumn issue: 5 September 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: