Growing Places Members’ magazine - Issue 1 2013, March
• Meet your Board! • No clucking in the library...? • Storytelling down on the farm (and garden) • Walk and talk at Heeley City Farm • The making of a muckraker at Stepney City Farm
Inside this issue
W
elcome to the first issue of Growing Places 2013. With spring arriving any day now, we’ve got lots of inspiration for the new season.
Contents
Several of the members featured this issue have taken a creative approach to community development - from an intergenerational ‘walking and talking’ oral history project to chicken-keeping courses in libraries. And we have a feature showing how members have harnessed the power of storytelling to enhance their events and engage their communities.
Walk and Talk at Heeley City Farm
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The making of a muckraker
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commitment involves and how the Board ensures it is doing the best job it can.
West End Women and Girls Centre
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The copy date for the next issue is 8 April. We always love to hear from you. Please send any items for inclusion to the editor.
No clucking in the library...?
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The power of storytelling 12 - 13
We would like to engage you too in your Federation. FCFCG is managed by its members and you can meet your Board on pages 6-7, as well as find out more about what that voluntary
Growing Together update Meet your Board
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Management
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diane@farmgarden.org.uk
Resources
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On the cover: Sharing a joke after a cookery class at The Hidden Gardens, Glasgow. The HIdden Gardens exists to promote sanctuary, peace and community cohesion at a local, national and international level.
Funding, training and other opportunities
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Member services and FCFCG contact details
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New members We now have 605 members. A warm welcome to all those that have joined since the last issue: • Beechwood Road Garden Denbighshire • Grisiau BAch Project, Flintshire • Bluebell (Smallsteps), Port Talbot • Community Garden, Birmingham Groundwork Northamptonshire • Britt Growers/Our Garden, - Green Patch • Lee Manor Bridgend • Chepstow Town Community Garden,London Council • Cwmdauddwr Old • Luggs Composting System School Community Garden, (Riverside Gardens), Ullapool Powys • Cyfleon Ltd, Aberdare, • Mackintosh Community Rhondda • Devon and Cornwall Garden, Cardiff • New Garden at Food Association - Community Langside/Battlefield, Glasgow • Kitchen Garden, Plymouth • New Shoots Community Garden, Dig for Dinner - Rhydfach, Merthyr Preston • Pen Pych Allotment Tydfil • Earthy Women and Kids, Association, Rhondda • Philips Brighton • Fintry Community Park Eco Centre, Manchester • Garden and Allotments, Stirling Poole Housing Partnership, Dorset • Gairloch and Loch Ewe Action • Sims Hill Shared Harvest, Bristol Forum Gardening Project, • Spring Barn Farm, East Sussex Ross-shire • Golyygfa Gwydyr, • St Peter’s Community Hall and Conwy • Goscote Greenacres Garden, Cardiff • Stanley High Community Garden, Walsall • School, Merseyside • Stenhouse Gower Power Organics, Swansea Allotments Association, Edinburgh • Graigfechan Growers Group, • Stromness Community Garden, Page
Society, Orkney • Sustainable Llanpumsaint, Carmarthen • The Kaleyard Community Food and Wildlife Garden, Fife • Transition Stratford-upon-Avon • Treowen Community Garden, Powys • Treverbyn Community Garde, Cornwall • Tyfu CIC (Gardening project), Caerphilly • Tyntyla Residents Club (ROSE), Rhondda • Walsall Housing Group Community Gardens Project • Woods Allotment Group, Birmingham • Young Gardeners’ Club (GCAA), London
News
Growing Together - update
FCFCG Social Media The Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens is now 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.
As reported in last issue, FCFCG has been awarded £50,000 from NESTA’s Innovations in Giving fund for a new initiative called Growing Together. The project is about bringing organisations together to create new ways for community gardens to access money, land, skills and labour. In particular, we will be exploring crowd funding, workplace allotments and community share issues.
• Using NESTA money to research and prepare work in anticipation of more funding • Practical ways of using Growing Together to pool resources we already have • Understanding the best way to help groups develop social enterprises including shops and profitable training provision • How to best succeed Making Local Food Work and the Local Food Fund.
A central plank of Growing Together is to form and deepen a new partnership to ‘up the game’ for community growing. Partners signed up so far include Sustain, Garden Organic, Plunkett, Groundwork and the Permaculture Association, Soil Association, Community Composting Network ACRE and Co-ops UK. To progress the project, we have just held a 2 day residential to think about how to work together to make best use of the current funding but to look at longer term, bigger picture for the sector. There was lots of energy, ambition and genuine interest in joint working. Some main themes emerged:
www.farmgarden.org.uk/ growingtogether
New Years Honours Congratulations to Robert Collins who received an MBE for services to Meanwood Valley Urban Farm and the community of Leeds. Also to Karen Liebreich for services to horticulture and education. Karen helped restore Chiswick House Kitchen Garden for community use and cofounded the Abundance London fruit-harvesting project.
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
Corrie Star to help launch 100th UK School Farm The UK’s 100th school farm at Bebington High Sports College, a co-operative school in Wirral, Merseyside will be launched on 12 March, with help from a Coronation Street legend turned award-winning cheesemaker. Sean Wilson played the character of Martin Platt on the ITV series for 21 years until he left and set up the Saddleworth Cheese Company. A supporter of local food, he will give a speech at the event, which is a significant landmark in the rise of school farms, just a few years after numbers had slumped and many had closed. The transformation is due to a wider recognition of the huge benefits of school farms in raising educational attainment,
as well as a fresh emphasis on educating children about food. In the past three years more than 30 UK schools have developed new farm units, but this is the tip of the iceberg. The School Farms Network are in contact with more than 100 schools that are actively considering rearing of livestock. 5-6 July, Growing Education School Farms Conference At: Phoenix High School, London This conference is aimed at policymakers, head teachers heads of departments, existing and would-be practitioners, and representatives of the farming and voluntary sector agencies. www.schoolfarms.org.uk
Tyfu Pobl 2013 2012 was a bumper year in Wales as the total number of projects supported under Tyfu Pobl reached over 300! We developed both new training on ‘Setting up a Community Garden’ and new and innovative partnerships to make more land accessible for communities. We also launched our very own Tyfu Pobl Blog, providing an opportunity for projects to share their stories. A wealth of resources have been developed from planning guidelines to engaging your community or setting up a fruit harvesting scheme. All are now available at www.farmgarden.org.uk/wales and in our Members Info zone. In 2013 we have already welcomed our 100th member (there were only 8 members Page
in Wales at the launch of the programme). Our first all-Wales event for organisations and individuals supporting community growing on the ground took place on 5 March. And we will be working in partnership to deliver training for community and town councils and housing associations, to share knowledge, remove barriers and help support more communities to develop spaces to grow. We will also be working closely with local authorities, Welsh government and universities in identifying what land and space they have available, supporting them to help make these more accessible for their staff, students and the local community to grow. wales@farmgarden.org.uk Tel. 029020 225 942
Fed faces Abby Charles is the Wales Administrator. She joined the Tyfu Pobl team in May 2011 and is based in the Cardiff office. “Before joining the Fed I worked as a civil servant and also ran a picture research business. My new role is very different! I’ve found the issues we deal with and the people we work with so inspiring. I’ve always been interested in politics and sustainability and working for Tyfu Pobl has given me the opportunity to support the very positive work community growers in Wales are doing to make the country a world leader in sustainability and food security.” “I’ve grown my own food on my allotment for many years but I’m currently planning a new garden as we’re in the process of moving house. After visiting several community gardens with cob ovens I’ve decided I’d like to plant a “Pizza Garden”. My idea is to build a small cob oven and surround it with all the plants we’ll need to make delicious pizzas - basil, oregano, rosemary, garlic and hopefully tomatoes and chillis too. I just hope 2013 is sunnier than 2012 - green tomato pizza
News
Community gardening on show at Holyrood
Above: Claire Baker MSP, Jayne BAxter MSP and Naomi Knights
FCFCG Scotland and Trellis (Supporting Health through Horticulture) have had an exhibition at the Scottish Parliament to highlight the range and diversity of community gardens in Scotland to the MSPs and their staff. Naomi Knights, Scotland Development Worker, said, “This was a great opportunity to showcase the excellent work of community gardening and farming projects and raise awareness within government of the issues that affect their sustainability. A great deal of interest has been shown by MSPs and nearly 40
signed up to visit a project in their constituency. Through a visit MSPs will be able to appreciate the benefits of community gardening first hand.” Staff from FCFCG were joined at the exhibition by representatives from member projects including Watch Us Grow, a Cumbernauld based project that works provides opportunities for people with special needs. Gorgie City Farm supplied a hamper of seasonal produce and planters to brighten up the exhibition stand. The farm café provided a range of delicious flapjacks that helped us to engage the MSPs!
CLAS to launch in Wales We are pleased to announce that we have been awarded funding by the Big Lottery Fund to provide The Community Land Advisory Service in Wales. The new service will help tackle the shortage of available land for community gardening in Wales. We will be recruiting a team of three specialists three specialists to give hands on advice and support to both community groups and landowners, with further support from stakeholder and advisory groups.
Katie Jones, Development Manager for FCFCG’s Welsh programme, said: “Accessing land for community growing is a major hurdle for many Welsh communities. CLAS will act as a catalyst for both community groups and willing landowners to find the support they need to bring more land into cultivation.and be able to better support the fantastic work of established projects.“ http://wl.communitylandadvice. org.uk
The Big Dig Day FCFCG is helping 24 towns and cities to be part of the biggest ever community gardening volunteering day on 16 March 2013. At least 200 gardens across England will be taking part in the nationwide event, which is part of The Big Dig. Co-ordinated by Sustain, this project aims to engage thousands of people in community food growing projects. FCFCG provides advice and training for The Big Dig, including through the Community Land Advisory Service (CLAS) who have run successful training events in a number of the Big Dig towns and cities. FCFCG chief executive Jeremy Iles said: “We are extremely pleased with the enthusiasm that the partner towns and cities have shown in gearing up for The Big Dig Day, particularly as many of the projects involved in these cities are FCFCG members.” Carlton Smith, Chief Executive of FCFCG member Bradford Community Environment Project said: “We are delighted to be part of the Big Dig and are looking forward to welcoming new people to our gardens. We want more people to experience the benefits to their health and wellbeing that come from community gardening” www.bigdig. org.uk
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Members
Meet your Board! D
id you know that the Federation is governed by a Board of Trustees elected from and by the membership? Do you wonder who they are, what they do, and when they meet? Wonder no more. The FCFCG Board meets six times a year. Meetings take place at locations throughout the UK, so that the Board can meet with members, visit their projects and learn more about the movement. This year Board members will also be attending regional networking meetings in their area with the aim of finding out more from our members about their needs and how FCFCG can best work to promote and support them.
Above left to right: David, Derek, Lynn and Mike on a visit to St James City Farm
David Drury
Mike Primarolo
Over the years the Board has embraced a variety of external advice and support, most notably a review of Governance in 200809 and more recently adopting NCVO’s Good Governance Code. This external advice sets objective standards for Board members and helps them ensure that they operate strategically and objectively, complementing the work of the CEO and staff team. www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/advicesupport/trustee-governance/ governance
First joined: 2003, Chair since 2006 Job role: Retired, previously Manager of Gorgie City Farm, Edinburgh
First joined: 2004, Treasurer 200406 Job role: Formerly a management committee member of Windmill Hill City Farm, which he helped establish
The Board are always keen to talk to potential new Board members. If you are interested, we can arrange taster sessions so that you can get a feel for what it involves. It’s a great way to learn more about and contribute to the development of the movement, as well as gain valuable new skills and experiences.
Lynn Templar
For further information contact Jeremy Iles, CEO. Tel. 0117 9231 800 jeremy@farmgarden.org.uk Page
David managed livestock farms in the Scottish Borders for 20 years before joining Gorgie City Farm, from which he retired in 2011. David was co-opted onto the Board in 2003 with a special remit for Scotland. He became a full Board member in 2004, and was the Vice Chair from 2005-2006.
First joined: 2002, Company Secretary 2002-04 Job role: Horticultural Training Manager, St Werburgh’s City Farm, Bristol Lynn was been a volunteer, staff member and Board member at Windmill Hill City Farm in Bristol from 1994. She now works as the Horticultural Training Manager at nearby St Werburgh’s City Farm.
Mike has been involved in the movement since 1976 and was first chair of the Federation in 1980. From 1990 he has played an active role in the European Federation of City Farms.
Derek Wakefield-Brown First joined: 2012 Job role: Farm Manager, Gloucester City Farm Derek has been Farm Manager at St James City Farm in Gloucester since it was established 18 years ago. For a long time this was as an employee of the local authority but the farm was recently transferred to local community management. He has also been an FCFCG regional fieldworker and has extensive experience of rare breed livestock and working with people and communities.
Members Maria Hornsby
Sally Partridge
First joined: 1980, Vice Chair 1999-2005 Job role: Youth Development Officer at Rice Lane City Farm, Liverpool
First joined: 2009, Vice Chair since 2011 Job role: Director, Greenmeadow Community Farm, Cwmbran
Maria, a committed community activist, has been involved with the Federation since it was founded in 1980. She has been Rice Lane’s Youth Worker for many years and is passionate about working with young people, animal husbandry and animal welfare. She regularly represents FCFCG at European level and has 13 years experience of youth exchange work.
Sally has a strong academic background including a degree in Animal Science from Leeds University and a Diploma in Environmental Conservation from Oxford University. She spent approximately 8 years working for Buckinghamshire County Council at Thrift Farm, a day care centre for adults with learning difficulties, before relocating to Wales to become the Director of Greenmeadow Community Farm.
Jane Jeoffrey
John Wheldon
First joined: 2009 Job role: Chair of management committee, Arkwright Meadows Community Garden, Nottingham
First joined: Chair 1995–2001 and 2005-06. Vice Chair since 2011 Job role: Management committee member of Stonebridge City Farm, Nottingham.
Jane has been involved with Arkwright Meadows Community Garden since its inception twelve years ago and with Queens Walk Community Association since 1999. She is also very involved with the wider Afro Caribbean community. Below: Maria and Jane on their way to tea at Buckingham Palace!
John has been involved with local farms in Nottingham since 1985. He had extensive involvement with Stonebridge City Farm through his work as a police officer until his retirement in 2010. He has represented the Board at the European Federation of City Farms’ AGMs since 1998.
Mick Magennis First joined: 2002 Job role: Director of Kentish Town City Farm, London Mick has been the Director of Kentish Town City Farm since 1988. Prior to this, he was the Co-ordinator of a community play project in Camden for 12 years. He is Chair of the London City Farms and Community Gardens Association and sits on the Board of the local regeneration partnership, representing the needs of children and young people.
Clare with Jeremy Iles, CEO at Mudchute Park and Farm, London
Clare Sutton First joined: since November 1997, Chair 2001-2005. Job role: Secretary of Chapelhay Community Playgarden in Weymouth and Coordinator of New Roots, a project run by Poole Housing Partnership to help residents set up local food growing projects Clare was also previously the Coordinator of Culpeper Community Garden in London, responsible for co-ordinating all elements of the project.
Chris Collins First joined: since 2012 Job role: Green Valley Community Garden, Abercynon, South Wales Chris is a qualified Environmental Scientist. In his current role he works to promote local sustainability and has been supporting the local community to transform a near derelict brownfield site into a thriving community greenspace. He has also recently taken a leading role in the re-development of a community garden located at a hospital in the upper Swansea Valley.
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Members
Walk and talk at Heeley City Farm been produced by Sally’s heritage volunteers and which includes archaeological finds from the digs on the Heeley City Farm site. Heeley has a lot to offer,” said Shelly,“the views are fantastic and I have learned so much about the history of the area already on previous walks. We want everyone to share this, as well as giving people an excuse to get out in the fresh air together and have a chat.”
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eeley City Farm in Sheffield has initiated an exciting new project designed to bring local residents together and utilise their memories of life in Heeley in a printed guided heritage walk. Project leaders from ‘Heeley Walk and Talk’, which is being funded by the local South Community Assembly, are inviting Heeley residents, both past and present, to contribute to an oral history project by coming to share their memories over a cup of coffee and a slice of cake. The project is a collaboration between Shelly Davis, who works with older people in the community through her Older, Wiser, Warmer project and Sally Rodgers, the Farm’s Heritage Officer. Sally has coordinated several community archaeology digs at the farm. The digs, which look at the history of the farm site, have evolved into a number of other projects looking at history in the wider community and involve other organisations like the University of Sheffield and the local Heeley History Group. The Heeley Walk and Talk project is one of these. Page
Sally said “We’ve had a fantastic response to the first two sessions – three elderly people came to the second coffee morning and it turned out they had had the same Doctor in Heeley when they were small children – they didn’t know each other before but were all happily chatting away and sharing stories after they found out they had that in common.” This part of the project is one of the most important to Shelly, who works with older people, “There is a problem around the isolation of older residents in any community as they become less mobile or feel that they don’t have anything to offer anymore,” said Shelly “and getting people here to talk to each other and meet others can help them feel part of something again and that they have something to contribute.” As well as the coffee mornings, where people can share their memories in more detail, visitors can also take part in a short guided walk around the Heeley area with Sally and the farm’s Health Champions to learn more about the history of Heeley. People will also get a chance to look at the community archive which has
The walks are designed to be easy going so less able members of the community can take part. Walkers can meet new people, get some gentle exercise and share their wealth of knowledge about the area and its inhabitants with people from different generations. At the end of the project a guided walk leaflet, which starts and finishes at the farm, will be produced. Rather than the usual heritage walk guides (which tend to be more about landmarks and larger historical narratives), this one will be more personal and based on what people share through the oral history recordings about their lives in Heeley. www.heeleyfarm.org.uk
Members
The making of a muckraker S
tepney City Farm in London’s East End is a working farm, Rural Arts Centre and community meeting place where children and adults a chance to meet farm animals, learn how to grow food and try out arts and crafts. Last autumn, the farm played host to the Guardian’s acting comment editor Libby Brooks, who has written about the impact her time at the farm has had on her. “As my month at Stepney City Farm draws to an end, I am left reflecting on all the weird and wonderful things that I’ve done over the past four weeks. I chose to spend this sabbatical from my day job as a comment editor and columnist at the Guardian because, having spent the past few years commissioning and writing articles about how this country is – for reasons various, economic and political – going to hell in a handcart, I wanted to spend some time with people who are walking the talk. “Clipping the ferrets’ toenails or filling up the leaf mulcher may not appear to have anything to do with the global recession or benefits cuts, but the ethos at Stepney City Farm – self-sufficiency, education, community outreach – is exactly what a lot of folk are groping for at present, be that through the Occupy movement or even David Cameron’s much-derided Big Society. Essentially, having spent a month here, I firmly believe that Stepney City Farm can change the world, and I’d challenge anyone to do likewise and not come to a similar conclusion. “I’ve done a load of things here that have made me think about much more than just the task in front of me. Planting broad beans to store in the polytunnel
over the winter makes me realise what a different rhythm there is to working life when the seasons are in charge, and light and temperature cannot be fixed at the touch of a button. “Working in the media, there is an unappealing tendency to get sucked in by the notion that WE are the insiders, and WE know all the secrets of the universe. It’s been really good for me – humbling in fact – to be reminded that there are whole worlds of skills and knowledge for me to learn from. “Stepney farmers like Tom have forgotten more about gardening than I will ever know. Feeding the goats one afternoon in the field by Stepney Way, and watching the cars speeding past, I was struck by the fact that – though I have a tendency to romanticise the countryside at something ‘other’ – all of the urban environment was once fields, and can be fields again, while fields themselves are human inventions of course. “Not that the majority of my time here has been spent standing around thinking deep thoughts while the goats go hungry. The great thing about volunteering here is that there is always something that needs doing and if there’s not then you can pass a pleasant half hour playing with the ferrets (my favourite farm animal by a country mile and no arguments). I’ve helped to build vegetable beds, groomed the donkeys, landscaped the pond, swept up a lot of leaves and shifted a lot of hay and mud and general detritus around in wheelbarrows. “I shall never forget Goose Thursday. I arrived in the morning
to the news that the local fox had attacked one of the geese in the night. The poor bird was barely breathing and had to be humanely killed by one of the farmers. Then – and I genuinely think that this was what it would have wanted – we strung it up by the feet and plucked its feathers for down. “Expertly gutted by our resident medic Katharine, the bird began to look a little less like a corpse and more like dinner, and I took on the task of roasting it with potatoes and fresh kale from the edible garden. We made our own approximation of foie gras too, and saved the fat for another day. At 5 o’clock that evening we sat down to a delicious roast dinner. Where else can you go from field to plate in under 12 hours? Or see every element of a bird, feather and feet inclusive, utilised? “It’s been a wonderful month, and I’m hoping that I can carve out some space in my working schedule to maintain my connection with the the greenest, greatest place in Stepney. And the ferrets would miss me.” http://stepneycityfarm.org Page
Members
West End Women and Girls Communi A
community garden has been established on an old bowling green in Elswick Park, Newcastle Upon Tyne to enable women and girls to participate in growing activities who would otherwise not have the opportunity to do so. The garden was set up in response to requests from members of West End Women and Girls Centre who wanted to learn how to grow their own healthy organic food. Emma Hughes, the Garden Project Co-ordinator, describes how the garden has grown since then. “In spring 2009, our first job after being allocated the old bowling green for our new garden was to test the soil was safe for food growing. It was, but after years of lime and sand being added to maintain the green for playing bowls and a sub base of hardcore, the soil is extremely free draining – brilliant for digging but not so great for watering needs in periods of dry weather (not an issue last year!). “We also had a problem with potato scab due to the lime in the soil. To combat these problems, we have added literally tonnes of organic material to the beds - manure, compost and soil conditioner - and we grow green manures when we can fit them in to our crop rotation. The soil is definitely improving every year. “From small beginnings (2 beds in 2009) we now have a large plot which includes many vegetable beds, fruit trees and shrubs, flower borders, a large herb planter, polytunnel, composting area, raised beds, seating area and our school ‘pizza garden’ complete with sundial and scarecrows. We hold regular ‘Big dig’ days where we invite volunteers to join us for Page 10
a day of digging and gardening activities. “We grow a wide variety of organic fruit and veg and have tried growing lots of unusual things too. Gardening group members come from various countries and have introduced us to vegetables such as Bengali and Chinese pumpkins, doogi, mustard, various types of unusual beans, scorzonera and mooli - this year we are going to try Celtuce. “One of the most interesting things we grew in the garden last year was wheat, which we harvested, dried, threshed, winnowed and milled to make flour. As well as being taken home to be enjoyed by local families, the food grown in the garden is used in cookery groups at the centre, so women and girls can literally enjoy the fruits of their labour. “In November 2011 we received funding from the Tree Council to create an orchard with local school children. This has been planted in an open area of the park and has received a small amount of damage – but we are hopeful that the majority will grow into fruitful trees for the whole community to enjoy for years to come.
“Alongside weekly women’s and girl’s gardening groups we also run the Seeds4Life project for local primary schools, nurseries and after school groups who come to the garden on regular trips to grow their own fruit and veg. Each school has their own slice of the ‘pizza’ to grow fruit and vegetables. The children then use the produce to cook healthy recipes in our community kitchen. “The garden is also a hub for Edible Elswick, a partnership of local agencies which encourages people to come together to grow food and flowers, to eat and share and to revive our green spaces. We have held seasonal events including a Pumpkin Day, growing your own pasta sauce (tomatoes and basil) and community clear up and planting days on local estates. We held a vegetable and fruit growing competition in September 2012 which produced enormous leeks and pumpkins and encouraged the whole community to improve their environment, health and happiness. “Last autumn we were very excited and honoured to receive a visit from the Duchess of Cambridge who toured the
Members
ty Garden community garden and met gardening group members, volunteers and young people. The girls presented her with homemade jam and chutney and she sampled some organic leek and potato soup too – all made with ingredients from the garden. The Duchess also asked for a bit of advice on how to grow her own potatoes and our experienced gardeners gave her some handy tips. The visit was organized as part of the Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge where green spaces from across the country were nominated as part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations. “The work in the community garden is currently largely funded by the NHS North of Tyne. We have also received funding through the Tyne and Wear Community Foundation as well as smaller amounts for tools etc from the Community Food Initiative, which will sustain the garden until Sept 2013. This funds a part time lead horticulture worker and a sessional youth worker to run groups, maintain the garden, organize events and recruit and manage volunteers. We are unsure whether funding will continue into 2014. Plans for the community garden this year include creating more beds, including inside the new polytunnel, and growing a bigger variety of crops.” http://westendwomenandgirls. co.uk
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
No clucking in the library...? Attendees at a recent regional gathering for FCFCG members in Manchester were surprised and delighted to hear about a very unusual initiative to engage communities that has been taking place in Bury libraries - chicken keeping courses! Dawn Broadhurst and Claire Bebbington, Community Development Officers with Bury Library Service, came up with the idea. Claire Bebbington said “the uptake was amazing and we were inundated with people wanting to take part from the outset - so much so that each course was massively oversubscribed”. The courses, which are free of charge, have now been attended by 100s of community members wanting to keep their own chickens or wanted to understand more about them - allotment committees, members of the local housing association and members of the environmental health team. The courses have proved so popular that Dawn and Claire have presented on the subject at Incredible Edible events, local schools, Women’s Unions, Women’s Institutes, Church Outreach Groups and of course at the FCFCG event in Rossendale. In addition to teaching people about keeping chickens, Moorside Community Centre and Library and Topping Fold Community Centre and Library have also hatched chicks on two occasions. Dawn said “The interest that this project has created has been wonderful. Community members have really got involved, carefully
tracking the eggs as they were incubated and then hatched. On each occasion the chicks were kept in the libraries for 2 weeks before going to live on a farm”. The project has proved really successful and has got different generations chatting together, with older members of the community telling stories to younger members of their experiences of keeping chickens during the war. Topping Fold Community Centre and Library now has its very own chicken coop which houses 3 chickens that were hatched at the library. The chickens are looked after by volunteers from the community and have been named Dotty, Hilda and Queenie. The first eggs are expected very soon! Dawn said “Many people have been surprised that activities like this take place in libraries but Bury Library Service always likes to think outside the box. Libraries are not just about books, they can be vibrant community hubs that adapt with the times to not only provide leisure and culture opportunities but also strenghten communities.” www.facebook.com/ BuryLibraries
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Events and networking
The power of storytelling on commun © Arts and Humanities Research Council
by different storytellers over the years. A current session available to groups is called ‘The Story of Fire’ which is a lovely session that draws upon the magic of fire and the story of ‘How the Rabbit Gave Fire to the People’. The mixture of the beautiful outdoor setting, fire and spoken word is a perfect way to set their imagination alight. One teacher gave feedback saying, “I loved seeing the children so mesmerised by the fire – fantastic”.
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torytelling has taken place since the beginning of time. Stories are how humans have made sense of the world, and their place in it. They were how knowledge and wisdom were handed down from generation to generation. Today, however, it is mostly the TV, the internet and the media that provide us with our stories. But storytelling in the traditional sense, seems to be making a comeback and there are some community farms and gardens that are bringing storytelling back into the local culture, using stories to educate, to bring people together, to relate and connect with different groups, ages and backgrounds and to create a deeper connection and understanding with the animals and the natural world around them. Tablehurst and Plaw Hatch Community Farms in East Sussex are just two examples that hold storytelling events throughout the year. Stories are told as part of their seasonal celebration events and they often hold storytelling events devoted to the different animals, with cow or sheep themed stories told. These events Page 12
sometimes take place in the barn, with the animals inputting just at the right moment! Janice withers, storyteller and employee at Plawhatch Community Farm explains, “Storytelling on the farm gives a sense of reverence to what it is we do. It enables people to have a deeper connection with the animals. “In the telling of one story, we included our own Bob the Bull as one of the characters in the ‘Black Bull of Norway’, the children never forgot him and always looked for him when they visited. ” St Werburghs City Farm in Bristol also has a tradition of storytelling. Their Winter Wassail has been celebrated each year as part of the Bristol Storytelling Festival organised by Martin Maudsley. The Boiling Wells conservation site is a perfect setting for a story and has captured the imagination of many a fine storyteller, from Chris Sailsbury to most recently Milly Jackdaw. Some use puppets and others use found objects to inspire them. School groups have taken part in story walks and workshops lead
So, how can you introduce storytelling onto your project? Include storytelling at one of your events Adding storytelling to one of your existing events not only enhances the experience for your visitors and volunteers, but also attract more people to your event. At Plawhatch Community Farm, storytelling was included and advertised for one of their farm walks, 40 -50 people fed back that it was actually the storytelling they came for. Hold a storytelling event on your farm or garden There are hundreds of storytellers around the country, and it is likely you have a storyteller within your community, or there may be a local storytelling circle you can contact. Community farms, gardens and orchards make wonderful and magical settings for stories. You may attract people who have never been on a community farm or garden, and who might want to get involved, or support in some way. Make sure you have some leaflets handy or a sheet where people can leave their contact details.
Events and networking
n ity farms and gardens Include stories as part of your educational programmes Stories can be included in any educational programme, as they enable a deeper understanding to take place as knowledge is taken in on a different level. They are also an opportunity to relate and connect with people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds. They can greatly enhance the learning experience and can be attractive to schools looking for outdoor educational experiences. Stories can then be followed by practical activities on the farm or garden. Create your own story Last year, Tablehurst Community Farm created their very own story. The project worked with two local storytellers and engaged farm visitors and volunteers, recording their views and feelings about the farm, from which a story was then
created. This was a wonderful inclusive project and some of the volunteers became the heroes within the story. The story was performed at their harvest event, much to the delight of the volunteers. If you would like to know more about delivering storytelling on your project, please contact Katie Jones. katie@farmgarden.org.uk Tel: 02920 225 942 Useful links • The Society for Storytellers www.sfs.org.uk (Directory of storytellers and local events) • International School of Storytelling www.schoolofstorytelling.com (Training and courses)
‘Corporate Social Responsibility - We all benefit’ A number of FCFCG members are reaping the benefits of working with private sector companies to complete environmental tasks at their sites. The companies involved use this opportunity to fulfill their corporate social responsibility as well as help with team building amongst their personnel. In 2012, in partnership with Co-operative Membership FCFCG ran CSR challenges in Northern England under the banner Together We Can. FCFCG member projects hosted these challenges and some of them will be available at an event to be held on 20 March at Meanwood Valley Urban Farm
in Leeds. They will be sharing their experiences with other members and explaining how they have gone on to work with other companies. The day will include workshops on the practicalities of running CSR events, presentations on research into CSR and business views on the benefits and requirements when setting up CSR events and developing ongoing relationships with companies. For further information and online booking, visit: www.farmgarden.org.uk/events/ fcfcg-events-in-england
Networking at The Concrete Garden Last November, twenty people from Glasgow, Ayrshire and beyond braved the cold to tour the inspirational Concrete Garden, a community growing space in North Glasgow. The award-winning garden is located on land reclaimed from industrial use and is designed in a modular system of grow boxes and bags made from recycled materials. Attendees also took part in a workshop on permaculture. Kate Kelly, FCFCG Fieldworker, describes the day. “Participants were interested in how to engage more volunteers, how to integrate permaculture into existing gardens and the perennial search for interesting winter activities. Creative suggestions were made and ideas shared as we learned more about the various projects represented. “There were discussions on the definition of permaculture, forest gardening and how projects could think local and act global. One project co-ordinator described how growing their own produce and recycling their food waste had made a huge difference to her group, increasing their confidence and allowing them to find a purpose in life. The notion of being a guardian of the garden appealed to us all. “We also looked at practical ways to increase yields in a shady area of the garden. Plenty of good suggestions were made, including to try lasagne gardening! Lots of ideas for the future.” Page 13
Management
Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) The Charity Commission is now considering online applications from new organisations in England and Wales that want to register as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). The form has been available for some time in Scotland (SCIO). The CIO is a new legal form designed specifically for charities. The structure provides charities with some of the benefits of being a company, without all of the associated burdens. For example: • CIOs will be incorporated charities able to enter into contracts in their own right. • Their trustees will have limited or no liability. • CIOs will be registered and regulated by the Charity Commission and they will not have to register with Companies House. The Charity Commission has published a timetable for 2013
which indicates when existing unincorporated charities can set up a CIO and transfer their assets into it. The date varies according to charity income. Groups wishing to set up a new charity should keep in mind that the CIO structure is most suitable for small-to-medium sized charities which employ staff or enter into contracts. While running a CIO should be simpler than establishing a charitable company, it will not be as straightforward as running an unincorporated association or trust. Full details can be found on the following websites: England and Wales www.charity-commission.gov. uk/Start_up_a_charity/Do_I_need_ to_register/CIOs/default.aspx Scotland www.oscr.org.uk/about-scottishcharities/scio/
The Small Donations Scheme will also go live in April 2013. Under the new scheme, charities that have a track record of making Gift Aid claims will be able to claim on small cash donations, without a donor Page 14
New Disclosure and Barring Service The new Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) will now carry out the functions previously undertaken by the Criminal Records Bureau and the Independent Safeguarding Authority. www.homeoffice.gov.uk/ agencies-public-bodies/dbs
My Community Rights advice service Do you have plans to run a local service, transfer assets or use the rights contained in the Localism Act? This new online hub gives information, resources and access to grants. http://mycommunityrights.org. uk
NCVO StudyZone Trustee training pack
If you have not claimed Gift Aid before, April may be a good time to start doing so. HMRC are assuring charities that the new online system will be easy to use. By claiming Gift Aid for two years, you will also become eligible for the Small Donations Scheme. Take a look at HMRC’s website to find out more about Gift Aid and how to register.
StudyZone is NCVO’s online library of training videos, made by the voluntary sector, for the voluntary sector. Their Trustee Training Pack includes everything you need to tackle the issues you and your trustees are facing, make board meetings work and turn plans into action. It includes three full video training courses, downloadable resources and discussion forums moderated by the trainers. There are free preview videos to help you assess whether the pack will be useful to your project.
www.hmrc.gov.uk Tel. 0845 302 0203
http://knowhownonprofit.org/ studyzone
Gift Aid is moving online HMRC is moving Gift Aid online from April 2013. If you claim Gift Aid already, you need to take action to get ready for this change. For most charities, these changes will require you to use a new HMRC form or spreadsheet to submit your claims. For others, it may require more detailed changes to your database systems.
Management resources
declaration form. Guidance for the Small Donations Scheme will be published by HMRC in mid March.
Resources
Communities buying land
Let’s Colour
FCFCG Wales and the Community Land Advice Service recently delivered training to around 40 delegates on the ins and outs of buying land. Land is one of the biggest barriers communities face when wanting to grow and buying land is just one way in which communities can access land and put it into community ownership.
• Stephen from Llwyn Ffranc, nr Abergavenny - a landowner working with the community to create an eco-settlement. • Ashfield Community Enterprise - a community group who have purchased a former nursery site to create a space for people to grow and stimulate the local economy.
The 2013 Let’s Colour Project is open for nominations. The project donates Dulux paint to communities throughout the UK. If you would like to transform a community environment or space with colour,visit the website for more details.
The day explored the risks and benefits of buying land, the different types of legal structures, how to raise funds through loans, grants, gifts and shares, as well as how to go about buying land. There were some inspiring talks from people who have successfully purchased land for communities to grow including: • The Biodynamic Land Trust which aims to purchase land and put it into trust to be farmed organically and biodynamically. • The Roundhouse Partnership, which has purchased a piece of woodland and a barley field on the outskirts of Cardiff.
Expertise was also on hand from the Plunkett Foundation with regard to the technicalities of share issues, and the Charity Bank. The Wales Co-operative Centre gave advice on getting finance, setting up as an Industrial and Provident Society and issuing shares.
New handbook to help you build a great website
The event was oversubscribed and received some great feedback. There are now plans to deliver this training in other areas. In the meantime, please visit the CLAS website for information and resources on buying land and other land based issues. www.communitylandadvice.org. uk
Hedgehog champions - your hogs need you! Hedgehogs are declining and urgently need your help. Your project could become a ‘Hedgehog champion’ by creating your very own Hedgehog Street. The British Hedgehog Preservation Society and the People’s Trust for Endangered Species are encouraging people to develop their gardens as suitable habitats for hedgehogs, and to participate in the 2013
www.letscolour.co.uk
An organisation’s website should highlight its mission and inspire supporters to take action. But where does one begin in building a website? Is your organisation ready for a new website project? Who will work on this team, and what is the time and effort required to build a quality website? Does a website fit into this year’s budget? A free downloadable handbook, produced by SmartCause Digital, offers an overview of the website design and development process and helpful information. www.smartcausedigital.com
Love Outdoor Play Campaign
Sign up for an information pack and get hedgehog-spotting!
Many members are both engaged in and supportive of increasing opportunities for children to play out and several already feature on this campaign website. Why not add a link to the campaign from your website and contact Love Outdoor Play to find out how you can get involved?
www.hedgehogstreet.org
http://loveoutdoorplay.net
Hibernation Survey. Research has suggested a link between climate and when hedgehogs come out of hibernation, but as last year’s survey showed confusing patterns of activity, another is being undertaken.
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Funding, training and other opportunities Awards for all news Projects throughout England with an income of £30,000 or under now have the opportunity to apply for repeat and on-going activities under Awards for All in a pilot scheme running until the end of March 2013. This deadline may be extended (or shortened) as Awards for All sees fit but it’s worth investigating quickly if you think this could help your project secure funding that you need. www.awardsforall.org.uk/england/ pilot-apply
The Bayer/FACE Awards Do you provide quality educational visits? FACE is delighted to announce that Bayer CropScience is supporting the Bayer/FACE Awards 2013 to reward farmers who host school visits or offer educational activities in schools. Closing Date:12 April http://face-online.org.uk/facenews/bayer-face-awards-2013
Biffaward Small Grants This scheme offers quick access to lower levels of funding (£250£5,000) for projects that make a difference to a local facility, be it a community building, nature reserve, cultural facility or outdoor space. Your project must cost no more than £10,000 in total and you will need to find a third party contributor(s) to provide 5% of the grant you are applying for. Your project must meet certain criteria including being within 10 miles of a Biffa operation and also within 10 miles of a landfill site (owned by any company). See the website for full details. Page 16
Biffaward also has a main grants scheme that looks to support sitebased projects that protect and enhance biodiversity across the UK. Grants between £5,000 and £50,000 are available. www.biffa-award.org/small-grantsscheme
Coalfields Regeneration Trust The trust has programmes in England, Scotland and Wales, with grants currently available in England (up to £5,000) and Wales (up to £10,000). For full details and eligibility criteria visit the website. www.coalfields-regen.org.uk
Dulverton Trust This trust offers support for educational activities and opportunities for disadvantaged young people, helping them to achieve their true potential. This includes enabling young people at risk of offending or exclusion to access education and employment. They believe in the character-building value of challenging outdoor activities that encourage leadership and team spirit. They also wish to help children, particularly from urban and suburban areas, to value the countryside. The trust also supports a wide range of activities that benefit disadvantaged people and communities, as well as general conservation and protection of wildlife habitats within the UK www.dulverton.org
Foyle Foundation Small Grants The Foyle Foundation Small Grants Scheme is designed to support smaller charities,
especially those working at grass roots and local community level in any field, across a wide range of activities. The Foundation makes one year grants of between £1,000 and £10,000 to charities which can demonstrate that such a grant will make a significant difference to their work. www.foylefoundation.org.uk/ small-grants-scheme
Go for it Scotland! The 2013 round of the Go for It Scotland! programme has opened to applications for bursaries to support healthy activities in Scotland. Run by Quality Meat Scotland and sportscotland, the programme will offer 20 bursaries of £500 on an annual basis in the run up to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. The programme is open to individuals and groups of all ages and abilities living and training in Scotland who are taking part in healthy activities to increase their heart rate. www.qmscotland.co.uk
Heritage Lottery Fund The ‘Share Heritage’ and ‘Our Heritage’ programmes will shortly replace the current ‘Your Heritage’ grant programme. Share Heritage will award grants of up to £10k to community organisations looking to explore, share and celebrate the heritage of their community. Our Heritage will award grants of up to £100k for all types of heritage projects. For example, smaller parks and green spaces, community buildings, museum collections and archives as well as activity projects exploring languages, cultures and memories. www.hlf.org.uk
Funding, training and other opportunities LLoyds Bank Social Entrepreneur Programme If you have an idea for a project or organisation that can make a difference in your community, the Lloyds Banking Group Social Entrepreneurs Programme could provide you with a place on one of the School for Social Entrepreneurs’ innovative learning programmes as well as a grant to help you develop and grow your project. Closing date: 2 April www.the-sse.org
The Santander Foundation has a second programme which funds any education or training activity disadvantaged people undertake where they improve their confidence in a skill or their understanding of a subject. The programme’s other priority is activities which help disadvantaged people understand how to manage their money. This could fund, for example, the costs of running a credit union or a training kitchen for homeless people to learn how to budget effectively for their food and then go on to apply these principals to other parts of their lives.
Santander Community Plus
www.santanderfoundation.org.uk
The Santander Foundation provides grants of up to £5,000 to small local UK charities or local projects of national charities. The grant needs to fund something specific, eg equipment, or to pay for a part time sessional worker. It must also directly help disadvantaged people in your area.
The main focus of Warburtons’ support for charities is grass roots activities that have a positive effect on the aspirations, education, skills and employability of young people, as well as projects that are centred on family life, promoting healthier lifestyles and contributing to improvements in the local community.
Warburtons
Their financial giving programme is aimed at supporting projects that will be of real direct benefit to local communities. They provide community grants that can be used for something specific or funding for community projects. Applicants must be within a 15 mile radius of a Warburtons bakery or depot in England, Scotland or Wales. www.warburtons.co.uk/corporate/ responsibility/best-for-thecommunity/financial-giving
Weir Charitable Trust (Scotland) EuroMillions winners Chris and Colin Weir have launched The Weir Charitable Trust, endowed with an initial £5 million.The aim of the trust is to support individuals, groups and charities who are based in and provide services in Scotland. The Trust anticipates supporting those who find difficulty in sourcing funds from traditional or mainstream funders. http://weircharitabletrust.com
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 all our publications are available free to members on request. • Multiple copies of promotional publications such as maps and leaflets are also available. Page 18
• 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, Newtown and Bangor. 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 We have four offices in England:
North Our staff in the North of England are based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Manchester. Tel. 01207 562 317 or 0161 275 9725 north@farmgarden.org.uk www.farmgarden.org.uk/north
South West Our South West team are based in Plymouth. Tel. 01752 267 293 southwest@farmgarden.org.uk www.farmgarden.org.uk/ south-west
London and the East Our London team are based at Kentish Town City Farm. Tel. 0207 485 5001 london@farmgarden.org.uk www.farmgarden.org.uk/london
Midlands Our Midlands team are based in Coventry. Tel. 02476 675 211 midlands@farmgarden.org.uk www.farmgarden.org.uk/midlands
Projects and partnerships Growing with Schools (GWS) Tel. 02476 675 211 gws@farmgarden.org.uk www.farmgarden.org.uk/ education
Community Land Advice Service (CLAS) England - Tel. 0117 966 9491 england@communitylandadvice. org.uk Scotland - Tel. 0131 225 2080 scotland@communitylandadvice. org.uk Page 19
Growing Places Members’ magazine - Issue 4 2012, November 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: 8 April 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: