On 20th September 2014, community food-growing gardens in Bournemouth and Poole will be opening their gates to the public. Edible Gardens Open Day is now in its third year as a national event and has once again come to the towns. The day aims to raise awareness of community gardens and encourage more people to get involved in food growing, as a cheap way to eat healthily and meet neighbours and friends from their communities.
The gardens participating this year include the SMILE community garden at Tatnam Farm Allotments. The garden was established last year by a group of single parents who wanted to grow vegetables together with their children in a supportive environment. They now welcome many different people to their garden andaim to provide a welcoming and safe place for families to meet and also alleviate some of the financial pressures they face by growing their own produce.
New Leaf Allotment at Throop is participating for the second year and hopes to encourage people to visit and learn more about how the garden and its volunteers support a range of individuals, get involved with growing and maybe even take some produce home. Chris Small, Volunteering and Projects Manager at Bournemouth Churches Housing Association which runs the New Leaf allotment said “We are so pleased to be partnering with Sustain and the Sustainable Food City Partnership to enjoy this Edible Gardens Open Day. We hope that by working together, we can draw more people and attention to these gardens, and have an increased positive impact on our community.”
Details of the gardens taking part can be found on The Big Dig website at www.bigdig.org.uk.
Sarah Watson
