Growing communities

The Big Dig 2013 is not a televised archaeology marathon. What it shares with its predecessor of the same name is a multitude of opportunities for people to get their hands dirty. The Big Dig, taking place from 16-22^nd March, has a national scale but a local focus involving people in improving community garden spaces. Here in Sheffield the volunteering opportunities are being organised by Grow Sheffield. 

This isn’t the first time Grow Sheffield has been involved in encouraging volunteering. In fact it’s probably fair to say that without volunteers there would be no Grow Sheffield. The organisation was started  just 6 years ago to ‘to connect people to each other, to their environment and the seasons using food and food growing.’ The most straightforward way they’ve done that is through the abundance project. 

It’s a simple idea. Around Sheffield there are fruit trees full of fruit that would not otherwise be picked. Volunteers harvest fruit gluts and then distribute it to the communities it is grown in on a not for profit basis. Nothing is wasted with surpluses being used to make chutneys. If you’ve always relied on the supermarket for your chutneys you can even learn how to make them yourself. 

A natural progression from abundance has been the community growers project. Community growers are gardening gurus who provide the expertise and the encouragement for people to try their hand at growing their own food. The project recognises that many people living in cities do not have their own garden. And despite a healthy interest in allotments there hasn’t been a growth in allotment sites. Instead of bemoaning the lack of allotments community growers help people seek out solutions. This might mean growing in pots and on windowsills or utilising what otherwise would be abandoned patches of land. 

Each community grower concentrates on one local area in Sheffield. There are currently 8 ongoing with a plan to add 4 more this year. The idea isn’t that Grow Sheffield will seek perpetual funding to keep these projects going. The aim – that runs through all their work – is sustainability. In this instance that means equipping communities with the knowledge and skills to establish and sustain the activities themselves. It is a model that ensures local people are at the heart of each project and it is the participants that shape each project and determine what is grown and whether it will succeed. 

Last year Grow Sheffield organised events for people to see what these projects were like. This year, as part of the big dig they’re going a step further and asking people to take part. Tom Sutton, who is coordinating the big dig in Sheffield, feels that by taking part people will get a better idea of a project’s benefits than they would by looking around. Anyone who gets involved will be part of a project with activities around the country taking in Taunton, Ipswich, Blackpool, Coventry and many others beside our very own Sheffield.  

If you want to get involved what can you expect? Around the city several projects have already signed up. At Lowes Garden on Abbeydale Road you could end up clearing the garden, pruning trees or planting fruit bushes. Hillside Harvest community allotment in the Rivelin Valley is teaming up with Grow Sheffield for an open day that includes workshops on planning allotments. Volunteers are also needed to help build a path and bridge that will improve access to the allotments. The last word goes to volunteer Chaitrali Dhamne, "Grow Sheffield is providing wonderful events, memorable days and unique opportunities to volunteer across the city, in a very well organised manner! It was my first experience of volunteering and I wasn't sure what to expect, but I would definitely get involved again!"

The easiest way to get involved in any of these projects – and more besides – is to go to www.bigdig.org.uk and find Sheffield on the interactive map. Or you can enter your postcode and the site will find the projects nearest to you. And it’s not too late to get involved if you have a gardening project that you need volunteers for contact volunteering@growsheffield.com.

Go on, give it a grow this March.

This is taken from an article I wrote for now then magazine, Sheffield

Muck & Magic

Last week we had our first open day of 2013 and it was a real success. My day started early with an appearance on BBC Radio Sheffield's Breakfast programme with Georgey Spanswick. I'd never been on radio before and it was a real treat. Georgey was a great host who completely put me at ease and was a good laugh.

Then it was on to the open day, which a lot of people had put great efforts into putting together. There were two workshops on composting - beginners & advanced - that both attracted about a dozen people. I wasn't aware there was so much to composting but everyone seemed completely engrossed. As I was involved in the volunteering side of things I couldn't sit in but as a group we've gained some valuable knowledge which will help in seasons to come.

Composting is all about improving the soil and that's what our volunteers were doing too. Of course we're all volunteers but a volunteering marathon arranged by Sheffield University provided 11 extra pairs of hands for those jobs you never quite get round to.

We have a soft fruit area and the area in between the rows of fruit had become overgrown with weeds. This was actually good soil and our volunteers cleared the soil of weeds and topped up some of our beds with it to make them ready for planting. Once cleared we began filling the area with fresh wood chippings to help keep down the weeds. Eventually these will rot down and the whole process will start again. It sounds easy when written down but this involved a lot of shovelling and barrowing of both soil and woodchips.

It's heavy work and all of our volunteers can say they earned the hearty vegetable stew on offer for lunch. We finished the day tired but with a great sense of achievement at the transformed patch of Lotti. There's more to come on 16th March - see the website for details. By then I know we'll be itching to start planting just as soon as the frosts stop. When they do we know we'll be ready.