Sam talks about National Allotments Week's theme of shared harvest.
Sharing is caring! This is very much what is celebrated this year for National Allotments Week, as the theme is all about the act of shared harvest.
For me this is about community. A group of people all actively collaborating to transform a space may have been abandoned for a long period of time to turn it into something productive, meaningful and often beautiful.
Take the Millennium Garden in Measham, for example. For a long time it was a forgotten piece of land in which no-one had any real interest. Fast forward to the present day, and there have been numerous fruit and vegetable plants growing and giving us produce to enjoy. We have all shared this produce amongst the group that have contributed to the project over the past year or so. Whether it be radishes, green beans, raspberries or onions. There really was something for everyone.
This year, in my garden, I have been growing courgettes, lettuce, onions and raspberries to share with my family and friends. Just recently, me and my family invited some friends to take some lettuce as we have plenty of it to go around. Of course, lettuce is a popular accompaniment to a salad and especially during this time of year, is the perfect addition to a barbecue.
We also must remember the importance of the overall eco-system, and putting this into practice by making our gardens a shared space where wildlife of all shapes and sizes can exist alongside us. Bees are critical the world over. Without bees, we wouldn’t be able to consume the food we do. They are the biggest pollinators so we should express our gratitude to our striped and buzzing friends.
I would also like to take this moment to encourage you to banish pesticides and herbicides from your gardens and growing spaces. This may mean that you forego some of the produce you might normally grow to give garden wildlife the chance to thrive. You only have to look at the amount of produce in containers in supermarkets. One could imagine that there would be a legal amount of pesticide or herbicide that could be used as they are ultimately not good for human health, so we should be applying this same attitude to our own green spaces.
At Enrych, we are passionate about improving the mental health of those we support in numerous ways. It has been proven time and again just how good stepping into nature is for our health. Having a project to work on, whether that could be building a wooden sculpture to support a plant to grow, or using an old bucket or pot to build a small pond. There are so many ways to make your space unique and welcoming for our wildlife friends.
Our clients love being outdoors and active, having engaged in activities such as creating garden mosaics, helping out at local allotment spaces to make them more attractive to the community and other related projects. Nature is our friend. Why not join us out in the community and help protect our eco-systems, boost our mental health and wellbeing and use our spaces meaningfully and sensitively so they can be enjoyed for many
Comments