I’m a No Dig gardener myself (both in my garden and allotment) and have recently started a community grow-your-own project here in Coventry. I’m calling this the Community Green Growthers and we’re setting up plots to grow fruit and veg within communities who are being hit by the cost of living crisis the most and could really benefit from locally grown, organic free food. My pilot site is at Stoke St Michael’s Church in Coventry, which has an active food bank and lunch club so we know when we do get a harvest, it will be going directly to those who need it most. I’m also in touch with a potential second site, who are concidentally another church, in another part of the city also dealing with a variety of social issues.
Our volunteers are a mix of experienced gardeners and those who have never touched a garden spade before. They have now all been introduced to No Dig, if they weren’t aware already, and I shall be using this on any future sites too. There is lots of organic material on site and we’ve been planning and creating our composting area and have now created our first 3 No Dig beds. We had a work session today and volunteers have gone away with packets of seeds and various growing containers with instructions about getting these germinated on their windowsills, so we have something to sow in the beds in a few months time. We do have a small, but enthiusiastic, core of 5-6 regular volunteers but I’m hoping we can get more people on board as the plot grows and the weather warms. We also discussed some ideas today about how we can get the local primary school involved and I’m enthused about the suggestions the volunteers are coming up with. Whilst I might be supporting them in setting this up, I’m very clear that this will be their area as I feel it’s important they have a sense of ownership as they’re more likely to keep this going as a long-term project.
I’m now in the process of setting up a CIO as I know there are grants available for projects like this and I want to be able to bring some of these resources directly into communities who could benefit the most. Our pilot site (and what will be our registered business address) is Stoke St Michael’s Church, Walsgrave Road, Coventry, CV2 4BG, and would be very happy to be put in touch with anybody else in the area who’d like to know more and/or get involved. I’ve also been invited to be part of a steering group the LA are setting up, called ‘Coventry Grows’, so I’m also linking in with other local groups and contacts who are trying to green the city.
The photo was take in February 2024 – I'm in the cowboy hat on the left with a couple of our volunteers, and our brand new beds.
