An idea has sprouted out in Glossop. That Idea is to clear unloved patches of land of it's empty drinks containers and cigarette packets and replace it with beautiful, productive gardens with fruit and vegetables for the community. Incredible Edible has come to our small town and we find the skinny on this new movement by talking to Ronny Worsley about bringing this idea to fruition.
GT: So Ronny, where did this organisation stem from?
RW: A group of green campaigners put on a Glossop Food Fair back in March this year. A speaker came from Incredible Edible Todmorden and their talk was packed out, with many local people buzzing with enthusiasm for doing something similar. We were particularly impressed that in just 3 years, the Todmorden group had transformed their town, with community gardens all over the place. An email list was compiled, we got together in a pub one evening and the group took shape.
GT: Who has brought this idea to Glossop Then?
RW:There's a core group of about ten people who got to work on a site next to the Curly Cornet cafe in the centre of town. We began on 1st May, by clearing the site of litter and installing two raised beds. We carried on developing the site over the summer, and started terracing it. The group is relatively dormant at the moment, but we anticipate that it will surge up again in the early spring.
GT: What sort of impact do you think this will have to the Glossop community?
RW:The sense of empowerment gardening gives is amazing and we'd love to share it more. Studies keep showing that gardening has a very beneficial effect on people's health and mood. If we had sites all over town, like they do in Todmorden, we could grow a significant quantity of food and increase the general sense of well-being and sustainability in the area. I still hand out beans to people every week and all the strawberries, raspberries, lettuces, potatoes, peas, radishes and curly kale got eaten and enjoyed by ourselves and passers-by. The outreach potential is amazing, as lots of people talk to us when we're on site, share gardening tips and discuss social issues. We feel a bit like a public service.
GT: So, Whats the plans for the future of Incredible Edible Glossop?
RW:It all depends how many people get involved. At the moment, there's just two of us tending the Curly Cornet site every Tuesday, which is disappointing, but a few months ago we were a really active group. A combination of the weather and people being really busy is hampering us right now, but all we need is another site and a few more keen people to ramp up the energy levels once more.
If we could extend into working with schools, local businesses, churches, young offenders etc. we could engage a whole new range of people with growing food and feeling a connection with the soil. We'd also like to work with the Council to help turn small grass verges on housing estates into gardens that the residents could adopt. We'd love to plant fruit trees in particular.
If you would like to get involved with Incredible Edible Glossop, you can contact them at here for full contact details and they also have a forum that people can join. There is also a short film made about this group of people in glossop. To view it please click play on the right hand side.
If you have any events or news stories you wish to feature on Glossop Talk, please feel free to email the team at glossoptalk@hotmail.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment