The Grow Garden

An exciting opportunity to invest in community food growing!

The Hub G63 is a social enterprise run by residents in the G63 area. We provide options for the community to eat and buy food in a more sustainable way. Click here to see what we do (www.thehubg63.org.uk).  

We are looking for £5000 for our exciting new community project 'The Grow Garden' 

Our Story

During lockdown - when all the supermarkets had empty shelves, and flour, eggs and milk became scarce commodities, our online food market NeighbourhoodFood Balfron (Balfron Market — NeighbourFood ) came into its own. We provided customers with better access to food by connecting them to suppliers in their own area.  In a time of furloughed staff and growing unemployment, knowing that money was staying within our own community felt like we were helping.

At the same time a countrywide interest in growing food was developing - this year many people had their first experience of growing something to eat.  We want to build on that and create a culture of growing food in the community.  

Growing produce connects people to where their food comes from - Field to Fork. Growing, buying and eating local food is also one of the most accessible ways we can address the climate crisis.

Over the summer the opportunity of a ten year lease on local land for growing came up. This sparked the idea for ‘The Grow Garden’.

The Idea

The Grow Garden - an ultra local food system. 

The Grow Garden is, at its heart, a place to grow fruit and vegetables in a way that regenerates the land and helps fight climate change, but the potential is for it to become more than that. We want it to become the centre of a growing community, a place of experiences, education and working with nature at the heart of the G63 area.

Your pledge will help us set up and maintain 'The Grow Garden' on a site between Killearn and Balfron.  

• We will be able to grow nutrient rich fruit and vegetables in a way that regenerates the land and helps to address food insecurity and poverty. Then we sell them locally in the G63 Hub shop in Drymen and our online food market 'NeighbourFood Balfron' (Balfron Market — NeighbourFood ). 20% of the produce will be given to local foodbanks  - there is no place in any sustainable food system for food poverty! 
• Through community Open Days, we will be able to provide creative, hands on, community growing opportunities. Skills can be learned and support offered to people wanting to ‘grow their own’.
• By providing a site for small sustainable businesses to work from, we will create a thriving and innovative hub for learning about innovations in regenerative growing, community training, and actions towards combating climate change. We will be part of a network of small community food gardens making measurable changes.

Already funded work includes: 

• Land work to create paths and growing areas along with a fire pit corner (donated in kind) 
• Installation of 15 locally crafted raised beds for intensive growing of vegetables.
• Water piping and storage so that the garden can become more self sufficient
• A project manager post (P/T)  September-March 2021
• A permaculture consultant (P/T) September-March 2021
• Tools for gardeners and volunteers  £1000
• Seeds and seedlings £500

What we need your money for

• Two Grow Ambassadors (P/T) to establish the garden and enable and manage volunteer staffing.
• Path upgrades to make them wheelchair and buggy accessible - stone aggregates £700
• Creation of propagation and plant nursery area to allow a longer growing season and the production of plants for the community £1,664
• Ground membranes to manage weeds £450
• Top Soil and compost £1,500

Click here to follow Lauren and the development of the site! (Grow G63 | Facebook )

Our Rewards

£10 - Thank you very much!

£15 - A free coffee, tea of fancy cold drink from Hub G63 on us!

£30 - Limited edition Grow Garden mug.

£80 - Choose from one of these Exclusive events:

• Singing workshop with lunch - Summer 2021 (8 available)
• Spring Foraging event with lunch  - Summer 2021
• Chocolate and Coffee tasting event - Summer 2021

£500 - Garden banquet for 6 Summer 2021

Please give what you can to support local community and sustainable food systems, helping people and planet!