Growing Communities - UK-wide food growing network

Aim

Expand our Growing Communities Network to enable community-led food production, promote social connection, and support biodiversity.

Who we are

We are a non-profit social enterprise whose vision is to create networks of growing areas in communities across the UK, which connect and support local people as well as wildlife. To achieve this, we have been working with schools and communities to create food growing spaces, community orchards, and wildlife habitats. These projects have a focus on enhancing biodiversity through wildlife-friendly gardening techniques, encouraging engagement with nature, and bringing people together to share outdoor experiences and fresh produce.

Our vision

Community-led networks of growing areas across the UK which provide nutritious and delicious produce to the local community while supporting biodiversity, enhancing community cohesion, and encouraging environmental engagement.

Image: An amazing yield!

We believe that teaching and supporting young people to grow food is one of the most important things we can do for people and planet. Learning to grow fruit, vegetables and herbs gives children a better understanding of natural systems and reconnects them with where their food comes from. Children living in cities often have very little concept of food growing from the ground, and all of the processes that get the food from soil to plate. Growing their own food exposes them to local seasonal vegetables which are grown organically and non-intensively. They gain a deeper appreciation for healthy food that benefits rather than degrades nature. These concepts can be hard to teach young children in a classroom setting as the problems and solutions can feel too far away from their lived experience, and out of their control. Growing food gives children agency in their health and their environmental impact, where learning about nature through experience instils a sense of ecological stewardship in local populations, which benefits people and the planet. .

How it works

We often initially work with schools to set up growing areas so that young people gain tools and knowledge about food growing and local wildlife while also connecting them with their local communities. One way that this happens is through the redistribution of surplus food to vulnerable people in the community through food banks. This is facilitated through linking schools with growing projects with other community spaces and groups. The idea is to build a network of growing areas with local volunteers and support from us, so that these growing networks are run by the community and serve the community. 

Image: Pupils from Sea Mills Primary School preparing one of the raised beds which we provided for them.

We support these communities by providing them with:

• Materials - raised beds, compost, seeds, plants, trees, etc.
• Resources - free info sheets which give information about gardening methods, nature-friendly gardening, month-to-month planting plans, nature-based activities, orchard care, etc. We also send out monthly Sow & Grow newsletters so that relevant growing tips and info are at our members’ fingertips when they need them.
• Design and setup of growing spaces - we work as organisers and facilitators, as well as working on the ground to create growing spaces with children and local people.
• Advice & expertise - we are always on-hand to offer advice and support to the members of our Growing Community Network, and we also link members together to share information, ideas, and 
• Funding support & advocacy - we work with local councils, parish councils and advocate for green spaces to be used for growing and biodiversity projects, while working with these groups and other funders to increase support for our Growing Community Members.

The support that we are able to give not only enables projects to happen but empowers local people to get involved and try something new to make a positive difference in their lives and in their community while supporting their local biodiversity. 

Images: Bath College learners picking apples from their apple trees to provide to a local foodbank along with the lovely note that we received in response to the donation.

Who is part of our Growing Community Network?

The Growing Community Network is made up of individuals and local groups, which we link together to share food, seeds and plants, ideas, skills and expertise. Our Growing Community Network is for everyone and we encourage everyone to be a part of it. It is made up of, for example:

• Schools - children, teachers, PTA, parents
• Care homes
• Community centres
• Scouts groups and afterschool clubs
• Environmental groups
• Community groups - e.g. single parent cooking groups
• Allotment holders
• Faith groups
• Any other local people!

Image: Children planting trees! Its great to get everyone involved and learning that they too can make a positive difference to their community and local wildlife.

Our journey

One Planet Matters was set up in 2018 by our founder Kevin Thomas, with the aim of creating social and environmental change. During the first 12 months of One Planet Matters, we explored ways of tackling the issues of climate change and biodiversity loss on a local level, while supporting social and mental wellbeing in communities and engaging people with nature. We wanted to create something that would be community-led and empowering, and which would link local people together to achieve this. This is the vision from which the Growing Community Network idea was born.

Why we need your help

As a non-profit social enterprise, we rely on grants and crowdfunding in order to do the work we do. Without this, we simply could not have set up all of the growing areas, orchards, and wildlife habitats that we have in the past year and a half. 

Our Growing Communities Network is expanding. We now have set up or are in the process of  setting up around 45 orchards and growing spaces set up in communities across the UK, and are looking to expand this growing network further this year. Take a look at our interactive map to see where we are currently working. We have several projects and initiatives which will make the Growing Community Network offer even more to support communities and wildlife and will take our impact to the next level, and this is why this crowdfunder is so important. 

The money from this crowdfunder will go towards:

Growing Community Hub development

The idea of a Growing Community Hub is a growing space within locations that have an established Growing Community Network, where local people can come together to grow food in an accessible way. We believe that spaces which are accessible to anyone, without costs or waiting lists, would be an asset to any community. These hubs will include things like polytunnels and raised beds for growing food, orchards for providing free fruit to everyone, composters, wormeries, wildflower meadows, bug hotels, and other biodiversity-enriching habitats, as well as seating areas and pergolas for people to come together. These will be spaces where workshops and events can take place, and where people can come together to grow food to be shared, and to connect with one another and local wildlife. 

These hubs would add a key benefit to the Growing Community Network by providing a central area where seedlings can be grown to be used by the growing locations in that area - this not only creates the opportunity to pay local growers, but also cuts transport emissions and costs on plants and compost. 

We have a hub planned for the Renishaw area, as well as a few others in various stages of discussion, and the money from this crowdfunder would go towards making these shared spaces a reality.

Intergenerational Growing Initiative

We believe that strong intergenerational connections are important for individuals and communities, and that nature-based knowledge which is passed on between generations is a vital part of protecting and regenerating a healthy and sustainable relationship with nature. We work with schools, care homes, and community spaces to set up growing areas where older and younger generations can come together to enjoy nature-based activities, learn from one another through stories and engagement, and grow delicious and healthy food together. This is called our ‘Intergenerational Growing Initiative’. The money from this crowdfunder will make a huge difference as we will need to put accessible beds in place, which are double the price of regular raised beds. We will also be working with care homes to create sensory gardens which this funding will also go towards. 

Photos: Planting a Juneberry tree (which are amazing for pollinators) at Asra House Care Home in Leicester along with their residents and pupils from Abbey Mead Primary School.

Bee highway & B-line at Patchway, Bristol

We are working with the local council and parish council to develop a bee highway and biodiversity line in Patchway. This will be a ring of trees which provide nectar to pollinators. With pollinating insects in steep decline, creating habitats and feeding routes for pollinating insects has never been more important. This is even more important in urban areas as built environments break up natural pollinator corridors so these insects can no longer fly from plant to plant in search of shelter and food. Pollinators are not only vital parts of our ecosystem, they also allow food to grow for humans and other species, as well as forming habitats for many types of wildlife. If we can make our urban spaces more pollinator-friendly, our whole environment will thrive better.

Images: One of the fruit trees that we have planted at Blackhorse Common, along with the gorgeous blossoms that came out the same year! Planting fruit trees is a great way of supporting pollinating insects as well as human communities, as they provide food for us all. These blossoms have had lots of attention from bees already...

The expansion of our Growing Community Network

Our Growing Community Network is always expanding, and every bit of money that we raise to go towards it allows us to work with more communities to create a future where food growing is local, accessible, and widespread, and where cities are biodiverse and thriving. 

The funds will be used to continue working with communities in the UK to set up growing spaces which enhance physical and mental wellbeing, social connection, and biodiversity, while also providing food to food banks to support vulnerable community members. The funds will allow us to set up raised beds / growing spaces as well as spaces for biodiversity (such as wormeries and ponds) in schools and communities.

Image: A growing area that we recently set up at Coniston Primary School, Bristol, with the help of their pupils and parents. We are also looking to design a forest school for them and to provide them with water butts so that they can collect rainwater to use on their plants. Full circle!

Testimonials:

"Kevin Thomas (One Planet Matters) runs a dynamic organisation that is making a big difference on the ground to local communities enabling and supporting them to make the necessary changes to their lives and local areas to tackle the Climate Emergency and the nature crisis. Funding is extremely important to the organisation to be able to maximize the dissemination of the projects that they have developed and the expertise that they have built up during the time they have been established."

-- Lucy Rees, South Gloucestershire Senior environmental Policy & Climate Change Officer

"As a small charity, we have been grateful for the Raised Beds and Community Orchard trees One Planet Matters have been able to give to us. The raised beds will support people with mobility issues that need to sit or use wheelchairs and will enable them to join in with planting food products for harvesting later in the year. Our apple trees, along with their origins, will be shared with the local school and Community. Additionally, we support people with disabilities who often need direction in choosing healthy foods to eat, the trees present an excellent source of grown nutrition that can be nurtured and harvested. We have complemented the trees with a range of fruit bushes to add and grow the area. These additions provide valuable learning tools for the beneficiaries and also for the Community as they will be able to access the areas and learn more about biodiversity and climate change, so they too, can be involved and encouraged to take positive steps forward in their daily lives, to make a difference and help mitigate where we find ourselves in 2022!"

-- Maria Needs, Empowering Futures

"This is a blooming fantastic idea which has brought the community together and used every inch of space to create a beautiful-looking and super-productive garden for everyone beyond the school gates. With the cost of living soaring, more and more families are struggling right now, and so initiatives like these that provide access to fresh, sustainable and tasty West of England produce are so important."

-- Dan Norris, Metro Mayor for the West of England

(See more of our testimonials here)

Your support makes all the difference

Thank you to everyone who has supported us so far - we have been able to do more in the past year than we could have imagined thanks to the support we get from people like you! We deeply believe in what we do and we would love to continue to work with communities to set up spaces that allow them to grow, connect, learn, and make a difference together.

Please help us to continue doing this and to push things to the next level by supporting us in any way that you can. Donate today to make a real and tangible difference in communities across the UK.

Thank you.

This project successfully funded on 28th June 2022