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Issue Number 14 |
Autumn 2003 |
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A NEW FACE AT QED Dartford Borough Council appointed a new Environmental Promotion Officer, Sandra Woodfall, in July this year, with a remit which covers Dartford's Local Agenda 21. Sandra's previous job was with Gillingham (and subsequently Medway) Council. Whilst at Gillingham she was involved in developing a community food growing project which arose from requests from novice gardeners to find out more about growing fruit and vegetables by learning from experienced allotment holders. The allotments where the project took shape were on the same site as other people involved in Local Agenda 21, who were more than happy to pass on knowledge and offer help and support when needed. "I was surprised by the level of interest from people wanting to join the scheme and eight years later it is still running." More recently, and again in response to public requests, Sandra introduced a Farmers Market in Rochester to enable local people to buy fresh, seasonal produce that has been grown within a 30 mile radius of the area. Sandra also has strong local roots: she once served as a hospital radio volunteer at West Hill Hospital, and she is now looking forward to working with people from the Dartford area to improve the local environment and quality of life. Sandra can be contacted on 01322 343250 or by e-mail at Sandra.woodfall@dartford.gov.uk. BUMPER YEAR FOR THE ALLOTMENTS COMPETITION The Dartford Festival Allotments Competition, organised by the QED Allotments Group, attracted a record number of entrants this year, with honours split between the east and west of the Borough. The prestigious Borough Shield was won by two ladies from the Dartford Road site, Mrs P Robinson and Mrs J Brennan, and the Fred Brown Trophy for best newcomer went to Mr J Marks, also from Dartford Road. The Villages Cup was won for the second time by Mr EJ Dixon from the Kirby Road site in Stone. The competition was judged by Richard Dolby from the Bexley Allotments Federation, who enjoyed meeting many of the contestants on their plots, and the prize-giving ceremony will be held at the Civic Centre later this autumn. Watch out for the entry form for the 2004 Competition in the next issue of this Newsletter. UPDATE ON THE ALLOTMENTS REGENERATION INITIATIVE The Allotments Regeneration Initiative, a partnership between the QED Allotments Group, the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners and the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens, funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, has now distributed £400,000 in grants to over a hundred innovative allotment associations and local authorities around the country in an effort to encourage more people to get growing on allotments. The ARI is managed from Birmingham by Bethan Stagg, who comes to allotments from a background in local food networks and farmers markets in South West England, with the able assistance of Deborah Burn, a former allotment site secretary based in Newcastle, who is funded by a grant from the National Lottery's SEED Programme. In addition to keeping over a thousand organisations which have registered an interest in ARI informed through phone calls, letters and a regular newsletter, Bethan has been working on a set of guidance leaflets on specific aspects of allotment regeneration. The first two leaflets, on fundraising and toilet provision, are available now: two more will follow this autumn, on vandalism and gardening in groups.
QED ALLOTMENTS: SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT Active participants in the QED Allotments Group over the past year have included the allotment associations at Bean, Dartford Road, Gore Road, Tredegar and the West Dartford Allotment and Garden Society, plus individual allotment gardeners from other sites. Achievements since the previous Annual Report (published in Newsletter Issue 12) include the following: € Continuing support has been provided to allotment projects within Dartford. A generous donation of tools by Wilkinsons has helped new plotholders get started across the Borough. A horticultural therapy project on the Dartford Road site involving vegetable growing in raised containers has been jointly sponsored by the QED Allotments and QED Waste Management & Pollution Groups, the latter supplying the pallet wood for use in construction of the containers. The wildlife pond on Tredegar allotments, a joint project with the QED Biodiversity Group, was featured in Choice magazine. € Financial support from QED has enabled members of the group to attended conferences and events including the relaunch of London City Farms and Community Gardens at City Hall, the Kent Thameside Community Assembly, the Gardening Research and Information Network (GRAIN), the RHS/Gloucestershire Federation of Gardening Societies "Federation Forum" at Hartpury College, Potato Day events at Dulwich College and Ryton Organic Gardens, and a Workshop on a National Qualification for Community Food Workers held in LB Newham. € Formal responses have been submitted on the Kent Thameside Community Strategy, the planning brief for West Hill Hospital Site (on behalf of Tredegar Allotments Club), and to DEFRA's Working Group on Local Food. € A plaque bearing the QED logo has been presented to HDRA commemorating its founder Lawrence Hills, who began his horticultural career in Dartford. € Talks have been given by members of the QED Allotments Group to an Allotments Regeneration Seminar in Birmingham, Tring Town Council, and Allotments Conferences hosted by the Greater London Authority Green Party and the University of Reading. Group members have also participated in broadcasts on allotment issues on the Jeremy Vine Show (BBC Radio 2 ), the Venessa Feltz Show (BBC Radio London) and BBC Radio Newcastle. A regular column has been supplied to the London Food Links Project's newsletter Jellied Eel, featuring items on wildlife and the sale of produce from allotments. € The QED Virtual Potting Shed internet project has been updated, and a new page added for the Bath and NE Somerset Allotments Association. € Advice on the role of allotments in sustainable development strategies and related issues has been given to plotholders in Birmingham, Coventry, Eastleigh, Edinburgh, Fleetwood, Gosport, Hyde (Cheshire), Ipswich, Leytonstone, LB Merton, Loughton, Northumberland, Sheffield, Southborough, Tameside, Thurrock and Tunbridge Wells, to local authorities including Bristol, Chelmsford, Ilsinton, LB Harringay, LB Sutton, Tring and York, to the Sheffield Wildlife Trust, the Dutch Care for Farms Support Centre, the Local Government Association, Groundwork Hertfordshire, Luton Friends of the Earth, Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust , North Tyneside Council for Voluntary Services and a therapeutic gardening project in Sydenham, to researchers from the University of Reading, Oxford Brookes University and City University, The Field magazine, the Jeremy Vine Show (BBC Radio 2), Gardeners World (BBC2), to journalists from The Times, The Financial Times, The Sunday Telegraph and The Observer, and to Caroline Foley, who is preparing a sequel to her book Practical Allotment Gardening. € The Allotments Regeneration Initiative (ARI) has been established as a partnership between the QED Allotments Group, NSALG and FCF&CG, with £0.5 million in funding from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. Bids have been evaluated leading to the award of seven major grants to local authorities and allotments groups in Leeds, Leicester, LB Harrow, Newcastle, Sheffield, Solihull, LB Harrow and Stockport, and over a hundred small grants to allotment associations around the country, for projects ranging from open days and training event to compost toilets and water tanks. Ongoing support has been provided to ARI's two project workers, through QED's role of ARI's Steering Group, and editorial advice has been given on ARI's newsletter and advisory pamphlets. ARI has attracted widespread attention in the press, including Amateur Gardening, Garden News, Gardens Illustrated, Kitchen Garden, Allotment and Leisure Gardener and Organic News.
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