Rewriting the Plot: Photographs and Images

Local food production ...

... means less food being transported long distances, wasting fuel and polluting the air. Left: an attractive plot with vegetables, herbs and flowers in Bromley; Right: Dr Howard Stoate MP and Mrs Stoate with some fresh local produce the Allotments Stand at the 1998 Dartford Festival. Dr Stoate tabled an Early Day Motion in parliament supporting the participation of allotment gardeners in Local Agenda 21.

Opportunities for a variaty of waste recycling and reuse schemes... Right: An innovative use for a discarded brass bedsted. Below: Cleaned and discarded chemical drums delivered from a local factory for use as water butts and composters.
Below: Carpets used to reclaim a derelict plot. The carpet will smother any weeds, and once the ground is ready for cultivation the carpet can be moved to another location. Right: reclaiming timber from non-recyclable pallets for use in building sheds and compost bins.
Below: Cloches made from discarded plastic neon light diffusion panels from a false ceiling, obtained during the rennovation of an office block.	Below: A simple but effective compost bin made from unrecyclable wooden pallets. Carpet is used to regulate moisture content.

Left: The gardener's favourite - horse manure delivered fresh from a local stable being distributed by wheel-barrow to individual plots for composting and subsequent use. The plastic bg in the foreground contains fresh grass clippings, for use as a mulching medium. Pallets for the construction of sheds and compos bins can be seen in the background. [All of these images of recycling activities are from Dartford Road Allotments].

A haven for wildlife ... Left: Children looking for butterflies amongst the wildflowers at Elder Stubbs Allotments in Oxford; Below: a slow worm (a protected species) finds a warm retreat in a compost bin.