Tag Archives: sustainability
Big Dig in Birmingham – 2016
The Big Dig returns to Birmingham this April for the third year running. The event will be on the 16th April and will see gardens across the city throw open their doors and give anybody the chance to get down and get digging to really kick start the growing season. Last year was a great success with over 1,600 people taking part across the UK, 1,207 of which had never been involved with the gardens before!
We’re keen to top that number this year so keep your eyes out for further information on the gardens that will be involved, free seeds giveaways and networking events which will all be advertised on here in the coming weeks and months.
Between now and then head over to The Big Dig website and take a look at some of the photos from last year and get inspired to make this year bigger and better! Alternatively, pop over to our Birmingham map and register your own event here.
The Moo Man comes to Birmingham MAC on the 25th to 27th August
THE MOO MAN, a surprise hit at this year’s Sundance Film Festivals in Utah and London, is coming to Birmingham MAC on the 25th, 26th and 27th August.
The film (made using Kickstarter crowdfunds) features organic dairy farmer Steve Hook from Hailsham, East Sussex and his favourite cow Ida.
Steve is determined to keep his family farm small, organic and sustainable. To achieve this he sells raw, organic milk directly to the consumer via door-to-door delivery and at farmer’s markets. As a publicity stunt Steve takes Ida to Eastbourne for a photo shoot – an experience she enjoys so much, she digs in her heels and refuses to move when it’s time to leave. It soon
Watch the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/68796801
Eating, growing and involving – the power of food to bring communities together
Around 60 local residents and members of local community groups enjoyed a food sharing session on Sunday 30th September at the Coplow Street Grow Site in Ladywood.
The Taster session was the first of a series of events organised by the North Summerfield Residents and the Black Environment Network which revolve around engaging with ethnic minority communities to celebrate, grow and share knowledge of food and food growing.
This first event of this new project to link local communities with food growing opportunities centred around a food tasting session.
The Carrot City Talks: Jarred Henderson
The final speaker at the Edible Eastside event was Jarred Henderson, a designer and urban grower at Wayward Plants. Jarred’s talk was substantially different than the previous two, it focussed primarily on the sites operated by the organisation he works for; why they exist and the benefits they provide to communities.
Urban food growing: Why it matters
Last week I wrote about the pointlessness of Birmingham attempting to be self-sufficient in food. That is not to say that growing (and eating!) food planted and nurtured in the city isn’t worth promoting, let alone doing.
It is. Here are three arguments as to why.
The first is the every-little-counts argument. Clare Devereux of Brighton & Hove reckons their allotments and gardens produce 0.14% of what they need.
What if that could be nudged upwards to, say, 1%? Add in vertical farming and nudge local supplies up a tad more to, say, 2% or even 3%?
Growing Birmingham: Feeding the city?
I’ve realised there are more than a few people living in Birmingham who worry about the city not being able to feed itself.
Let’s get one thing straight. Cities are not places where food can be grown in quantity. Birmingham can’t feed itself, never has been able to and, without as-yet unimagined technologies, it never will. Think of the effort and, let’s be frank, the slight angst in the Girl in the Garden talking about growing enough spinach for two.
Two people? To understand the scale of things here in Birmingham: