Tag Archives: urban growing
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.
Urban Harvest Job Opportunity
Urban Harvest is now well known in Birmingham for their fantastic work in collecting and utilising unpicked fruit in the Northfield are of the city.
They now have an Immediate vacancy for a co-ordinator for this years picking.
Please contact Georgia at Northfield Ecocentre, or follow the link here
Urban Harvest: Invest a fiver-plus & get bags of rewards!
We have an exciting new project, Urban Harvest. It’s the project that finds good use for your surplus fruit, distributing it to people and preventing it going to waste.
It began a couple of years ago, but we need your help to make it sustainable.
If you’re willing to offer support and/or invest £15 (or more) in this great project, please do go to our crowdfunding page here: http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/
We’re offering lots of rewards including fruit trees for your own garden, workshops on pruning and juicing, invitations to special events, plus other rewards throughout the eight weeks of crowd funding — and a special business offer to plant an orchard in your grounds.
Urban Food Projects get underway at Birmingham Botanical Gardens
A cold Easter weekend saw the launch of an Urban Food Stall at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Established on an old Lambeth Market barrow, the stall hopes to provide a new way of focussing on food in inner city Birmingham.
This urban food stall is all about locally grown vegetables and fruit, but also has a range of locally produced jams, preserves and chutney, as well as vegetable seeds, and vegetable and fruit plants. Giving visitors and those wanting fresh, local fruit and veg the chance to get everything from seed to end product in one place.
Birmingham’s first Big Dig Day
Saturday March 16th saw the first ‘Big Dig Day’ in Birmingham. Across the weekend, over 30 grow sites, allotments & community gardens opened their doors to all.
Although the weather forecast was non-too hopeful, groups all around the city put this aside, and welcomed new and existing volunteers to many varied and fun events.
Visiting my first event of the day, I arrived at Edible Eastside, to be met by Jayne & Rob. Lizzie Bean soon arrived and work began in earnest on the next stages of the earth oven.
Despite the rain, volunteers soon started to arrive, and with a fire lit, and work underway, I took my leave to visit Park Lane Garden Centre in Aston for the second stop of the day.
Park Lane were beginning their work on a new community garden next door, and as well as welcoming volunteers, Julia took time to show Clare Savage and I the plans and setting for the new garden.
Big Dig News……..
Birmingham Food Growers NEED YOU!
On the 16th March food growing projects across Birmingham will be opening their doors, gates and sheds to locals in order to introduce you to their sites, start the growing year and get help from volunteers to complete a range of activities (tree planting, seed sowing, soil preparation and MORE!). Across the city, 26 sites have signed up so far….more on the way.
If you want to find out what’s happening there are lots of projects signing up http://bigdig.org.uk/
Food Forest Brum – working with communities in developing edible perennial landscapes
Food Forest Brum is a project run by Spring to Life (a Community Interest Company). They work to promote personal and community wellbeing in Birmingham.
Their vision is to have an abundant sustainable Birmingham, with skilled and cohesive communities that connect with their land.
They aim to help fulfil this vision by working with local communities in establishing permanent food landscapes, providing plants, and skills, and bringing people together.
Making community food growing part or every town & city – The Big Dig Project plans to expand across England.
Across England, six cities are already participating in the Big Dig Programme: Brighton & Hove, London, Sheffield, Middlesborough, Coventry and Manchester.
The Big Dig is a national project to engage people in community food growing projects across England, and is all about making community food growing a part of every urban landscape.