Community Garden Project
A pilot project initiated in 2002 established the need for a community garden project within Daventry district. Project partners include Sure Start and seven local Daventry schools. The project promotes healthy eating, food safety, food hygiene, organic growing and exercise. Many families and youngsters are out of touch with where their food comes from, healthy eating and regular exercise, making this project unique, relevant and invaluable.
Project Name: Daventry Community Garden ProjectProject Start Date: 2002
Project Location Type: Rural and city
Project Origins and original aims/Objectives and purpose of the project:
Daventry District Council has a vision to ‘build a better district’. To meet this vision, we have set ourselves objectives, which seek to improve our business economy, protect and enhance our environment and build healthy, safe, strong communities and individuals.
This project seeks to increase the number of people in the District obtaining exercise through horticulture and to improve diet and food safety by increasing the consumption of fruit and vegetables by training and information. It also seeks to widen access to similar projects and to enhance the environment by cultivation of heritage crops.
Daventry District Council recognises that a community garden project can contribute to health and well-being, as well as offering a community resource and providing a haven for flora and fauna. The authority also values allotments for their visual amenity and provision of multiple functions for enhancing urban planning.
Following the success of the past year, the council is very keen to develop community gardens elsewhere in Daventry and throughout the district. In this way, the authority will be able to:
1. Promote healthy eating, including the importance of a balanced diet, food hygiene and safety.
2. Promote exercise.
3. Create access for all with special regard to disabled groups.
4. Provide educational resources.
5. Provide sensory gardening for special needs groups.
6. Support local biodiversity and contribute to the Northamptonshire Biodiversity Action Plan.
7. Actively promote the scheme to encourage the formation of similar schemes in Daventry District.
Organisations Involved
1. Daventry District Council, through its Daventry Countryside Services Ranger team has developed the Daventry Community Allotments project, with vital assistance and support from the Allotments Association and "BTCV, inspiring people, improving places".
2. Daventry District Council's Health Improvement Team of Environmental Health Officers.
3. Seven schools in walkable distance of the garden, in the Daventry area are currently engaged on a regular basis at the community garden.
4. National Allotment Association: Daventry Countryside Services is a member.
5. Daventry Allotment Society: Kindly waivers the annual rent on the allotment plots (6) and provides the project with free seeds at the start of the growing year.
6. HYDRA - Henry Doubleday Research Society based at Ryton Organic Gardens. The organic garden is part of the "organic schools net".
7. PCT Health promotion officers have directed the schools health visitors to the project, who deliver educative sessions on healthy eating and packed lunches
.
8. "BTCV, inspiring people, improving places" Officers deliver sessions based on ‘Green Gym’ ideas and provide expertise as to gardening and conservation management based on National Curriculum learning outcomes.
9. National Allotments Regeneration Initiative. "BTCV, inspiring people, improving places" Officers have obtained a grant for the project to improve it access for all.
10. New Deal Team: Provides work parties to carry out some of the maintenance of the community garden.
11. Punishment in the Community Team: Provides work parties to carry out some of the maintenance of the community garden.
We have also had the pleasure of providing a location, as well as expertise, for the local Sure Start group to grow vegetables and fruit as part of its aims to help provide early education and health care for the families of young children. We have been delighted to guide the Sure Start group through the process of successful planting and harvesting this year.
The garden has encouraged the uptake of empty allotment plots, as the Welton Road site is now full, due to the renewed enthusiasm for gardening by the local people involved in the project.
Target Audience
Local Community and schools in walking distance of the project.
Methodology
The project aims to encourage communities and schools to work together on a community garden. A Sure Start group, disability groups and local schools have regularly contributed to the project. Activities have changed throughout the year to reflect the needs of the gardening year, from planting seeds to harvesting the produce, producing safe and hygienic foods, the importance of a balanced diet and composting the garden waste. In this way, community groups and teachers are able to meet the four key issues of sustainability, healthy living, environmental awareness and citizenship, by tackling topics such as waste and recycling, local foods, healthy eating, hygienic food preparation and cooking.
What does the project provide to participants?
Exercise from digging, planting, harvesting etc.
Knowledge of the environment and food issues as information.
Cooking food safely that has been ‘home’ grown and the importance of a balanced diet.
Preparation and consumption of healthy lunchtime snacks
Access to a "vegetable box" for home use
Knowledge of food safety as information
Access to the garden for all.
What is provided to the community at large?
Encouragement to establish similar community gardening projects in rural areas.
Food safety and food hygiene as information.
Inclusion of the prison population.
Seeds of Heritage vegetables.
How is the initiative advertised to prospective participants?
Daventry District Council’s publication Daventry Calling is distributed to each household and features any news or events regarding the Community Allotment. Local media is also used newspapers, radio and TV. Displays in local public places: Country Park Visitor Centre, library, at public events and by word of mouth by the council’s Environmental Health Officers. Partner community groups and schools are visited at the beginning of the gardening year by the Ranger team, who advertise the health and exercise related outcomes that can be achieved in the community garden.
How is the programme structured to operate in respect to participants?
It is a community garden so activities have to be seasonally related, dependent on the time cycle of the gardening year.
For the community, we provide programmes structured to meet the individual group leader's needs. Groups attending the guided healthy exercise gardening sessions are catered for based on their individual needs/abilities and the aims of their parent organisations.
Included in the project are the promotion of National Initiatives such as Food Safety Week, British Food Fortnight, HDRA School Organic Open Gardens.
Schools are provided with National Curriculum Learning Outcome-based activities at the community garden
Funding
£1500 initial set up cost funded mainly by Daventry District Council under the Ward Service Action Plans. Other funding could be found possibly from National Lottery Schemes
Recruitment
Daventry District Council’s Countryside Ranger Service team has mainly co-ordinated the work.
Activities / Sessions
Jack and the Beanstalk projects with local reception classes
The children start the seeds in classroom with help from the Rangers, and then bring their seedlings to the allotment to be planted. During the summer the children return to harvest the beans and have a chance to cook them whilst at the allotment. This has been very popular, and the children have enjoyed eating their beans with pasta. For next year, year 6 pupils are growing tomatoes, peppers, basil, and chillis, which will be used as pizza toppings. The children will be able to harvest their own vegetables and create their own pizzas and then bake them in a wood – fired pizza oven which they are helping to build at the allotment, just 10 meters from their vegetable plot.
Other Resources
1. Three full time Ranger staff from Daventry Countryside Services and volunteers. Daventry District Council's Health Improvement Team of Environmental Health Officers (see list of partners for the full list in this document.)
2. 6 allotments,
3. A 5 x 15 m poly tunnel,
4. A rotavator,
5. A system of raised beds,
6. Secure shed,
7. Assorted tools for maintenance and a large number of tools for use by visiting groups.
8. A large selection of Food Standards Agency and Daventry District Council information leaflets for participants.
Evaluation
Achievements and future planning7,776 participants to date. These are community groups (see list of partner organisations.)
Excellence: The pilot project has been promoted as best practice by:
- East Midlands Assembly
Based on this recent paper the Daventry District Council Community Garden project delivers outcomes for the following themes and objectives in the document: Education, Self Esteem, Physical Activity, Diet, Food safety, Health Promotion, Mental Stress.
- Office of the Deputy Prime Minister Department of Health: Creating Healthy Communities.
- Northants Schools Governor Newsletter.
Targets for 2005/06
| Year | Output | Outcome |
| 2005/2006 | 8000 pupils to attend guided sessions | Teachers observe and continuously assess pupils under the guided gardening session's subject headings. Teachers establish the individual child's understanding every half term. |
| 60 Sure Start families attending family gardening sessions. 300 of Surestart participants using community garden programme |
60 families attended Sure Start assessment of changed habits, an increase in fresh fruit and vegetable consumption and their understanding of food hygiene. | |
12 Disability groups attending guided sessions. |
Assessment of changed habits, an increase in fresh fruit and vegetable consumption |
|
Proposed outputs and outcomes (New for 2005/2006) |
Output: 6 of Elderly Groups (over 50's). |
PCT assessment of changed habits and an increase in fresh fruit and vegetable consumption |
40 of Onley Prisoners attending prison market garden. |
PCT / HMP assessment / percentage of fresh vegetables consumed by prisoners to increase. |
|
| To increase biodiversity of garden project | 1 kg of seeds returned to Henry Doubleday Heritage Seed Library. |
Lessons learned
The Countryside Ranger team learned countless lessons, as this is a pioneering community garden project. One huge advantage was they were able to bring their expertise and professional training to organise safe and guided outside activities for people of all ages and abilities. They learnt the effective sort of sustainable, safe activities to offer to children and adults of all ages in a garden. They learnt how to harvest and prepare safe and hygienically prepared food, which they feed to participating groups. They learnt that by inviting other professionals from the Council's Environmental Health Department and the PCT, it was easier to deliver measurable outcomes for health promotion.
Future Developments
Dependent on funding we would like to:
1. Have a permanent project-specific member of staff to spend time encouraging wider community involvement on the community garden scheme and to provide an outreach service to other community groups in Daventry district.
2. Actively promote the scheme to encourage the formation of similar schemes in the Daventry District (e.g. Parish Council's etc...)
3. To be able to provide further resources to increase training in food safety and hygiene.
4. Improvement of access to groups that are under-represented as allotment holders
5. To use this scheme as a template for similar schemes in the district.
6. To improve the access to the community garden - so wheelchair users and the visually impaired can use it.
7. The creation of raised beds and improved pathways for wheelchair access.
8. The purchase of seeds - for vegetables, fruit, sensory plants and flowers.
9. The purchase of fruit bushes and trees.
10. The provision of seating for a quiet area.
1. Have a permanent project-specific member of staff to spend time encouraging wider community involvement on the community garden scheme and to provide an outreach service to other community groups in Daventry district.
2. Actively promote the scheme to encourage the formation of similar schemes in the Daventry District (e.g. Parish Council's etc...)
3. To be able to provide further resources to increase training in food safety and hygiene.
4. Improvement of access to groups that are under-represented as allotment holders
5. To use this scheme as a template for similar schemes in the district.
6. To improve the access to the community garden - so wheelchair users and the visually impaired can use it.
7. The creation of raised beds and improved pathways for wheelchair access.
8. The purchase of seeds - for vegetables, fruit, sensory plants and flowers.
9. The purchase of fruit bushes and trees.
10. The provision of seating for a quiet area.
Project Update
This year alone the garden has received 3500 visits by groups and local schools children who have enjoyed planting harvesting and eating healthily together!
Next year we are to expand the project to co-inside with seasonal organic vegetable harvest times and seasonal vegetable dishes. Under supervision of the Ranger's two Punishment in the Community teams from the probation service are remodelling the garden over this winter. The Ranger team have constructed a charcoal fired bread oven which is directly relevant to National Curriculum targets in the primary schools.
An example of next year's activities on the garden:
"Hot fresh baked crusty bread and seasonal vegetables cooked by our visitors and consumed in their community organic garden...
Mouth-wateringly good public health work by Daventry District Council's Countryside Ranger Service in our community!"
Contact Name: Dewi G Morris
Position: Senior Ranger
Local Authority Name: Daventry District Council
Local Authority Address:
Daventry District Council
Lodge Road
Daventry
Northamptonshire
NN11 4FP
Telephone: 01327 877193
Fax: 01327 302540
Email Address: countrysideservices@daventrydc.gov.uk
Website: www.Daventrydc.gov.uk (A-Z Services choose, C, Country Park.)
11. To create, print and distribute a newsletter for publicity and promotion of the scheme.
12. To extend the project to Onley Prison Market Garden.