Looking for growing space in Digbeth

At this point in time we have so much access to information on how to live a healthy lifestyle; how much exercise we should do, how many units of alcohol we shouldn't exceed, what foods are good for us, etc.

But with prices of fresh fruit and vegetables booming and a bag of chips still £1 who can still afford to eat a healthy diet?

It would appear that people are getting sick and tired of paying over the odds for vegetables that have travelled over seas, grown in soils that are pumped full of chemicals, when they can grow their own organic vegetables for a fraction of the price.

Communities all over England are now taking it into their own hands and working together to set up allotments and grow-sites; and now Birmingham Friends of the Earth are jumping on the bandwagon! We want to create a grow-site in Digbeth for residents and people working in the area.

We have the knowledge, we have the hands to help produce our urban allotment, but what we do not have is the land!

There is so much disused land in Digbeth, but finding a piece of land we can use even for one year is proving extremely difficult.

If anyone knows of any sites in Digbeth that may be available, even temporarily, please contact rosie@birminghamfoe.org.uk or call me on (0121) 632 6909.

Our aim is to produce a grow-site with enough space for at least 10 plots, space for 2/3 compost bins and a shed for storing tools, ideally with a water point. Which we can then open up to the public for a day and people can come and sign up for a bed.

Digbeth Residents Association 07.02.11

Last night I went to my first Digbeth Residents Association (DRA) meeting. I started at Birmingham FoE as Outreach Officer last month and am working on creating links with residents groups, as well as organising events (such as our HS2 debate) and finding opportunities for us to go out and talk to people.

I was asked if I would like to attend after sending a few e-mails to Val and Pam about the possibility of establishing a grow site in Digbeth. We have been involved in others, so it would be good to do one here where we're based.

Upon arriving at the Alcester suite of the Paragon hotel I was welcomed in by friendly faces. These included residents of Digbeth, a police officer from the area and people interested in the Digbeth area.

After all the introductions were out the way the DRA spoke passionately about Digbeth's future. They feel strongly that the Digbeth area needs more greenery. They have been given 20 Birch trees by the Eastside Projects, with the idea that they will be planted in Highgate park, although the DRA are hoping to set a few a side to be distributed around the area. Another idea was to use the abandoned Victorian rail viaduct as allotment space. We also touched on the subject of grow-sites in Digbeth; which is something I've been looking into myself. Everyone there seemed enthusiastic about the idea and I think it will be a great success... that is when the pain-stakingly long process of finding land we can use is done!

Other issues raised concern the section 106 improvements to Bradford Street, St Patrick's day parade, film nights in the spotted dog, police presence at the meetings and the Digbeth summit.

Overall it was a great insight into all the planning and hard work that goes into making Digbeth the exciting and creative place that it is today!

Rosie Cervelli

Grow Sites Update

Winter has now well and truly set in across Birmingham, but last week I braved the cold and went along to the third meeting of the Tenby Cottages Community Garden Group, or rather the Poplar Community Growing Space as it has now been renamed.

Preparations for the site, based in Lozells, are coming along in leaps and bounds, with the majority of the planned 20 raised beds now in place. CSV Environment, the organisation responsible for setting up the grow site, are hoping to have it completed before Christmas. I went along for a look myself today and took a few photos to give you a better idea of what the site is all about.



As you can see, despite the graffiti (which the organisers are looking into getting removed), this is a nice, well sized site, which will be perfect for the residents currently on the waiting list for a bed. The residents have been very organised in setting up the group, and have appointed people as Chair, Secretary and Treasurer already, so once the site is completed and the funding has arrived they will be ready to go.

All that is left to do is to secure a water supply, and install benches and a shed for communal tools. I for one am very excited to see the site in March at the start of the growing season, and hopefully I'll get to sample some of the produce at the end of the summer! Watch this space for further updates...

Elsewhere in food related news, there is seed swap at the Northfield Eco Centre on Thursday December 9th which is open to anyone interested in sharing, or indeed acquiring, all sorts of seeds. If you are interested be sure to book a place now with this link.

The Tenby Cottages Community Garden Group

Monday night (October 18^th) saw the first meeting of the Tenby Cottages Community Garden Group, a community group based in Lozells who are planning on turning waste ground into a community growing space. The project was proposed by Friends of the Earth’s Tom Pointon, and has now been taken on by Sarah Royal of CSV Environment, and I was lucky enough to be in attendance for this first meeting.

The idea of the project is to convert an area of waste ground into a community grow site, where local residents can grow their own fruit and vegetables. The area chosen was once home to a set of cottages (the Tenby Cottages, of course), which were knocked down some years ago as part of a redevelopment scheme by the local council. As yet, however, nothing has been proposed for the site by the council, and thus Tom saw the opportunity to create something positive. Up until recently, the site, located just off Poplar Avenue in Lozells, has been the victim of fly tipping. However, work has been conducted in the past few months by CSV Environment, and the site has been flattened and covered in bark chippings ready to be transformed.

A grow site is an area of disused land (often in an area that attracts anti-social behaviour), which has been transformed to become a place where local residents are allocated a grow bed in which to grow their own food. It is different from an allotment because residents do not pay rent on the site, and everything grown must be for personal consumption. Each resident who holds a grow bed there is given a key to the site, so it is secure at all times. Projects such as this already exist across Birmingham, namely the GEML Project (Grow It, Eat It, Move It, Live It) which has had great success in Ladywood, and the Concrete to Coriander Project.

The meeting was largely an introductory session, allowing local residents to come and voice their opinions on the running of the site to Sarah Royal and Cynthia Cupido, who works for Birmingham City Council Housing. The originally proposed plans had 30 grow beds, measuring 1 metre by 2 metres, laid out in a fairly uniform pattern. However, residents seemed to prefer the idea of less beds and more space for benches to make the site more sociable. There was even talk of a barbeque area being built so residents would be able to eat their produce on site! Also on the site there will be composting bins, where locals will be able to bring their organic waste, as well as a shed in which to keep communal tools.

So what’s next? Once the residents have decided on the layout of the site, CSV Environment will get to work on making the raised grow beds for the site. The council will be investigating whether or not they are able to get a water supply to the site, to prevent any inevitable injuries caused by lugging huge tanks of water back and forth from home! It is then up to the residents to organise themselves into a constitution community group. This will give them access to funding which otherwise would not be available, particularly from “Awards for All”. Despite there not being a huge turnout for the first meeting, the residents who did attend were all enthusiastic about the project, and were keen to get more people involved. There was also talk of trying to get the local schools involved. If a local school was allocated one or two beds, the children there would be able to learn how to grow their own food, and the importance of doing so. It would also be beneficial to get local shopkeepers and businesses on board, as well as local councillors, to support the project.

I was very impressed with the enthusiasm of everyone involved at the meeting. Sarah in particular was very passionate about getting the site up and running. I think grow sites are a great way of transforming a local eyesore into something which the community can be proud of and ultimately benefit from. Hopefully everything at the Tenby Cottages site will be ready by March next year, just in time for the new growing season! Keep your eyes peeled for pictures in the coming months as the site starts to take shape.

Grow sites in Ladywood update

Brookfield Road Grow Site

We're progressing well with the grow site in Brookfield Road, B18. This is being promoted by the GEML project, Grow It, Eat It, Move It, Live It, which is empowering people across Ladywood to grow and cook their own food.
Plans have been drawn up by one of the residents to use old scaffolding planks (of which we have almost 100, see picture) to make raised planters. These will be a modular system of interlocking one metre square planters which can be joined together to create large beds. This means each plot will be sized according to each persons needs and preferences.
We've formed a management committee to oversee the administration of the site, which has now been cleared and is almost ready to go.
There's also detailed research being done about watering systems, so if anyone out there has any experience of this, please share your knowledge with us.

Another site in Coplow Street, B18, is also well underway, with the residents now reportedly harvesting spinach and lettuces.

I've identified another site in B18 and am awaiting news from the council's housing department, under whose jurisdiction it falls. Formerly garages, its an ideal shape and size with the advantage of being already fenced and gated.

Coplow Street Grow Site

Outreach news

This last week I've been busy putting together a funding proposal to transform a piece of unused, contaminated land in the heart of Lozells into a grow site for local residents to produce their own food.
The Heart of Birmingham Primary Care Trust has pioneered GEML, which stands for Grow It, Eat It, Move It, Live It. This is a cross sector partnership operating in Ladywood, Soho, Aston and Nechells with four aspects: growing food, encouraging interest in cooking and healthy eating, active living and reclaiming open spaces. The site in Lozells is now developing this in other parts of the city.
It's remarkable what happens when you get agencies, third sector organisations and individuals working together. I was recently at an environmental forum meeting at which, in the space of fifteen minutes, a decision was taken to transform a piece of land into a grow site. Birmingham Council now has a worker on board who is able to cut through the jungle of red tape and make things happen.
I'm unsure what the exact difference is between a grow site and allotments, I think the essential one being allotments have a permanent status, whereas a grow site implies something more temporary.
I'm finding the research interesting. The site in Lozells is going to use raised containers and I've decided the quickest, easiest and most cost effective to be the builders bags which deliver aggregates. These are cheap, they are a good size for growing a few things, if someone wants to grow more they can have several bags. I'm successfully growing lettuces in one in my garden as an experiment.
I filled one a third full with polystyrene granules to bulk it out and provide drainage, then topped this with a layer of compost. I've found firms on the internet specialising in recycling plastics, and we'll use chips made from post consumer waste for this project.
These are exciting times. There's growing realisation the UK faces food shortages when oil runs out, because we have become so dependent on importing and transporting food. More and more projects are springing up in urban areas. Hackney, in London for example, has Growing Communities, which produces food in the middle of one of Europe's most densely populated cities.
I look around Birmingham and see huge potential. There's land all over the place. Last week I was in Marseille in the South of France. Couchsurfing in an apartment on a suburban housing estate on the city's south side, the grounds of which planted out with all sorts of trees such as fig, plum and olive.
We could do the same here, have a proper garden city, with apples, plums, pears...

Lozells Get Involved Day, Saturday 12 June 2010

Last Saturday 12 June, I missed the Climate Change Festival in order to run a stall at The Get Involved Day in St Georges Park, Willis Street, Lozells. This is a sizeable open space in the heart of Lozells. Having had a history of misuse, the purpose of the day was to enable local residents to take ownership of this space and judging by the crowds who turned up, it was a great success.
I was housed with other voluntary and statutory organisations in a long marquee. There were representatives from the NHS, housing associations, the police, fire service and others, including some local businesses. Some fun things, a bouncy castle, face painting as well as a football competition. I was delighted when us stallholders were given food vouchers, that was me sorted with some delicious rice, samosas and other lovely specialities.
I gave away about thirty newsletters and a sizeable number of leaflets. These seemed to be most popular with children, who are a good way of getting an environmental message across, the colourful fold out leaflets we have on subjects such as Climate Change, Farming, Transport, appeal and they can be used to decorate their bedroom walls.
I got into conversation with a few people, always friendly, occasionally enjoyably challenging. Often people just enjoy a good argument and it isn't that they disagree with you so much as they want to be convinced themselves that your arguments stand up.

I'm making good contacts with people in Lozells which is what outreach work should be all about! For example, I'll be helping and encouraging a team of street champions which is a great chance to introduce Friends of the Earth, let people know about our work and campaigns. Its also about building on the succeses of Lozells, for example a small parcel of land called Carpenters Corner off Lozells Road has been transformed into a little green space which can be used by anyone (left). Recently its been the site of an arts installation. I'm working with Gillian Lloyd, neighborhood Manager, to start a grow site on land identified as ideal for this purpose. This will be used as a pilot project to learn from before two more, much larger sites, are created.
Theres a real buzz about Lozells at the moment, local people meeting challenges in an area which a few years ago had a very poor reputation. Theres an exciting media project run by a local school with an eco slant, check them out here, they have a jolly impressive website and make youtube videos of things happening in the local area such as a community garden planted at Anglesey Road school.
So theres loads of really inspiring and encouraging things happening.
Lozells Road has a great variety of independent stores including a proper old fashioned hardware store, a Lebanese patisserie where, for a moment, I thought I'd been transported to Lyon, never mind Lozells. Theres a tailor, clothes shops, hairdressers, several pharmacies and stores serving diasporic communities. You'll find the African grocers proudly flying Ghana's flag, a couple of Bangladeshi supermarkets with a fantastic array of fresh fruit and veg. Turn a corner and out pops a little park with a childrens play area, regularly enjoyed, well cared for and owned by the local community.
If you've been scared away from Lozells by lurid tales of gangs, guns and ganja, go and take a second look. Have a wander around what I think is an area with real character and potential.