Monthly Archives: April 2014

Blaise Community Garden

IMG_4027Blaise Community Garden is within the walls of the old Kitchen Garden at Blaise Castle and is run and looked after by an amazing group of volunteers, who have fought for 4 years for the permissions from Bristol City Council that they needed to open and work on the project.

On May 3rd and 4th they are having a 2 day work party, with barbeque, and need volunteers to move soil that has been delivered into the glasshouses so that the sowing and planting of veg, fruit and herbs can begin for the season ahead. On the 3rd people are needed from 10-12.30 and on the 4th from 1-4pm. There is also going to be a barbeque to keep folk going!!

Having visited this amazing project last year I just need to say this is a wonderful project, in an historic walled garden that very few people seem to know about and I urge anyone who lives in the area to go along and check it out. The commitee are a tour de force and it is a project that Bristol should be proud of and support with all its might. For more info about the project look at http://blaisecommunitygarden.org.uk/

 

No Comments Community Gardens, Events, General News

Trinity Gardens Get Communities Growing

 

 

0fe97f_66649f711cc54c14809e137e2c0bd5cb.jpg_srz_423_578_75_22_0.50_1.20_0.00_jpg_srzThe wonderful Lisa Tozer has been busy organising funding and support for 2 community growing groups that will set about making a community food growing project in the Stapleton Road area. There will be groups working on both Wednesday and Thursday of each week from 7th/8th of May throught to October and harvest time, making it a brilliantly accessible project for all. We look forward to seeing how it works out and hearing more. The email address for Lisa is on the poster if you need more info, but if you live in the Stapleton Road area, there are only 15 places remaining so hurry to get involved!

No Comments Events, General News, Recruitment & Volunteering

East Street Planter Ninjas!

East Street BS3 planter reccy

Map of Planters East StreetOn Friday 18th April, four of the Incredible Edible BS3 group decided to have a quick reccie meeting to take forward plans to revitalise the East Street Planters. Co-founder of Incredible Edible Bristol and expert horticulturalist Sara Venn was there too.

East Street is a busy hub in BS3, where the local community and traders are gradually revitalising the area with greening. There are several large planters, some with large gaps in, some with what Bonnie Hewson, a key BS3 member, describes as ‘slightly sad bamboo with some lavender and oregano dotted about’. Time for an edible makeover!

The local shopkeepers have been great at watering the planters, and Incredible Edible BS3 hopes they will continue to do so when the planters are bursting with lively, resilient, hardy and scented herbs: rosemary, hyssop and thyme for starters! The Bedminster Town Team have been very supportive and are contributing £50 towards the new plants. The Incredible Edible plant-mapping ninjas were spotted eating cream eggs and making plans as they went. Now that’s what we call Easter style!

The next plan will be to book the planting day. Anyone wanting to help or to get involved, either with this project, or future BS3 projects (of which there are many) should get in touch via the Edible BS3 Facebook page, or via this website. If you eat, you’re in (even if that means just cream eggs!)

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Dove Street Planting Day

Before.

Before.

Today we put spades into the ground in Kingsdown, in an area of large high rise flats that have huge tracts of land around them, much of which is ripe for growing food on.

After. Planted with fruit bushes, beans peas, sunflower, marigold and nastutiums!!

After. Planted with fruit bushes, beans peas, sunflower, marigold and nastutiums!!

George Ferguson surveying the garden!

George Ferguson surveying the garden!

We collaborated on this with The People’s Republic of Stokes Croft, and picked a piece of ground that was unloved, had been covered in weeds and rubbish but was right next to the entrance to one of the blocks. We spoke with members of the community who, on the whole were really positive and welcomed what we were trying to do. The important message is this is not a group of people growing food for themselves, or trying to take ownership of anything. It is a group of people empowering communities to get growing by showing them what can be done, and the food is for everyone.

It was great that George Ferguson came along and was so supportive, but actually the really wonderful part of the day was that residents are excited about what is going on and have offered help and enthusiasm and a promise to keep things watered.

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Bristol Food Connections – exciting volunteering opportunities

bfc_logoBristol Food Connections week runs in the area of Bristol surrounding @Bristol and Millenium Square and Harbourside from 1st to 11th May 2014, and is an exciting collaboration between our own Love Food Festival and the BBC, highlighting and celebrating both Bristol’s amazing foodie culture alongside food issues that are real in every day life; food sovereignty, climate change, land use amongst a plethora of other vital and timely issues.

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During Food Connections week Incredible Edible Bristol will be planting a legacy bed to mark the vital part that growing your own food has to play in the worldwide way we deal with food whilst being surrounded by all the above issues and more. This will take place outside @Bristol and we would like children to come along and plant the bed, whilst parents can talk to our strategy team and volunteers about how they can get involved in our mission, to turn Bristol into the UK’s first Edible City. We will also be working alongside Steve Clampin, Bristol City Council’s Allotment Manager and all round great guy, to plant up a display allotment in Anchor Square and show how beautiful growing your own can be, as well as productive. We look forward to seeing you there, and dates for volunteering are below!! Please do come along and get involved.

  • May 2nd – Anchor Square. Helping to set up the council show allotment.
  • May 3rd/4th/5th – Outside Feed Bristol. Helping kids to plant up the legacy bed and/or talking to people about Incredible Edible Bristol’s mission.
No Comments Events, Recruitment & Volunteering ,

Just 26 Days to Pledge for Veg on Spacehive

spacehive-logo-lrgWe have already experienced so much generous giving from people who want to be a part of making the Edible Bristol vision a reality.

Individuals and organisations have donated huge amounts of time, energy and expertise, as well as practical necessities like seeds, spaces and buildings – we are only 6 weeks in and there are so many positive things happening.

There are some things however, that nothing but old-fashioned spondoolies are going to secure, and so we’ve launched our first crowdfunding campaign on Spacehive who specialise on civic projects. As we explain on thecampaign page, here’s what we’ll do if we are successful:

  • Kick start the next phase by planting 3 highly visible edible gardens in the centre of Bristol.
  • Supply resources and support to people in Bristol to grow organic produce all over the city.
  • Provide volunteering opportunities for people looking to join a community-led green initiative in Bristol.
  • Work with schools and universities to raise awareness of issues surrounding food as a vital issue.
  • Work with hospitals and care homes to offer edible gardening opportunities to patients and the elderly.
  • Build a kinder and more resilient Bristol for future generations.

There’s much more info over on the page, so please do check it out, and if you feel you can afford it, make Bristol a pledge for veg! – even it’s just a couple of quid.

No Comments Fundraisers & Funding, General News

Hen & Chicken Mural Painting

Remember we mentioned that there were two Incredible Edible events happening the weekend we prepped the beds in Castle Park? Well, the other one was in Southville at the Hen & Chicken; the popular neighbourhood bar & kitchen’s owner generously agreed to let us prettify his walls with an urban gardening theme. Obviously, we jumped at the chance (great advertising opportunity) and led by our own Anna Grear, a team of artistic volunteers quickly stepped up to take on the challenge.

By the end of the day, the building looked fantastic. What’s more, so inspired by the veggie wall frieze and colourful mural was the landlord, that he pledged to plant edibles in his shrubby planters! Result! Check out these before and after pics and see for yourself.

Post by Incredible Edible Bristol.
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