Archives

Listen Up – This 100 Temple Street Dig Is Big!

So, you’ve (hopefully) heard about the Urban Food Growing Trail we’re creating – a walkable trail of edible gardens starting on Platform 3 at Temple Meads and more or less following the Brunel Mile as far as At-Bristol on Millenium Square.

food-trail-map5

Click to enlarge.

Here’s a map of confirmed garden locations to date (click to enlarge):

Now, you see the 3rd location marker (from the start point at the bottom) marked Bristol City Council? Well, that represents Bristol City Council Citizen Service Point at 100 Temple Street (BS1 6NL) who have (wonderfully) agreed to let us take over one of their tired ‘ornamental’ beds and turn it into a beautiful, productive, edible garden offering nutritious fresh, free food for all. Not only is this (for obvious reasons) A Big Deal, it’s also a pretty big and prominent plot too, so we’re going to need a full crew of volunteers on this dig. So, with plenty of notice, here’s the outline plan:

We’re splitting the work into 2 stages:

  • Friday 22nd May – 4-8pm. Bed preparation.
  • Sunday 24th May – 11am onwards. Big plant up.

If you keep promising yourself you’re going to get involved with Incredible Edible Bristol, but have never managed a dig party yet, this Temple Street Dig is the perfect opportunity. Come and be a part of Bristol’s food growing movement. Come for a half-hour or come for a whole session. Come alone and make new friends. Come with a smile and we’ll ensure you get cake! Come get mucky in the most wholesome way!

SO are you in? If you want to join us on either or both of those days, please drop me a line at claire@ediblebristolorguk.wpcomstaging.com so we can keep you updated with any last minute changes and make sure we have a full crew.

If you can’t come, perhaps you’d help us out and share this post on Facebook and Twitter etc.

Screenshot 2015-04-17 at 16.03.14

This is the bed at 100 Temple Street that we’re transforming into a food garden. #urbanfoodtrail

 

 

No Comments Events, General News, Recruitment & Volunteering , ,

Urban Food Growing Trail Map – first draft!

Yesterday, we posted that work has begun on our Urban Food Growing Trail – a trail of gardens leading from Temple Meads to Millennium Square and the FOOD exhibition at At Bristol, which will see as many food growing spaces as we can fit in along Redcliffe Way and through Queen Square leading into Millennium Square and our beds by the Planetarium. We’re creating a map to guide people along the trail. There’s still a bit to do on that (it needs a key and a few other markers), but here’s the first draft!

click to enlarge

click to enlarge

 

1 Comment General News, Urban Food Growing Trail 2015

Incredible Competition for Bristol Schools

Bristol food growing community collaborate to support new education programme.

edible-schools-comp-eflyer-finalTuesday 3rd March marks the launch of an exciting food growing competition for kids and teachers with green-fingered ambitions. The IncrEdible Schools competition will see 3 schools within the City of Bristol win gardening tools and the opportunity to create an ongoing growing project within their school and wider community.

In collaboration with the city-wide food festival Bristol Food Connections and sponsors Almondsbury Garden Centre, organisers Incredible Edible Bristol hope the competition will raise awareness of their new free-to-use IncrEdible Education Programme which has been developed to help support schools who might otherwise struggle to cover these important life skills.

“Food growing, rightly so, is now included on the national curriculum – and brilliant teaching aids from organisations like Garden Organic, RHS and Resource Futures are available,” explains Sara Venn, the food activist and horticulturist who co-founded Incredible Edible Bristol in January 2014, “but schools and teachers are already horribly over-stretched and unless they have a groundsman or staff member that happens to be a green-fingered grower, or the funds to bring someone in, they will struggle to turn theory into practice. We want to support teachers to implement a successful growing programme without it becoming immensely stressful so that’s what our IncrEdible Education Programme has been designed to do.”

Key to the initiative are hands-on site visits by the IncrEdible Education team. Teachers can then continue to implement their tailored growing programmes via a new e-learning website. Developed to bring all the available resources together in to one place in a user-friendly format, EdibleSchools.org.uk offers specially created ‘how to’ guides, forums for knowledge sharing and advice for engaging the wider community. Schools also have the opportunity to procure additional workshops and training, for both children and teachers, to further strengthen their food growing success.

The programme is being introduced to all schools within the City of Bristol initially, with plans to extend to the greater Bristol area over time. More information about the programme and how to enter the competition can be found at http://EdibleSchools.org.uk.

— ENDS —

Notes for editors
High resolution images of food growing work in schools are available upon request.
Contact: sara@ediblebristolorguk.wpcomstaging.com or call 07786 194805
PDF version of this release available here: IncrEdible-Competition-for-Bristol-Schools

Incredible Edible Bristol is a food growing movement working with communities to bring food to spaces in the public sphere which have often been unloved or underused. Working collaboratively with other organisations, we support food growing across the city, increasing communities access to healthy, fresh and organically grown fruit and vegetables. Through this process we hope to promote community resilience through food, the one thing that we all have in common. As schools are central to the community, we believe our IncrEdible Education programme will help bring communities together as well as teaching our young people important life skills. http://ediblebristol-org-uk.stackstaging.com

Bristol Food Connections is a community based food festival. The festival runs from 1-9th May 2015, starting with 3 days of food related activities in Millennium Square and College Green and then going on to see further community based events. http://www.bristolfoodconnections.com

Almondsbury Garden Centre is run by Park Garden Centres and are true supporters of community growing as well as of schools in Bristol. Based in Almondsbury they offer great service to the city of Bristol and have an outstanding array of plants on site all year round. http://www.parkgardencentres.co.uk/almondsbury

Photos of polytunnels and raised beds being built at a school in Bristol.

 

Polytunnels1-1200

Polytunnels2-1200

raisedbeds1200

No Comments Community Impact, Education, Events, General News, Partnerships and Collaborations, Press Releases

FED UP Info Sheet is ready for you!

fedup-infosheetLast Thursday, in collaboration with PRSC, we hosted a Food & Film Night. A massive thank you to everyone who came out, braving the cold, to eat wholesome food and watch FED UP with us. We hope what the movie shared about sugar, the food industry and metabolic diseases has inspired you to either make changes for yourself, or spread the word that growing and cooking our own food can liberate us in so many ways.

We promised a hand out of links and information relating to the night – including James’ Hoppin’ Johns recipe – and so FED UP info sheet, and also below on this page, in case you prefer it that way. 🙂

 

Relating to the Film

fed-up-flattened1000FedUpmovie.com – the official website.

Loads of resources on The Issue page. Here are some of our favourites:

And a list of all the experts, should you wish to follow their work here: http://fedupmovie.com/#/page/about-the-film?scrollTo=experts

A couple of extra links of our own

 

Relating to the Food

IMAG1732Hoppin’ Johns recipe (Serves 4)

Ingredients

1 ½ cups dried black-eyed beans
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 yellow onion +
2-3 spring onions
2 bell peppers (I used red and green but whatever you like)
3 sticks of celery
2-3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (or 1-2 tsp Tabasco Chipotle sauce.)
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
¼ teaspoon salt
3 cups of vegetable stock

Method

Rinse the black-eyed beans in a sieve or colander then move to a medium container and cover them with a couple inches of water. Let them soak overnight or for at least 6 hours. After they have soaked, drain the peas and set aside for cooking.

Chop up the onion, bell peppers, and celery. Using a large pot, warm up the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until it starts to brown in some places, about 5 minutes. Add the bell peppers and celery and cook until they get a little soft, about 3 minutes. Take the chipotle peppers and scrape out the seeds. These can be quite spicy, so taking out the seeds helps you keep that heat to a minimum (If you prefer it hot then keep some or all of the seeds in). If you can’t find the peppers in adobo (sauce of garlic, vinegar, paprika) then you can use 1-2 tsp of Tabasco Chipotle sauce (to taste) in their place. Chop up the chipotles and dice up the garlic real fine. Add both to the pot and stir it up. Add the thyme, oregano, paprika, black pepper, bay leaves, and salt and cook for 30 seconds. Toss in the drained black-eyed beans and the stock and bring it to a simmer.

Let it simmer uncovered until the beans are tender (about 30 minutes). If you start running out of stock before those are ready, add a little more stock or water. If the beans are tender and you’ve still got too much stock in there, just drain some off. The beans should thicken the stock as it simmers and reduces.

Serve this seasonal standard over your favorite kind of rice, topped with some chopped spring onions, and with a side of greens for extra luck! I like to use long brown rice and kale for greens but whatever you have is fine. You can even use vinegar based hot sauce (like Tabasco) on it and take it to another level.

You’ll find other recipes, including those for eating on a budget on the Fox + Monkey blog. 

 

Getting and staying in touch

Incredible Edible Bristol                                                            Fox + Monkey
Web: EdibleBristol.org.uk                                                             FoxandMonkey.co.uk
Twitter: @EdibleBristol                                                                 @FoxandMonkey
Facebook: Incredible Edible Bristol*                                           Fox and Monkey
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/X2ulj                                           http://eepurl.com/2pP4j

 

*There’s also an Incredible Edible Bristol group which you can join if you want to be more involved.

 

No Comments Community Impact, Events, Food Justice, General News, Home Economics, Partnerships and Collaborations

Food & Film Night – FED UP

fed-up-flattened1000This Thursday 4th December, in another of our film night collaborations with PRSC, we will be showing the documentary movie FED UP at the New Building at PRSC in Jamaica Street (entrance in Hillgrove St.)

Whilst this is a US movie, the issues are every bit as relevant here in the UK.

“Narrated by Katie Couric, Fed Up blows the lid off everything we thought we knew about food and exercise, revealing a 30-year campaign by the food industry aided by the U.S. government to mislead and confuse the American public. Exposing the hidden truths contributing to one of the largest health epidemics in history, the film follows a group of families battling to lead healthier lives and reveals why the conventional wisdom of exercise and eat right is not ringing true for millions of people struggling with diabetes, childhood obesity and other serious conditions. Including captivating interviews with the country’s leading experts, this vital information could change the way we eat forever.”

IMAG1732The evening will start with a short talk by food activists and IEB strategy team members James and Claire (Fox + Monkey). As well as the story behind the movie, they’ll be talking about how our own kitchens and gardens hold the key to our good health.

We will then serve up a delicious and super-nutritious hot supper, cooked with love by James and Claire, which you can feast on while watching the movie.

After the movie, we’ll wrap up with a open discussion led by IEB founder Sara and a chance for everyone to share thoughts about what we’ve just seen and heard.

You will also receive a handout listing information about access to good, affordable food, recipes and courses.

Entry costs £5 (free for under 16s) and includes everything outlined above.

Here’s the Event on our event calendar.

And here it is on Facebook, so you can say whether you’re coming or not. (And we can cook enough food!)

1 Comment Education, Events

Pollinators Poll: Wildflowers v Wasteland?

pollinator-choiceSo we’ve been talking through various ideas, aims and project plans for 2015. Many of these are simply about continuing and expanding what we started this year, but some (to do with Pollinators and the Pollination story) involve new ideas and initiatives that we’d love to see happen. We have a chance now to apply for a small amount of Green Capital funding which along with volunteer hours, donations in kind and a fired up community of IEBers could easily make these ideas a reality. So – the question is…

Are you in!? Do we have your support?

This question is important not only for idealogical reasons (we are all in this together) but also because the funding application demands ‘evidence that the community wants’ what we’re proposing.

But we don’t have much time, so we figured if we could ask you to respond to this ridunculously simple poll, and ideally, ask your friends to do the same, we will get the evidence we need to add to the application and hopefully secure the funding, and then we can share what we’re thinking and get your more detailed input via comments on this post, and in person, at the Incredible Afternoon celebration at Trinity on October 19th.  So the proposed theme for next year’s project is Bees, Flowers, Honey, Food – Bristol’s Pollination Story. And here’s the poll:

Q.: Which would you rather have around Bristol? 

 

No Comments Events, General News , , ,

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.
1 Comment Events, General News

Castle Park Bed Preparation

The council’s own raised beds in Castle Park received a little TLC at the weekend when a group of #EdibleBristol volunteers swept in to weed and prepare the soil for planting in a couple of weeks. Amongst the team of happy gardeners were the good folk of Good Gym Bristol who ran their way from another Incredible Edible Bristol event at the Hen & Chicken in Bedminster.

Post by Incredible Edible Bristol.
1 Comment Community Gardens, Events, General News