Allotment Community Outreach: 1 People and Groups

 

John F Kennedy once said, ‘Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.’ If we substitute community for country, then we have an interesting question to answer.

We often forget that the land that most allotments are on is owned not by the Society or in fact by the local authority but by the community. It may be the local parish council, a local council, or a metropolitan borough name on the freehold, but it remains community land. So how do allotments integrate and work with the community? In this short series of articles, we look at some of those communities and opportunities. There is no right or wrong approach, just opportunities.

1.       People and Groups

Many allotments accommodate a local school; a plot where those lucky enough to work it are taught into potentially becoming tomorrow’s allotment and leisure gardeners. They also can benefit from environmental studies and awareness about recycling, soil management, the impact of weather changes and an understanding of horticulture, nature, and biodiversity are on offer. An exposure to all aspects of health and wellbeing be it fresh food, physical exercise, mental, biodiversity, wildlife, as well as the basic relationship between growing produce and domestic science are also there for the schoolchildren to appreciate.

The Greek philosopher Aristotle once said, ‘Give me a child until he is seven and I will show you the man’. I would not limit to seven and an child engaged in an allotment will influence others and could even teach their own parents and enthuse them. The skills learnt will never be forgotten and are practical ones that can be used later in life.

We have a plot run by the caretaker of the local school who has a group of children who are engaged in the plot and we would love to have more but we don’t have the space. Perhaps this is where allotments. can go now, into the schools to help establish plots and start them on their journeys of discovery? 

Last year the schoolchildren who work the plot won a London award presented by Alan Titchmarsh.  

In today’s inner cities ‘house with garden’ is being displaced by the ‘flat with balcony’ and in many cases without balcony. Space is shrinking and so skyscraper towers are starting to dominate the landscape. Here in Docklands we have the highest density of residential housing in Western Europe and an area in Canary Wharf with a population greater than the largest of UK cities. This means the young never experience growing off the land and the older community must confine it to memory. Today our site is over 250% oversubscribed and that means you would be lucky to get a plot in 25 years. But they still join our waiting list which is growing by the month.

The allotment can’t accommodate more; we have already cut many plots in half and all new starters must start on a half plot which in real terms is actually a quarter plot. Perhaps we should take the allotments to the people? We have one initiative with a housing association to create community garden plots within the estate land which is often grassed and planted for low maintenance. We are getting those in the estate and on the waiting list engaged and, if it works, aim to push it further.     

Then there are those less fortunate than us who have physical and mental challenges and could not work a plot without supervision, help and care. It is not easy finding the right group and even harder to find the right space, but it can be extremely rewarding all round. It is not a case of building disabled beds and looking for the group, but perhaps working with a group to meet their special needs. Again, the space does not have to be within the allotments, it is about sharing time and experience to help other less fortunate enjoy what we take for granted.

There are also prescriptive plots or gardens where those suffering from long term illness or recovering from major problems can build back their lives in a social space and with an interest in growing and with a purpose to broadening education.

Finally, a doctor started to bring a few of their hospital co-workers to their plot. We had to check who the visitors were and authorise it during Covid but suddenly the plot was transformed in a season and you realised that key workers need a break, need to unwind and allotments are the perfect tonic for many. It certainly makes you think about the wider community.   

Winston Churchill once said, ‘The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity, the optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.’ You cannot cover all the community opportunities, neither can you always get them right, but in today’s space poor environment we perhaps should share more.