GEML Ladywood

Posts Tagged ‘Growing’

The Grow it, Eat it, Move it, Live It (GEML) project continues to thrive  at  Nechells Play Centre in inner city Birmingham.  A large quantity of vegetables has been harvested so far by growers there.  The crops have been mainly: Beans, Carrots, Tomatoes and Lettuces.  The young people and staff at play centre have been eating salad during the summer holiday on wraps and at 2 Barbeques they had with burgers/hotdogs.

Jacky Jones the principal play worker, tried to generate interest on a similar concept some years ago.  However; when she heard about the GEML project, she approached Debbie Jones the GEML co-ordinator with a view to revisit the idea.  With a new injection of resources and tools; Jacky had already identified a plot within the grounds of the play centre and set about guiding the young children on how to plant the seeds.

By the 4th week of the summer holiday, the children and play centre staff had started to pull the bigger carrots and every day they took about 12 out.  The young children washed and then ate them raw almost immediately!  They’ve not cooked any yet; thanks to the young people, they haven’t got as far as the kitchen!

There are tons of tomatoes – again, the cherry vine ripe ones are picked and eaten.  The young people are picking tomatoes daily; the Beans are still going strong and been picked every couple of days.  Corn on the cob is coming along but needed a few more weeks as it was planted a little late.

In all there have been approximately 15 children and young people that have put a lot of hard work and effort into the plot and are still helping to water the plot and pick the produce. The kids as a group are certainly enjoying eating the carrots & tomatoes practically on a daily basis.  Andy Foster has been talking to them recently about starting an herb garden next.

For all the hard work of the staff and young children, the Nechells Play Centre recently won a Recognition Award for their Contribution to the GEML Project.

Thanks to these budding entrepreneurs this site is certainly thriving and just goes to show that even in the most urban of settings, with a bit of help and a lot of tenacity, growing your own food is possible.

Nechells Play Centre, Aston Church Road, Nechells B7 5QD

Contact officer Jacky Jones – 0121-326-6785

Stanhope Community Centre was one of the first GEML community growth sites to take the lead.  They enlisted the support of probation service and St Georges Post 16 centre, (now St Georges Community Hub).

Probation provided a group of young people under the Community Pay back initiative, to support the ground work i.e. digging over the soil and creating planters for those with disabilities to participate.  The fruits of their Labour are there for all to see.

A member of Community Payback helps to prepare growth site

Since planting in early April, they had made some amazing progress and had Cabbages, Runner Beans, Potatoes, Lettuce, Bush Beans, Corn on the Cob and Spinach to choose from.

Planters full of thriving vegetables

The residents continued to work hard on their crops and with a bit of help from the weather, they had a bumper year.

Robert Tyler from Post 16 Centre provided training sessions.  Covering Rotation of crops, fertilisers and carried out practical exercises.  Robs assistance has been invaluable in providing additional resources.

A more than enthusiastic Monica Lee; Community Worker has been inspirational throughout the development of this initiative.

Monica Lee and volunteers admire progress

The POD at 28 Oliver Street is the base for Nechells+ Education Action Zone, Heartlands Extended Services Cluster and the Looked After Children Education Service Outreach Team.  It is a community centre that offers advice, support, guidance and training to the local community and schools, play schemes and activities for children and young people and a meeting place for statutory and voluntary organisations and their clients.

The POD has been developed internally to include meeting rooms, a conference room, community area and youth zone and externally there is a wonderful outdoor learning area.  Staff at the POD were very enthusiastic at the prospect of the constituency Grow It, Eat It, Move It, Live It project since it gave the opportunity  to further develop the site for use by children, young people and families and community members.

The POD has established six “grow beds” funded through the Education Action Zone with advice from Debbie Jones, GEML co-ordinator, and the supports of the Community Payback team, local schools and community members.  There are two raised grow beds and four ground level beds to ensure everyone in the community can have the opportunity to grow their own fruit and vegetables.  This has been a very exciting project which has been supported by local community members, Bloomsbury Nursery and Children’s Centre, Heartlands Academy, St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School and Cromwell Primary School, who have developed the allotments and have produced a variety of fruit and vegetables including runner beans, strawberries, marrows, tomatoes, cabbage, turnips and much more.

Other schools including Nechells Primary School, St Matthew’s CE Primary School and St Vincent’s Catholic Primary School have been involved in the project by cultivating fruit and vegetables on their own sites.  GEML has proved to be a fantastic opportunity for children, young people and adults in Nechells to grow their own produce and enjoy working outdoors, develop new skills and friendships.

For further information about activities taking place at The POD please log onto our website at: www.nechellspod.com

The Stanhope Hall site is now successfully fenced and gated, and full of locally grown vegetables.  Staff at the site are using the veg in their community lunches, and have been working with the Birmingham Town Hall to make a film about their project.  More details to come soon.

This is a former Housing Garage site, and permission is being sought from the council to use it.  There are also potential links into other arts based projects on this site, given its size