Community Gardening Afternoon
With news of the Corona virus shutting down Canary Wharf, the flood barriers breaching in Iron Bridge and talk of snow and treacherous ice descending over the UK, the idea of volunteering at Penglais Community Garden this afternoon had seemed a bit unlikely due to the cold weather. However, as is so often the case, living in the Aber Bubble, we couldn’t have been further from the chaos of viral pandemic fears and I’m happy to report that we were blessed with a beautiful sunny afternoon that uplifted spirits and reassured us that Spring was on its way.
I was greeted by Jane Powell, who introduced me to Evan, a new volunteer; Dorothy Wilson who had returned to Aberystwyth (after a stint away) and Lilly, who was bathing a bumble bee, rescuing it from mites and giving it the care and attention, it needed.
The ACV Volunteers, led by Ian and Jordan had coppiced the hazel tree and were using the branches to construct the framework for their garden bed that will be tended to by their Society. I also saw the CROESO - WELCOME sign crafted by Marc Welsh and its rustic charm and form raised a smile, one of warmth and familiarity of an old friend.
Having already done a couple of hours in the garden Jane was keen to grab a cup of tea in the Arts Centre and tell me all about the various projects linked to the Community Garden and some ideas for the future. Here’s what she had to say:
Tell me how you got involved with the Community Garden
In 2014, I was working at the University on a project that was supporting organic food supply chains. One of the students from the Food Security Masters had spotted that there was this garden here and she was keen to develop it and then I just got drawn into it really. It seemed like such an opportunity.
At the same time, the University catering department was signed up to the ‘Food for Life’ Catering Mark. For the accreditation they had to source a certain proportion of food locally and had to deliver an educational element in order for the students at the University to understand where their food came from. So, by having a garden, it gave us a way to deliver the education element and that’s what our project was set up to do. The project also came up with the funding for the notice board.
Meanwhile the National Botanical Garden of Wales had a project called ‘Growing the Future’ and that was all about spreading horticultural tuition around Wales. Angie Polkey came to deliver some gardening sessions during which time we built the compost bins and did some planning sessions. Initially it was Chloe Ward from CAT who got me involved as she wanted to do a University Research project looking at small scale local food production. The idea was to draw in researchers from IBERS, Geography, Politics, Psychology and anywhere else, and have them study small scale growing from different angles. There was some interest, but we didn’t quite pull it off. Anyway, the offer is still there.
As part of promoting our work we organised a community meal at the University in 2013 and invited speakers from IBERS, Geography and Interpol along with a representative of the Student Food Co-op and the PVC Rebecca Davies. In between courses we had talks from lecturers and after the meal we had discussions about food and we talked about the garden. The first year we had lots of first year Food Security students volunteering, because it fitted with their interests.
There is so much that that could be done with the garden. We could grow seeds from the IBERS breeding programmes – we did have some heritage black oats last year – and try out vegetable varieties and green manures that are suited to our local area. There are loads of things we could do that would engage the public and engage the students – the garden has huge potential.
What have you grown there?
We have grown tomatoes, broccoli, garlic, potatoes, herbs, salad leaves, Jerusalem artichokes, chard, kale and lots more. We sell some through the student Veg Coop, and we often put produce on our honesty shelf. That brings in some cash for seeds and compost. We’d like to supply the Arts Centre café if we can get more organized. We have given away borage flowers to put in the Pimms at graduation, and put bunches of cosmos on the café tables indoors. We also organize seedling swaps every May.
What kind of projects are delivered here?
We have done gardening sessions for the University during Mental Health Week. That’s a huge thing we could be doing more of, because an hour of weeding and pottering in the garden certainly cheers me up. I often hang out there on a Saturday and people call in for a chat – people I know, some I don’t know – they just call in. I’ve often met parents who are with their children at Open Days so I hope we are doing our bit for recruitment.
A couple of years ago we supplied all the leeks for a St David’s Day meal at The Treehouse. It was packed out with local people and musicians and it was an evening to remember. We work closely with Aber Food Surplus and sometimes the kitchen waste from their Pay as You Feel meals ends up on our compost heap.
We’ve also had groups from the town visit. One morning a Syrian family came and spent a morning helping us to cart topsoil and plant onions. They had been farming back home and I think they enjoyed the chance to get their hands in the soil here.
What would you like to plan for next?
We are always looking for new volunteers, especially local people who are going to stick around – it gives us continuity. We also really value people who already have some gardening skills and can share them with newcomers, because the garden is all about learning and having a go. We go through cycles with volunteers where it flares into activity and it will die back and then it feels really dead – but you have to keep on pushing, keep on watering, keep on with the e mails and then you get another surge of interest, a big wave of people, and you want to try and keep them in.
In March we are planning a seed swap event in with the Aber Food Surplus Hub in Chalybeate Street. People will bring seeds to swap and we will have a speaker come along and then follow with discussions. The Aber Food Surplus Hub are also interested in composting.
I’d like to see a seed library set up. It would be great to do some ‘participatory plant breeding’ with IBERS, which is about trying out new varieties suited to the local conditions
We also want to link the garden up with other food growing activities in the area – the allotments in Penparcau, for instance. We have been meeting people through the People’s Practice group at the Museum (we meet the second Tuesday of every month from 6 to 8pm, all welcome) and as a result, a few of us are off next to visit a local farmer who wants to start growing vegetables.
Also, a few of us are really excited about the idea of setting up a Food Council for Aberystwyth, like they already have in Cardiff and other places, and create a Food Strategy. That sounds rather bureaucratic but we would bring it to life with lots of celebrations, study trips, community meals and a bit more joined up thinking. Things tend to be a bit dispersed and it would be great to pull people and ideas together.
And finally, on Saturday there is an event happening at St Paul’s Centre in town, organised by the Green Party titled ‘How do we respond locally to the Climate and Biodiversity Emergency?’ The keynote speak is Paul Allen from Zero Carbon Britain based at CAT in Machynlleth. There will be various local groups and organisations with stalls and it opens at 10 am. Everyone is welcome and this is the link.
Hope to see you there!
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