This year we had our second growing season at the community garden. The weather was very unpredictable and we could definitely see the effects of climate change. Crops were a bit late and not as plentiful as last year, but we still had some lovely vegetables and fruits growing through the summer season.
We had a number of improvements in the garden area, including a new shed, a picnic bench and table, guttering for our shed and a cooking station. Our volunteers were very happy to help with some of these works, and this project was funded by Groundwork Northampton, to help us to set up cooking sessions and events for families.
Our Family Gardening Club started in April, and it continued to be popular in the summer holidays. The kids and their parents had fun with planting herbs and vegetables, with creating community art and trying new things like honey-tasting and wax candle making.
The garden welcomed many visitors for several open days throughout July and August and members of the public asked questions about the project, we had lovely conversations about wildlife gardening and the work the Wildlife Trust BCN are doing at the Nene Wetlands. Honey tasting, busy family crafts and loads of wildlife friendly gardening chat took place, and the garden was busy with visitors on these days. The children also learnt about ponds, amphibians and everyone`s favourites, the insects- we found so many of these in the raised beds! Watering the plants and counting butterflies were also a popular activity for our budding gardeners.
Our sessions with community groups haven’t stopped for the summer, and we had fun with Cando Cooperative Care and Growild Outreach to continue with garden tasks and craft activities, and sustainability sessions. These visits are still proving very popular with the clients, and we all enjoy sharing our passion for wildlife, as well as taking care of the garden. The wellbeing effect of these sessions is invaluable and we are always happy to welcome these groups on a monthly basis.
This year we hosted one of the ever-popular Rushden Rangers sessions at the garden area. Four fully booked sessions provided entertainment by Bakehouse Productions, as well as seed-bomb making sessions and wildlife gardening advice from the Wildlife Trust. The families had a lovely time, the garden was a hive of activity all day, and we had lots of really nice feedback from the families that attended.
As part of the Grow, Cook, Eat project, funded by Growild Northants, we had some equipment for cooking sessions, and we put our new pizza oven to good use for several occasions. The garden became a real community place, and hosted several different activities. Our Nene Wetlands Team had a trial session , followed by our Education Team Day. These occasions proved successful, and some delicious pizzas were made, so we felt confident to start sessions for our Family Gardening Club and for Growild Outreach group too. These sessions are really useful educational events, when we can show how easy it is to make home-made food, and if we use the vegetables we had sown, planted and grown ourselves it always tastes so much better! The groups really had great fun, and everyone got involved in rolling out dough, creating their own toppings, and using the oven safely(and with supervision).
After a busy summer we are planning even more fun at the garden area! In October there will be a Halloween pumpkin carving session, followed by pumpkin soup making and pumpkin seed toasting. This is a good way of learning about reducing food waste and making yummy food at the same time. The Family Gardening Club is back in October, and the children are already very excited about making scary-face pizza and mini pizza pumpkins.
We have plans for more activities for the rest of the year, such as creating an orchard next to the garden, planting some native fruit trees, and also having some festive fun with natural Christmas decorations. For information on all our events and to book your place please visit here.
