As the Coronavirus crisis dominates the national and global landscape, the Good to Grow team are reaching out to members projects and gardens to see how we can support as many of you as possible to continue to grow food.
Last updated 5 January 2021
As the Coronavirus crisis dominates the national and global landscape, the Good to Grow team are reaching out to members projects and gardens to see how we can support as many of you as possible to continue to grow food.
What does the new Jan 2021 lockdown mean for community food gardens? How can we support you?
We know that the current situation with the virus and news of the new lockdown is worrying and unsettling. We want to support the food growing community wherever we can so please get in touch if you have specific queries or concerns. In the meantime, we've digested the government guidance and listed below are the areas we feel most affect community gardening settings and activities. Please note, advice may slightly differ across the four nations:
Good to Grow Day 2021 will be going ahead! We will be in touch with more information, but please keep- 23-26 April free in your calendar for a weekend of community growing celebration
November lockdown - what does it mean for community food gardens?
With the second lockdown starting on 5th November, we’re aware that many community food growers in London and beyond are wondering what this means for their gardens and allotments. We’ve digested the guidance in relation to community food growing and below are some key points which we hope are useful in helping you keep your garden open safely and confidently, keep volunteers coming and keep growing:
Sustain maintains, as we did in the first lockdown, that community food gardens are a necessity for many, playing a significant role in accessing fresh fruit and vegetables in local communities both in the short term, but also in the medium term (leaving gardens derelict would take months to turn around post lockdown). As well as the role gardens play in food production, they also provide opportunities for access to nature and green spaces for those that use them, contributing towards increased mental and physical health.
This info about the rule of 6 was published in September
The recent 'rule of 6' has understandably caused community gardens to question their activities and feel anxious about whether they're doing the right thing. We hope the below helps to answer some of your questions and concerns and we will continue to update this page as things change.
Please note that all guidance continues to point towards outdoor activities being far safer than indoor activities. And in some cases (like in Scotland) the use of face coverings in gardens is strongly advised. Please contact us if you have any questions, concerns or comments about our Covid-19 advice for gardens.
Check out our news item and blog on why it is critical to keep our community gardens and allotments growing through the Covid-19 crisis.
BLOG: Why it’s critical to keep our community gardens and allotments growing during Coronavirus
WEBINAR RECORDING: Community food growing during Covid-19
You can also read our news item: Community Gardens keep growing during Coronavirus which summarises finding from our Covid-19 response survey.
Read more about Sustain’s Coronavirus Food Alert here.
We know the health and wellbeing benefits that community food growing brings and how important our gardens are for the people that use them.
As the team at OrganicLea says “Being outdoors is good for us all and for our overall health and wellbeing. Looking after our mental health is crucial at this time and many of us find that green spaces and nature connection supports us through difficult times such as these.”
Now more than ever it is critical to keep people and gardens growing as part of longer-term resilience and we know there has been a surge of interest in growing your own. We want to make sure people are doing it well, safely – and in a nature friendly way!
We have teamed up with several community gardens (including Calthorpe and Story Garden) and used their policies to create documents you can download and adapt according to your setting:
Download Examply Volunteer Protocol
Download Example Risk Assesment
Access and travel
Social distancing and Sanitation
Kate Poland from the Union of Hackney Gardens has kindly shared her notices which you can adapt. One is targeted for users and the other for the wider community so they understand why you are still using the site.
Example notice to wider community
You may be thinking about approaching your local authority to ask them to support local food production (especially in the context of Covid-19). If you want more support around this, please get in touch with us and/or adapt the below template letter for use with your local authority.
Capital Growth are bringing you new online short sessions and longer training sessions
With many people stuck at home we are looking to compile useful advice on growing your own food. If you come across any that you don't see on here, let us know by emailing capitalgrowth@sustainweb.org
This is updated as frequently as we can. If you know of anywhere else that has seeds or soil available please let us know by contacting capitalgrowth@sustainweb.org
Seeds
Seed saving resources
If you can’t access any but would like to start to save your own seed look here...
Compost/Soil
Other
We have been collecting stories and information on food growing that are relevant to Coronavirus. Please check them out here and do share any you have with ren@sustainweb.org
Good to Grow/Sustain take no responsibility for the content of any external websites or articles and only want to signpost growers to the places where you might find the resources you need.
We do recommend that you try to buy from your local or independent garden centres/businesses where possible, and to buy seed with minimal intervention, and peat-free soil and compost.
We advise that you check the NHS and .Gov websites regularly for accurate and up-to-date information:
Read more about Sustain’s Coronavirus Food Alert here: https://www.sustainweb.org/coronavirus/