growing interest: a flavour of community growing in scotland

Growing Interest :

a flavour of communitygrowing in Scotland

Scottish Community Diet Project 2002

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Growing Interest :a flavour of community growing in Scotland

Acknowledgements

The Scottish Community Diet Project would like to acknowledge the many contributions that have resulted in‘Growing Interest: a flavour of community growing in Scotland’

The need for such a publication arose from SCDP’s contact with a number of local and national agencies, particularlythe Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens, without whose collaboration this publication would neverhave come about. As well as contributing the section ‘Creating a Community Growing Project’, the Federation haveacted as consultants (unpaid!) on the entire undertaking.

Having recognised the need for such a publication, SCDP were delighted when David Black of Communicable Healthagreed to take on the task of producing ‘Growing Interest’. David’s depth of knowledge of public health, his trackrecord of producing practical and accessible publications, and his genuine enthusiasm for the topic are all reflected inthe final product.

We were delighted when Scotland’s Food and Health Co-ordinator agreed, at quite short notice, to contribute her‘vision of a growing society’.

However, ‘Growing Interest’ would be of no interest whatsoever without the contribution of all those local projectswho gave up their time to share their experience with the rest of the country.

Finally SCDP would like to thank colleagues in the Scottish Consumer Council for all their support.

ISBN 0-907067-88-3

Further copies of this publication are available from:

Scottish Community Diet Projectc/o Scottish Consumer Council,Royal Exchange House,100 Queen StreetGlasgow, G1 3DN0141 226 5261

[email protected]

www.dietproject.org.uk

Vision for a Growing Society

Background Page 6

City Farms Page 10

Community Gardens Page 12

School Growing Projects Page 14

Training and Therapy Projects Page 16

Allotments Page 18

Growing for Resale Page 20

Creating a Community Growing Project Page 22

Funding Page 26

Way to Go Page 29

Scottish Projects Page 30

References Page 31

Useful Contacts and Sources Page 32

Further Reading Page 35

Contents

Growing Interest

What we eat has a profound effectupon our healthThe Scottish Diet Action Plan waspublished in July 1996 in recognitionof the effect of diet on our health.The plan was a blueprint for actionover the following decade and therewas widespread recognition that itwould take the combined andconcerted efforts of everyone to turnthe Scottish diet around. It will takethe nation to change the nation’sdiet. All of us, in the public and inthe private sectors, in our work livesand in our home lives, have a part toplay.

A balanced and nutritious diet isvital for health but how we choose tomake up that diet is also important.We need to consider (those of uslucky enough not to be living fromhand to mouth and who have thefreedom and capacity to choose)where the food comes from, how it isgrown, how far it has travelled, andthe environmental and social impactof the food production system. Howwe feed ourselves is important in somany ways.

Growing locallyThe products of the vegetable patchor the orchard are so much morethan the produce itself. Health, gooddiet, exercise, food knowledge, bio-diversity, that ‘look I made it myself!’feeling, too often lost from our adultlives.

The World Health Organization in2001 published an urban and ‘peri-urban’ Food and Nutrition ActionPlan. In this it presented what it called

‘…elements for community action topromote social cohesion and reduceinequalities through local foodproduction for local consumption.’

I think this is an excitingconfirmation of the value of localgrowing and of local growers. Amandate and a call to action from theWHO. Its aim is to promote healthand quality of life through joined-upapproaches to food and nutritionpolicy in local communities. Thebenefits of increasing the amountand the distribution of locally grownfood, especially fruits and vegetables,are extolled. I believe these benefitsare to be gained whether you aregrowing for yourself and your family,your community or your region. InScottish terms this meansidentifying, and shouting about, theenvironmental, social, and direct andindirect economic benefits ofboosting home production as well asthe health outcomes.

Growing, buying, and eating morevegetables and fruits will reduce ourrisk of the ‘big three’, heart disease,stroke and cancer, at the same timepromoting a healthier environmentand sustainable development.

And you thought you were doing itall for the taste!Growers will find that they can linkinto a wide array of activities withintheir communities, adding value toexisting projects: food co-ops,community farms, community cafesand herb gardens. Growers can be anenormous asset to schools, disabilityresource centres, youth trainingcentres and a range of communityprojects. Growing projectsthemselves should find assistance,support and, potentially, funding bylinking to local authorities, NHSBoards, local enterprise companiesand voluntary organisations.

The most exciting potential for me isthe impact that growing can have onchildren’s attitudes and awareness ofthe food they eat, the planet they liveon and the people with whom theyshare their lives.

‘That, my grumpy girls, is why you aregoing to turn off that telly and get outhere and help me pull up thesedockens!’

Gillian KynochScottish Food and HealthCo-ordinator



Background

What this booklet is forThis booklet forms an introductionto community food growing inScotland. It gives an overview ofwhat’s happening in Scotland andlooks at some ideas that you maywish to translate into action.

Work for this booklet began bytrying to find out how manycommunity food growing projectsthere are in Scotland. The directoryof Scottish community foodinitiatives ‘Food in the Community’(1)

listed 180 projects undertaking over300 activities around food, but onlyfour per cent of those activities werefood growing.

However a search of the databases ofthe Scottish Community Diet Projectand the Federation of City Farmsand Community Gardens suggestedthat more growing initiatives were inexistence and further exploration ledto the information presented here.

This booklet is not comprehensive,for it is in the nature of manycommunity organisations to changeor sometimes fade away. It should bethought of as a snapshot ofcommunity growing activity and anintroduction to starting andmaintaining them.

Shape of this bookletThe booklet starts by looking at thebackground to food and nutritionand why we need to change our foodgrowing and eating practices. The

booklet then gives a flavour ofcommunity food growing projectsaround the country. Other sectionsgive advice on how to set up yourown project, potential sources offunding and information andcontacts.

Why food?You can’t open the paper or turn onthe TV these days without anotherarticle about producing, selling oreating food. Slow food, fast food,cheap food and food shopping, foodpoisoning, the lack of localproduction and as this is Scotland,lots of views about why Scots arekilling themselves with frying pans.This booklet is slightly different.While it is also about food it isessentially concerned with practicalmeasures to improve foodproduction and access in localcommunities.

It is difficult to ignore the fact thatScotland has food related problems.The main concerns could besummarised as follows:

• nutrition and health• poverty and access to food• public health and food safety

issues, and• our growing ‘fast food’ culture.

Nutrition and healthConcern about the effect of our dieton our health isn’t recent or new.Over the past twenty years muchmore evidence has been gathered

about the links between poor dietand poor health. One result hasbeen the development of healthpromotion and education actionaiming to change eating patterns

Poverty and access to foodMarket power is concentrated in thebig five supermarkets leading tomany local shops being priced outof the market(2). More than seventyper cent of all food is now boughtthrough the six major Scottishretailers (3) and local food shopping(particularly in poorer areas) isscarce and expensive.

Public health and food safetyissuesWe are more aware than ever of thepublic health risks related to theproduction of food, such as BSE,CJD and Foot and Mouth disease,and food poisoning incidentsrelated to food preparation andstorage.

Our growing ‘fast food’ cultureBasic food products are cheap, thereal profits come from foodprocessing and retailing.Consequently, pre-processed and‘fast’ foods have become the norm insociety resulting in a loss of cookingand preparation skills. As EricSchlosser points out in ‘Fast FoodNation’(4)

‘The whole experience of buying fastfood has become so routine, sothoroughly unexceptional and

Growing Interest

mundane, that it is now taken forgranted, like brushing your teeth orstopping for a red light.’

In an update of the old hippie maximof ‘You are what you eat’ he pointsout that;‘.. a nation’s diet can be more revealingthan its art or literature.’

What’s next?In terms of the history of humanitythe recent changes in our diet havetaken place over a relatively shorttime span, about 100-150 years.These changes were driven by thefarming and industrial revolutionand the urbanisation of society. Mostof us now live in cities and have lostthe connection our forebears oncehad with the land. Increasingly foodculture is influenced by what is onsupermarket shelves and advertisedon television.

As a society we are now more awareof the need to change our diet andthe way in which we produce food.We can see opportunities for changebut these are against a backdrop ofan increasing level of centralisationof power over food production andsale. This booklet does not argueagainst the food industry orsupermarkets. What the booklethopes to show is that communitiescan take back some control over foodand what they eat and through thistake away some of the power of thefood industry to tell us what we wantto eat. However it is not simplyabout food, it is about supportingand building stronger communitiesthrough successful and fun action atlocal level.

There are a huge range ofopportunities for growing healthy

Background

food locally in Scotland. Beforelooking at the projects it would beuseful to look at what support isthere and what are the outcomespossible from the projects.

Policy frameworkScotland has always had policies andlaws around food production andselling. These have a long historyand in the early days were concernedwith the need for stable and self-sufficient agricultural production.However by the time of theindustrial revolution with the growthof large towns and cities andassociated developments in foodretailing these policies were aboutminimum quality standards andadulteration. Nowadays withgrowing concerns about food, healthand social inclusion a new approachto public policy around food hasbeen developed.

‘ Scotland is unusual in having a verycarefully calculated, nutritionally-consistent food policy which waswritten with multi-disciplinary inputwith health as its primary motivation.The Scottish Diet Action Plan … waspioneering by uniting in pursuit oflong-term health improvements theinitially disparate (and some opposed)interests of the entire ‘food network’:farmers, fishermen, food processors,retailers, caterers, educators, healthservices and media, as well asconsumers. The SDAP represents aremarkable consensus between thesedisciplines. All agreed to support everyaspect of the plan.’ (5)

The Scottish Diet Action Plan(6) wascontinued by the new LabourGovernment in 1997 and theScottish Parliament is furtherdeveloping it.

One of the nine areas identified inthe SDAP as being key to a healthierScotland is that of local communityaction. Over the past twenty yearsthere has been a range of communityaction around food and health. Itcould be argued that these actionshave helped the development ofpolicy ideas around Health andSocial Inclusion. The contribution ofcommunity development and inparticular community food initiativeshave been recognised in Scottishpolicies on health, social inclusionand rural development.

Community actionAs well as working in collaborativeand inclusive ways, local communityprojects are very good at developinginnovative approaches to localproblems.

Some initiatives are purely foodfocused while others are part ofwider health, environmental or anti-poverty initiatives. A number ofprojects will have staff (both lay andprofessional) working for them.Both they and projects with no staffof their own, also rely on access tospecialist staff particularly from localauthorities, the health service andthe voluntary sector. Some initiativeshave their origins in an anti-povertyagenda while others come from adiet, health or environmentalperspective. Invariably these agendasmerge as the initiatives highlight inpractice the much sought afterjoined-up thinking.

A common theme however is that noinitiative is claiming whetherindividually or collectively that it isthe sole or even primary solution tothe problems of food and diet facing

their community or the country as awhole. What they do make, is thefundamental contribution of theirskills and knowledge to an ongoingnational strategy to tacklingScotland’s unacceptable inequalitiesin diet and health.

What can we get fromcommunity growing?Over the past 10 years there hasbeen a developing interest in smallscale food growing in cities, aroundthe world this can be seen in aninternational context in the work ofthe United Nations around UrbanAgriculture(7) and nationally by thework of Sustain(8) and the Federationof City Farms and CommunityGardens.

Food grown in cities in the thirdworld is a key part of the local foodproduction network with manysmall businesses providing a muchneeded local service. In contrast, inthe industrialised west, small scalegrowing projects are peripheral tothe mass production of foodstuffsand service ‘niche’ markets eg smallorganic producers.

Some community growing projectsattempt to address issues aroundpoverty and food access; oftenincluding the development of workskills and better health as outcomes.

There is also a strand of this workthat sees the activities as supportinga return to the ideal of active andsupportive communities. Forexample the Earthshare Project inForres has described itself as:

‘... a shared community allotment towhich subscribers commit a full year‘s

support ... they have the option of doingpart of the labour intensive work needed... healthy food is produced locally at costprice with no intermediaries ’ (9)

Earthshare believes that theCommunity Supported Agricultureapproach that they use helps buildstrong communities and that this isreflected in their levels of subscribersupport.

How we found the projectsThere has not yet been a specificaudit of Scottish community growingprojects and this publication hasgrown from a ‘scoping exercise’ usingcontacts from both the SCDP, and theFederation of City Farms, databasesto find out what is happening at themoment. The databases provided thecontact list for a series of exploratorytelephone interviews. Telephoneinterviews were also carried out withworkers in Health PromotionDepartments, Food Futures projectsand other active organisations. Thesediscussions provided a frameworkfor shaping this description ofgrowing projects in Scotland.

A set of visits to, and interviewswith, workers gave informationabout projects and recommendationsfor further contacts and exploration.

Inclusion of projects in thispublication is not intended to be ajudgement on those either includedor excluded. They have been chosento reflect the variety of activity thatcan be found, not to be a repres-entative sample of the spread ofprojects. The choice reflects thediversity of work going on in thecountry and is intended to givereaders a flavour of what is there.

Growing Interest

One of the issues identified by many ofthe people interviewed for thispublication is the loss of understandingin our urban communities that growingfood is something everyone can do. Thiswas highlighted by the story of a visitorto Glasgow who came from Albania andwas being taken on a tour of one of thecity’s deprived peripheral estates. Asshe was being driven through thishousing estate she asked, ‘Why are thegardens empty?’ After a puzzling fewmoments on both sides, the locals

Projects are presented under one (ormore) of the headings found below.

• city farms andcommunity gardens

• school growing projects• training and therapy projects• allotments, and• growing and selling.

One of the difficulties of describingthe projects in categories is the

Benefits of community

In looking at proposals for the develLondon, Sustain identified a numberCommunity. These covered:

Environmental• greater biological diversity of plants and• less waste, resulting from more compos• reduced food transportation through gre• less pollution and lower pollution relate

awareness generated by urban agricultu

Economic• some commercially viable jobs in food g

composting and related industries• a boost to the leisure industry, through i• a stronger sustainable food and agricult• business benefits through greener, more

public image and more skilled and motiv• contributions to the alternative economy

Health• health and social benefits, so reducing t• increased consumption of fruit and vege

of affordable fresh produce• opportunities for physical activity stress

mental health gains for those with speci

Community development• more active participation in community l

working with others across a variety of s• opportunities for delivering many of Gov

regeneration objectives.

Educational• opportunities for school curriculum teac

learning, training and employment• opportunities, particularly for disadvant

(adapted from 8)

understood her being perplexed by the

Background

breadth of activity that can be foundin many projects. For example theLETS work in Stirling could bedescribed as a training organisation,a support organisation, an organicgrower, a food provider and part of alocal exchange scheme. Thereforeour categorisation has been carriedout in order to produce as interestinga booklet as possible with apologiesto projects who may have enteredthemselves in a different category.

growing projects

opment of urban agriculture in of benefits to the City and

animalsting activity and less food packagingater availability of local produce

d costs from the greater environmentalre.

rowing, processing and marketing, and in

ncreased sales of gardening inputsure industry (urban and rural) attractive local environments, a betterated workers through LETS and social enterprises.

he burden on statutory servicestables through greater availability

relief for everyone andfic difficulties.

ife and a practical focus forocial divisionsernment’s area-based

hing, vocational training and for lifelong

aged people.

notion that deprived people would notgrow food to feed themselves, and thelocal guide was puzzling over ourculture which values crisps and frozenchips over home grown ‘tatties’.

The City Farms movement started in the1970s. There are now around 60 CityFarms across the UK and there are twofarms in Scotland: Gorgie City Farm inEdinburgh and Knowetop in EastDunbartonshire. In the farms there issome horticultural production andanimal keeping. A tuckshop or cafe andduring the season a stall selling some ofthe farm’s produce.

City Farms primarily serve a communityand educational role, providing a dayout for families and a range ofeducational activities for school groups.Some have developed teaching packswhich link the farm’s activities withschool curriculum requirements. Formany urban children, particularly thosefrom the inner city, a visit to the CityFarm can be the first time they come intocontact with agricultural animals andfood actually growing in the ground.

On a City Farm the emphasis is oninvolvement rather than observation,and the Federation is at pains to correctanyone who thinks of its member Farmsas ‘zoos’. All members of the localcommunity are encouraged to makevisits and become involved in farmactivities, and there are often regularand strong links with local schools andother community groups.

A range of training activities isundertaken. Many farms participate inYouth Training, Employment Training orother official schemes, and have contactwith local schools and colleges.Weekend clubs for local children arealso a feature of some farms.

City Farms

Federation of City Farmsand Community Gardens

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Gorgie City FarmThis community project was initiatedin 1977 by a group of local residentsin the Gorgie area of Edinburgh. Thefarm opened to the public in 1982.Gorgie City Farm is situated in adensely populated urban area,squeezed into a 2.5 acre site.Originally derelict, the site is in anarea that was identified by the CityCouncil as being short of open space.

The farm aims to advance theeducation of users in agricultural andhorticultural practices, in the careand husbandry of animals, in homecrafts, country life and relatedsubjects and in this process to liaiseclosely with schools and othereducational organisations.

It also provides opportunities for allusers for recreation and leisure timeoccupations, particularly those withspecial needs. It aims to promotecommunity development byinvolving users (of all ages) in theactivities of the farm.

Greenhouses and teaching area at Gorgie

The farm is open seven days a week,including public holidays, andadmission is free. The farm runsmany activities. As well as a workingfarm, with a range of animals andgrowing areas. The farm also has apet lodge, a cafe and a range of clubs,activities and projects. Educationand community inclusion are highon the agenda of the farm.

The farm’s community inclusionproject (lottery funded) has a range

Gorgie farm produce for sale

Growing Interest

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Knowetop Community FarmKnowetop Community Farm in West Dumbarton started in 1980.Initially the farm consisted of makeshift huts, a few goats, chickens,rabbits and a band of committed people. Hard work was the order of theday. Pallets were collected and laid so that work could begin regardlessof the mud. Twenty years on the farm covers six acres, has five paid staffand many volunteers and is a registered training centre for animal careand horticulture as well as a New Deal provider.

Admission to the farm is free but a small charge is made for groupschool visits if they require a guided tour. The farm takes great interestin work with schools and is putting together its own educational pack.‘We have children who come here who have never seen a goat or chickenbefore’ says David Gallacher the projects and volunteer co-ordinator.‘One boy couldn’t believe that a chicken came from an egg’ David is keen toinstall an incubator so that if schools book 21 days in advance they cansee eggs hatching on the day of the visit.

The farm has a range of funders which it works closely with;Lennox Partnership, West Dunbartonshire SIP Partnership, WestDunbartonshire Council and many other organisations.

The farm garden producing vegetables in accordance with organicprinciples was developed three years ago and will shortly be seekingcertification from the soil association. The vegetable garden has beenestablished by a devoted adult volunteer (Rose Harvey) who maintainsthe vegetable plots throughout the year. Assistance is given from theCommunity Fund and a small grant from the Scottish Community DietProject. In the summer the farm sells vegetables at low cost directly tolocal residents and visitors. the farm is open 7 days, 10a.m. - 4p.m.(late opening in summer months)

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of activities and courses, one of themost popular being the bread-making course. It also providespottery, gardening, herbal remedyand soup-making courses as well asoffice skills and mobile pet servicecourses

The farm has an education gardenand associated greenhouses thatsupport a range of activitiesincluding school visits and trainingcourses.

A range of foodstuffs are grown onthe farm for use in the cafe and forsale. Some of the clubs/schools alsotake part in growing, eg thephotograph below is of the farm’s‘Soup Barrels’- these are largecontainer gardens growing carrot andcoriander or potato and leek- all youneed for soup, bar cooking!

Millenium education garden at Georgie

City Farms

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‘Soup Barrels’ at Georgie

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Farm Vegetables for sale at Knowetop

Growing Interest

What exactly is ‘Community Gardening’?Broadly speaking it describes projectswhich use gardens or the process ofworking on the land to enhance orimprove communities. Many of thesecommunities are made up ofdisadvantaged or marginalisedindividuals. Prisoners, the poor andthose suffering from mental healthproblems are among those representedin such communities. ‘CommunityGardening’ is not a subject that fitseasily into one discipline. Itencompasses horticulture, city planning,landscape design, education,community regeneration anddevelopment, natural history, socialhistory… all of these have an impact onthe quality of life in the community.(People Land and Sustainability website)

Renfrewshire communitygardensAs part of their SustainableCommunities ProgrammeRenfrewshire Council has developedan extensive project which includesthe development of 11 communitygardens. The SustainableCommunities Programme wasdeveloped to drive forward the localAgenda 21( LA21) process byinvolving and empoweringcommunities. The programme isfunded by the Social InclusionProgramme, European RegionalDevelopment Fund and ForwardScotland. Piloted as a one-workerproject in three priority areas, it hasnow been rolled out to cover elevenPartnership areas and has a staff offive.

Community empowermentThis project has focused very closelyon what communities actually want,and developed groups to work onand deliver quick, practical, low costmeans of meeting those needs.

Community benefitsBenefits to the community have beenimmediate and tangible. Eleven localgardening projects have beenestablished involving 57 adults and90 children. Nine communitiesentered ‘Beautiful Scotland inBloom’, so pleased were they withthe transformation they themselveshad brought about in their areas.People have been empowered toaccess jobs and training, (more than35 project volunteers have beensupported to find jobs) while the

focus on children’s play and leisurehelps stimulate young minds andencourages them to learn moreeffectively.

Community garden at the Cherrie CentreBased mainly in schools (see nextsection) and family centres the workof the project has had many spin-offs.The development of the communitygarden at the Cherrie Centre has beenfun for all users of the centre from thenursery children to pensioners, after-school care to the disabled groups, allhave contributed. Although theproject group started with theintention of creating a green oasis ina bleak area the garden has beenanything but just green with its blazeof annual colour in planters andhanging baskets, bulbs in spring andherbs growing in tubs. Last year theshrubs were established and the groupwill continue to develop a sustainablegarden area with perennial plantingthis year. The SustainableCommunities Programme hasmatched fund with the local councilgrant to finish off the garden with awheelchair accessible path anddecorative entrance to the garden.With the help of art students a wallmural, sculpture (totem poles) and amural for the shed is planned. Alearn-to-garden course has beenrunning for two years. Trips with thechildren, local planting of seeds andbulbs and community clean-ups havedeveloped from the work in thegardens.

Moorpark Family CentreAs in the Cherrie Centre, work with

Community Gardens

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Big vegetables in a community garden

Community Gardens

under 5s in the Family Centre intheir play area/garden has been acatalyst for the centre’s staff andparents to develop the environmentalaspects of their curriculum and theschool has been recognised with anEducation Department Award fortheir efforts in this area. With thehelp of the ‘Organic ResourceRecovery Project’ a wormery hasbeen re-established in the centre.Potatoes are planted in stackedrecycled car tyres in the play areaand vegetable seeds have been sownin the flower planters to allow thegrowing of vegetables along withannual flowers.

Islay IDEA GardenOn the island of Islay the IslayDisabled Endeavours and Action(IDEA) team has developed acommunity garden for people withspecial needs and disabilities. TheIDEA horticultural project has beenup and running (with developmentsupport from the BeechgroveGarden) since 1997. With raisedbeds and a wheelchair accessiblepolytunnel they have flowers andherbs under cultivation. They haveaccessed a two-acre field which isjust about to be cultivated. This willgrow carrots, cabbages, potatoes andbroccoli -all organic- these will be

used in the centre’s lunch club andsold to the community.

Buchanan Street ProjectA community garden in Coatbridgein North Lanarkshire, this projecthas been set up to encourageintegration of people with learningdisabilities within the widercommunity. The garden is designedas a training environment, withrecreation areas, potting sheds,greenhouse and polytunnel area andraised growing beds. Now in thesecond stage of its development it isintended to grow produce for use inthe adjacent resource centre and tobe sold to the public at large.

Stages of development of the projectStart 1996-19971. Piece of ground identified2. Ground handed over to group by

North Lanarkshire Council3. Volunteers clear area plant

perimeter hedge4. Potential funders identified5. Register project with

Environmental Trust SchemeRegulator (registration allowsaccess to Landfill Monies).

Second stage1. Employment of development

worker plus training provision.This was funded through localsmall grants for community-ledprojects scheme.

2. Development worker came into

post mid March 2002 (one-yearcontract, 20 hour post)

3. Contract for training withLangside College (Glasgow FECollege)

4. Training starts in April 2002.

Everybody helps in the Renfrewshire communitygardens

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IDEA garden-raised beds and polytunnel

IDEA

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Buchanan Street Gardens - Before

Buchanan Street Gardens - After

School gardens and growing areas areto be found throughout Scotland. Theyare the most common kind of growingproject that the research found. Thereare a number of reasons for this, a keyone being the support provided byorganisations like Grounds for Learning,the Eco-Schools project , localorganisations like the KippenEnvironment Centre and localcountryside rangers services.

School Growing Projects

National SupportAgency for growingactivities in schoolgrounds

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Lunnasting School GardenThe school grounds at LunnastingSchool in Shetland have beendeveloped since the schoolwas rebuilt on the site in 1995. Facedwith a difficult slopeand newly acquired schoolhousegarden they sought the help of theBBC Beechgrove Garden ‘Hit Squad’and six months later had a slopinggarden planted with trees andbushes, an area of trees and agreenhouse and a garden shed. Sincethe first year there has been a smallgrowing area in the garden.

They have grown different produceeach year, and so far have grownonions, potatoes, salads and peas.Inside the greenhouse are miniatureapple and cherry trees and a vinewhich as yet has produced no grapes.They have also grown tomatoes,carrots and other vegetables inside aswell as various flowers.

‘Preparing tatties’ at Lunnasting

The children take responsibility forpreparing the vegetable garden,adding manure and seaweed fromthe beach as fertiliser. The localplaygroup has also been involved,growing vegetables and flowers intheir own garden. Some years theyounger class grow things as part oftheir project work. Time spentgardening is limited by the demandsof the curriculum but it fits intocertain areas like Personal and SocialDevelopment, Science and Maths.

The school is an Eco-School andmaintaining the garden is animportant part of this programme.

The children have used the produceof the garden in cooking lessons inthe school. The harvest of onionswere used to tie-dye material and inthe production of a buffet for an Eco-School presentation. Potatoes wereused to make different recipes and arecipe book was produced as a mini-enterprise with proceeds going tocharity. So far £500 has been sent toa school in Africa to help repair theirtoilet blocks and dining room. Foodgrown is usually added as an extra tothe school lunch.

Growing Interest

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Fruits of our labour

Not all school growing takes place inthe school grounds; there areexamples of schools making use oflocal Allotments and being involvedin local community gardens.

Renfrewshire SchoolsThe Sustainable CommunitiesProject (see page 12) provides localsupport for school growing activitieswithin Primary Schools andNurseries in Renfrewshire.Teaching fruit and vegetable growinghas proved to be very popular withchildren, adds to the environmentalcurriculum and helps to developother environmental actions in theschools eg Eco-schools.

Auchenlodment Primary SchoolThe vegetable garden started fouryears ago with Primary 2 children.Every Wednesday afternoonsustainable communities staff tookchildren out of the classroom to sowvegetables. After the Easter holidaysthe children planted the garden andharvested in time for the schoolharvest festival.

The school takes part in the Eco-schools project and the children havegained confidence in their ownpractical abilities. The children havealso developed a wildlife garden.

Moorpark Primary SchoolPrimary 5, 6 and 7 children havebeen involved in creating a vegetablegarden with project staff over the lastthree years. Vegetables are grownorganically and the children havelearned about composting, recycling,companion planting and haveplanted vegetable seeds and grownpotatoes and onions. Children areable to harvest their own produce.They prepare and cook the

School Growing Projects

What are Eco-schools?Eco-schools is an internationalprogramme for promotingenvironmental awareness in a way thatlinks to many curriculum subjects,including citizenship, personal, socialand health education and education forsustainable development. It is basedupon a simple methodology which canbe used by any school. The Eco-schoolsprocess is holistic. It works by involvingthe whole school (pupils, teachers, non-teaching staff and governors) togetherwith members of the local community(parents, the local authority, the mediaand local businesses). It will encourageteamwork and help to create a sharedunderstanding of what it takes to run aschool in a way that respects andenhances the environment.

vegetables in the classroom so thatthey are able to taste what they havegrown.

Children learn about healthy eatingand healthy living throughgardening. Children whoseexperience of vegetables is limited tothe freezer cabinet of the localsupermarket, or tins, experience thereal thing and find that they love thetaste of fresh vegetables. The area ofthe school grounds set aside forvegetables gardening is part of a largegrass area. The children are currentlydesigning a wildlife garden for theremaining grass area.

Local Support Structures: an exampleLocal support is very useful in the development of action inschools. As well as national structures like Grounds forLearning and Eco-schools there are a number of local projectswho provide this support. The Kippin Environment Centre inStirlingshire is an environmental education resource centre forlocal school children. It works with a range of community andeducational initiatives, in schools it provides advice andsupport to help make school grounds into more stimulatingenvironments for pupils and wildlife. The Centre has had inputsinto most of the schools in their area and works closely withGrounds for Learning. The Centre has many other activities egit works with churches to make them and their grounds moreenvironmentally friendly, it develops family and communityevents to encourage understanding of environmental issues, ithas spun-off a number of projects -food co-op, woodlandgroup and a community composting project.

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‘Are we at Australia yet?’ ‘We did grow them!’

Growing Interest

There are many therapeutic gardens andtraining projects spread acrossScotland. These projects had theirbeginnings in the patient-managedgardens in the old ‘Asylums’ and someare still in the same premises; however agrowing number of voluntary mentalhealth organisations now work in thisway. Gardens can be found in a range ofsettings from small city centre plots tolarge walled gardens. Many of theseprojects grow food as well as flowersand plants.

A number of activities and settings comeunder the umbrella of ‘horticulturaltherapy’. These can range from: the useof growing skills as part of arehabilitation programme withinhospital occupational therapydepartments; the creation of speciallyadapted gardens for disabled people; totraining or sheltered work schemes forpeople with learning disabilities ormental health problems. It can takeplace in settings as diverseas hospital glass houses, communitygardens, community allotments andsmall nurseries.Elements of training and support canalso be seen in many of the projects inthis booklet, eg community gardens andthe school growing projects.

Coachhouse TrustThe Coachhouse Trust based in thewest end of Glasgow seeks tochallenge the economic andsocial exclusion of adults who arerecovering from problems associatedwith mental health, addiction andlearning difficulties. It providespersonal, social and vocationaldevelopment opportunities to peoplein settings which reintegrate them tothe mainstream community.

Based in refurbished coach houses inBelmont Lane in the west end ofGlasgow, the Trust provides indoorand outdoor training workshops intopics such as horticulture,computing, woodworking, fabrics,ceramics and landscaping. Its clientswork in and with the localcommunity so that mutual trust andrespect is built and integration isachieved.

The Trust believes that work is thekey to inclusion in our society, andorganises supported workplacements for its clients as a bridgeto full employment. It hopes to

Training and Therapy Projects

create jobs through the varioustraining and trading activities it isdeveloping eg cafe, gallery andperformance space. The project’s newcafe will be using produce from theirgardens.

The Trust has two main sites forgrowing at the moment. Herbs,flowers and vegetables are grown inthe walled garden. The main gardensite has herbs and vegetablesgrowing both in a polytunnel and onraised beds. A wide range of produceis grown which can be bought bylocal residents or organisations. TheTrust has recently started workingwith a group of unemployed menfrom the south of the city and aresupporting them in developing anallotment in Queen’s Park with plansto grow foodstuffs there also.

National SupportAgency for growingas training andtherapy Co

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Barrowing Belmont Lane

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The Triangle Garden

‘For people experiencing mental healthproblems, gardening can offer greatpotential for comfort, pleasure and anincreased sense of self-esteem. Thegarden can represent a safe place,separate from life’s anxieties; there canbe respite in the sense of beingsomewhere quiet… It might also becomeeasier to acknowledge distress in suchsurroundings, where external pressuresare reduced.’(10) Gardening, Mental Health and Community Care:

Val George

Redhall Walled GardenRedhall Walled Garden was builtin the 18th century asthe kitchen garden of alarge estate. It is now run as ahorticultural training projectby the Scottish Association forMental Health. It is funded andsupported by the Edinburgh CityCouncil Department of Social Work,and Lothian Health. It offers trainingthrough the medium of horticulture.Redhall is operated in conjunctionwith Sprout Training Centre, in thegrounds of the Astley AinslieHospital.

The garden provides horticulturetraining opportunities, in asupportive environment for peoplewith, and recovering from, mentalhealth problems and stress relateddifficulties. The training is availableto adults aged 18-65. No previousexperience is required and everyattempt is made to accommodatepeople with physical disabilities andspecial needs.

The centre has 36 full-time placesand grows a range of flowers, fruitand vegetables, most of which iseaten on site. The project grewvegetables and fruit for sale torestaurants in Edinburgh in the past.

Training and Therapy Projects

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Working at Redhall

However with changes in fundersand much stricter regulations overhealth and safety, eg need forseparate areas for weighing andwashing it became too difficult tocontinue this aspect of the work.

The centre has an ongoing programof school visits and is often used forpicnics and barbecues. It also haslinks with Edinburgh trainingcolleges for visits and placements, egart therapy students and others.

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Working at Redhall

Growing Interest

‘In an age when most of our seriousproblems are social ones, allotmentsprovide social cement of a typepreviously provided by the Church, butconspicuously lacking in today’s society.Thus allotments bring together men andwomen from all age groups (20s to 90s)ethnic and national origins,occupations, social and educationalbackgrounds and income groups,including the retired and theunemployed.

They are daily witness to a thousandacts of kindness - gifts of seeds, plantsand produce, help with watering andheavy work, sharing of equipment,refreshments and experience - to namebut a few. The exercise that allotmentsprovide for individuals lightens theNational Health bill ... most importantlyallotments promote contentment.’

Prof K Vickerman, FRS

(Glasgow allotment plot holder)

Produce grown in Glasgow allotments

artichokes, asparagus, courgettes,capsicum, corn, tomatoes,potatoes, carrots, beetroot,radish, turnips, swedes, parsnips,celeriac, onions, garlic, leeks,shallots, broccoli, cauliflower,brussels sprouts, cabbage, springcabbage, kale, lettuce, spinach,celery, chicory, chard, peas, runnerbeans, broad beans, rhubarb,raspberries, strawberries,gooseberries, currants-red whiteand black.

Allotments are the traditional urbangrowing space and they have a longhistory. In 1944 300,000 acres ofallotments and gardens produced nearlyhalf of the UK’s fruit and vegetableneeds. While the number of allotmentsavailable has reduced markedly sincethe 1950s, over the past 10 yearsinterest in allotments and demand forgardens has been growing.

AllotmentsWith about 4000 growing spacesacross Scotland, allotments areprobably the most common form ofcommunity and personal growing inthe country. The Scottish Allotmentand Gardens Society (SAGS) has2000 members -about half the plotholders in Scotland- and aims toprotect, preserve and promoteallotment sites. They argue thatgrowing plays a part in promotinghealthy lifestyles for all age groups,that the plots give a space forrelaxation and social interaction andhelp reduce stress and alienation.

SAGS are aware that increasingnumbers of women, young peopleand ethnic minorities are usingallotments to grow their own food.But much wider uses of thesegrowing spaces are becomingcommon; school plots and visits,youth training and urban renewalprojects are developing in allotmentsaround the country.

Stirling Community Allotment ProjectIn Stirling an innovative initiativebetween the Local Exchange TradingSystem–LETS Make it Better Project–and Forth Valley NHS Board, hasseen the development of acommunity allotment project whichaims to:

• provide a theraputic environmentat various stages for peoplerecovering from severe mentalillness

• provide organic vegetable producefor the LETS Community Cafe

• provide a weekly ‘vegetable basket’for the participants.

This project has a number ofbenefits. It promotes a healthy dietfor participants, it provides a localproject with locally grown (organic)produce and demonstrates theviability of local vegetable producegroups.

Allotments

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Glasgow Allotment

Allotments and communitygrowingWhen discussing communitygrowing allotments are often the firstexample that people identify.Allotments, however, are viewed asbeing only focused on the needs ofone person or family. This is notstrictly true as there are a numberof examples of educational andregeneration activities taking placein allotments around the country.

A good example of this was the workof the Groundwork project whichtook place in Hamiltonhillallotments in Glasgow (the projectis now in the process of relocating toanother site)

This project developed over fouryears, with support from CSVEnvironment before it disbanded,and then with extensive focusedvoluntary input from one of CSV’s

Allotments

‘Allotments are an important resource.Although a product of a bygone age,they are as relevant to the urban sceneas ever. Outdoor exercise, fresh home-grown produce and the enjoyment ofnature are just a few of the benefits ofhaving an allotment. They are also vitalGreen Spaces which, with carefulstewardship, will be a valuable legacy.’

Social InclusionAlmost all parts of society are found asplotholders on a typical EdinburghAllotment site. This can be seen from thebackgrounds of 18 neighbouringplotholders at the Midmar site.

1. retired polish miner (78)2. working family (35)3. technical college lecturer (50)4. Friends of the Earth staff member

(30)5. young Asian mother (30)6. retired scientist (80)7. practising lawyer (50)8. retired G.P. (65)9. spinster (75)10. retired teacher (75)11.whole family12. consultant (50)13. manageress (35)14. retired nurse (65)15. school master (70)16. research scientist (50)17. mental health group

(various ages)18. long-term unemployed

(45)

Each plot-holder has acommon interest and arebrought together by this andthe frequently changingsuccesses and failures toshare with neighbouringplot-holders.

(Amended from the FEDAGA

website see page 32)

workers (Danny Lowe). With theaward of a grant from the UVAF in2001, supported the development ofits work. It developed as an organicgrowing project working withunemployed and homeless people,developing gardening skills throughthe regeneration and development ofthe Hamiltonhill Allotments inGlasgow. The project also developedgood links with local schools andschool leavers and the localchildren’s inclusion partnership. Itwas able to access support from theCity Council to install toilets and abothy. The bothy hosted regularevents eg training demonstrationsby the chefs from Glasgow’sGrassroots Cafe on vegetariancooking with allotment produce.

The use of allotments for trainingand support can be seen also inStirling where the LETS project hasbeen using their allotment for this.

According to Judy Wilkinson,SAGS secretary more women, families, young peopleand minority groups are allotment gardening than ever before…

In Edinburgh the ground rent for a plot ranges from £6 to £30 per year; inGlasgow allotments are a uniform £26.50 a year or 50p per week. The amount ofproduce achievable can be fantastic - Wilkinson talks of 200 onions, 250 leeks,40 marrows, 60 cucumbers, 60 sweetcorn cobs, plus 25lbs of blackcurrants,40lbs of raspberries, and 20lbs of gooseberries from one plot, plus herbs, beans,and potatoes. That's enough to feed a family and have plenty to give away orswap with other gardeners.The Scotsman, 12th January 2002

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Groundwork at Hamiltonhill

Growing Interest

EarthshareEarthshare is a not-for-profitCommunity Supported Agricultural(CSA) scheme based in the north-east of Scotland in which thesubscribers share the risks andbenefits involved in growing theirfood using organic methods.Subscribers sign-up for a full year,and have the option of contributingpart of their share through work egweeding, tattie picking etc

Earthshare grows about 47 differentvarieties of fruit and vegetables anddistributes these to its 200 localsubscribers 51 weeks of the year.Social events are organisedthroughout the year and the projecthas a quarterly newsletter, ‘TheOnion String’.

Crops are harvested each week andboxes packed each Friday. These arethen taken to three pick-up points.Subscribers collect their own boxesand are encouraged to share in a rotascheme to collect for their nearestneighbours.

The organisation has grown fromstrength to strength since itsinauguration and is now close toachieving financial stability througheconomies of scale. Half of thesubscribers are individuals and halfgroups. Expansion has been achievedlargely through word of mouth withminimal advertising. The value of theproduce is exceptional whencompared to imported produce ofsimilar standard.

In addition to growing produce onthe land it farms, Earthshare obtainsproduce from two other organiccontractors. These providevegetables for early and late seasonsalads and covered summer cropslike tomatoes as well as organic fruit.Having outside contractors for thoseproducts has allowed Earthshare toconcentrate on the staple crops likebrassicas, potatoes and carrots suitedto its more extensive field andtractor-based systems.

There has been growing interest fromcommunity groups and individualsthroughout rural Scotland and manyhave visited the project. Earthsharebelieves that CSA has great potentialfor community building, and thatthis helps to achieve the level ofsubscriber support necessary toensure a truly sustainable operation.Earthshare is hoping to broaden theownership of the organisation in away which will benefit the localcommunity and promote thedevelopment of similar CSA schemeselsewhere.

Growing for ResaleThree examples of projects involved ingrowing for resale are given. These arethe CSA approach of Earthshare in Nairnwhere 200 subscribers share the risks andbenefits of funding organic food growing.The Skye and Lochalsh approach is one ofproviding a supportive infrastructure toenable a range of small growers develop amarket for locally grown foods. InStornoway the Cearns CommunityDevelopment project is providing training,and through this growing food for sale inthe local shop. Projects like the LETS cafein Stirling (p18) also grow for resalealthough in their case the raw materialsare not sold rather the finished cookeddish is sold in the cafe. A number of otherprojects are developing this approach egthe Skypoint centre cafe in Faifley plans agrowing project to provide foodstuffs forthe cafe.

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‘Tattiefest’ at Earthshare

Skye and LochalshHorticultural DevelopmentAssociationSkye and Lochalsh HorticulturalDevelopment Association (SLHDA)was established in February 1994with the objective of developing allaspects of the horticulture trade thatcould be of local economic orenvironmental benefit in Skye andLochalsh. It aims to displaceunnecessary imported skills andproducts by developing local skillsand resources to supply the marketrequirements and thus create moreemployment locally.

Skye and Lochalsh is traditionally acrofting area, however, in recentyears there has been a shift from thetraditional crofting methods to thepermanent grazing of land and theskills involved in growing have beenlost because of this. With thedownturn in income from livestockproduction, the Association hasrecognised the potential foralternative land use in the area.Sustainable developments such ashorticulture, with opportunitiesexisting for a number of full-timeand part-time horticulture-relatedbusiness developments, are suitableto this area. It was felt that croftingwas particularly well suited to thesmall scale production of fruit andvegetables for supply to the localmarket, and its seasonality fits invery well with other aspects ofcrofting, ie sheep, cattle, fishing andtourism.

Over the past five years, the SLHDA,has established a number of trialsites throughout the area to producecrops (soft fruit and vegetables) andhas supported and developed thesesites to produce for the local market.

It has been established that a widevariety of crops can be grownsuccessfully throughout the area,both protected (polytunnel) andunprotected and the produce fromthese sites has been marketed andsold locally to both the hotel andcatering trade and subsequently tothe general public through a marketstall.

Cearns CommunityDevelopment Project‘Grow Our Own’This is an initiative fostered by thelocal community health projectthrough ‘New Deal’ which involvesunemployed Stornoway residents inthe growing of fresh fruit andvegetables in two polytunnels. Theproduce will be sold through thecommunity shop and a market stall.

This project has attracted a widerange of support with funding fromWestern Isles Enterprise, SCDP, localward initiative monies and theHealth Board’s Health ImprovementFund. The project is acting as a pilotproject for the ‘Fas Feallain’ initiative(see sidebar).

Growing for resale

Fas Feallain ‘Grow Healthy’ projectFas Feallain is an innovative rural projectin the Western Isles that attempts to join'grow your own' / horticultural activitieswith healthier eating initiatives at alocal level. The New Opportunities FundHealthy-Living-Centre programme hasgiven it a grant for three years from2002.

The Fas Feallain project will helpaddress some of the health inequalitiesexperienced by the Western Isles,including higher costs of living than theScottish average (for example, the costof food can be up to 24% higher). Withtraining and advice, individuals will behelped to grow their own food for homeconsumption, with surpluses to be soldthrough rural shops and local producemarkets. The project will deliver trainingin horticulture, cookery and businessdevelopment, as well as providinghealthy eating advice and guidancefor families on low incomes. A full-timecommunity dietician/projectmanager and two part-timeco-ordinators will beemployed, with servicesdelivered from existinglocal centres.

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Subscribers helping with the tatties at Earthshare

Growing Interest

Getting organisedIf you aren’t already organised as agroup, you will need to get onestarted. You will be looking forindividuals who have the same aimsand who have a commitment toshared responsibility. Once you havea group of people together, carry outa skills audit - find out what differentpeople have to offer. There may bebuilders, artists, and youth workers,as well as gardeners, who can offervaluable skills to the project.Encourage people to join in andshare their ideas and listen to theircomments, creating an environmentof openness.

Setting up a community growingproject involves leasing or owningland. It may also lead to raisingfunds, recruiting volunteers, andeven employing paid staff. Therefore,once a group of people decides to set

Get help from your regionalFCF&CG development worker, orother support agencies.

Finding a siteMost growing projects start wherethere is an identified piece of land,which is derelict or under-used. Butsome groups have to look for a site.

Most community gardens do notown the land they use. Some land ison licence but most land is leased.The majority of community gardenspay a peppercorn rent.

Possible sources of land are derelictallotments, land owned by a charityfor public benefit, old churchyards,waste ground, land within parks andrecreation grounds, common land onhousing estates, urban fringeagricultural land and school orhospital grounds.

Start by getting in touch with yourlocal authority who will know whatland is available. what long-termplans they might have for anidentified site, or whether yourgroup can use part of an existingpublic facility. Good contacts will beyour Local Agenda 21 officer andyour local councillor. The localauthority should be able to help withadvice, support and, hopefully,funding.

You may need to negotiate for a sitewith the owner, whether this is thelocal council, a charity, or privatelandowner. You will probably want:

up its own project they mustestablish a set of rules, usuallyknown as a constitution.

A constitution is a legal document. Itshould:

• set out the aims of the group• show how the group is structured• show how decisions are made by

the group• show who is responsible for what.

The group may also want to registeras a charity with the InlandRevenue(a). If you plan to apply forgrants or receive donations, or if youpropose to hold land in trust, youshould get registered as a charity.This can take time, and you shouldget advice. You can get a modelconstitution from the Federation ofCity Farms and Community Gardens(FCF&CG)

Creating a Community Growing Project

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Coachhouse Trust Log Cabin and Market Garden

• a licence to allow short-term(up to one year) improvements,which can then be renewed.

• a long-term agreement giving thegroup security of tenure

• a lease with a low rent• as few restrictions as possible• planning permission.

In return you should be clear whatyou are offering the owner. Byputting the land back into use forcommunity benefit, the owner willreceive good publicity. If the localcouncil is the owner, you can helpthem meet service targets, egeducation, facilities for children’splay, leisure and recreation,composting, environmentalimprovements.

Promoting a projectIt is important to promote yourproject to gain local support, attractfunding, and get more peopleinvolved. It is useful to identifysomeone to be responsible for co-ordinating publicity.

Use existing channels ofcommunication, such as othergroups’ newsletters and publications,noticeboards, and local authoritywebsites. Try also to reach a wideraudience through the local media.Send out press releases and photos tolocal papers and radio to publiciseevents, celebrate achievements, orgenerate more communityinvolvement. It can also be useful tolink in with other groups’ nationaland local campaigns (see page 32 forcontacts)

Managing moneyYou will need to find out whatfinancial skills you already have inyour group and identify someone to

be responsible for managing themoney. If you need specialist help,find out about local communityaccountancy projects.

You will need to set up a system ofbasic book keeping, whether you arespending £50 or £50,000 each year,and you will need to prepare abudget. A budget will ensure thatyou have the relevant financialinformation at the right time, andcan make the difference between aproject failing or thriving.

Raising moneyHow to get hold of money is an issuethat dominates many communityprojects, but it is important toremember that good volunteers anddonations in kind may meet many ofyour needs.

You may be able to reduce your needfor money by doing some carefulresearch, eg into discounts,donations, rate relief, buyingconsortiums, recycling, LocalExchange Trading Schemes. Youshould also get as much help fromyour local community as possiblethrough help and donations in kind,eg displaying a ‘wants list’ boardasking for plant cuttings, trees, toolsetc.

Ideas for income generation includeselling plants and window boxes,charging an entrance fee tocommunity events, and runningtraining sessions, eg on building acomposting unit or making a herbhanging basket.

Funding may be available fromcharitable trusts, through serviceagreements with the local authorityor Scottish Executive, from the


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Coachhouse raised herb beds

Growing Interest

National Lottery, or from companies.Volunteer time can sometimes becounted as ‘match funding’.

MembershipCommunity growing projects canbecome membership organisations.This is a good way for local people toshow their support and enables themto have a say in how the project isrun. You are likely to gain greatercommitment by members feelingresponsible for the project, andmembers may become managementcommittee members. In addition,membership fees - if you opt forthem - can help with running costs.

Accountability to a membership alsoensures that individuals won’tcontrol and take the project in adirection that the local communitydisagrees with.

Involving volunteersThe most valuable resource to yourproject is the people involved in it.Growing projects can offer a widevariety of opportunities for

volunteering and, if you have a wellmanaged and supportive project,within a year new volunteers willhave developed new skills andgained a great deal of experience.

Volunteers can come from your ownmembers, users, other localresidents, other local groups,schools, special needs supportgroups and conservation groups. Youshould be able to get advice onrecruiting and supporting volunteersfrom other local groups, VolunteerDevelopment Scotland, and others(see page 34)

Volunteers require as much supportand managing as staff, so make surethat they feel a part of the project. Asuccessful volunteer programmeneeds to include: comprehensiveinduction, support structure, welfarestructure (it should not cost peopleanything to volunteer), trainingopportunities, organised programme,record keeping and, of course,having fun.

Investing in trainingA growing project which cares aboutits volunteers and staff is one thatprovides them with opportunities todevelop and contribute - if it doesn’t,people will leave. Training can helppeople learn new skills and moveinto more challenging roles on theproject.

For a training plan to make sense itneeds to fit into the overall directionthat your project is taking. Trainingcan be on a one-to-one basis, ingroups, demonstrations, discussions,lectures, visits, distance learning -you will need to use a combinationof methods.

Getting specialist adviceAdvisers with specialist knowledge,skills and experience can help saveyou time, money and futureproblems. For example, a landscapearchitect can turn your ideas into asustainable and welcoming garden, asolicitor can advise on leasing land, acommunity worker can giveinformation on local resources andservices. Before looking outside, tapyour own networks. Your ownmembers may have the skills you arelooking for.

A written brief and contract is usefuland should be amended if anyalterations are made to the originalspecification. Without a contract youwill not be able to insist on a certainstandard, or detail, of work, ordelivery dates. It is also importantthat any adviser you use listens toyour group’s ideas. Make sure thatyour group maintains control andmakes important decisions

Managing health and safetyIf your growing project plans to

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Sustainable Communities at a school garden

employ staff then you will haveobligations for ensuring their health,safety and welfare. Even if you donot employ staff, then it is stillrecommended that your projectimplements a health and safetypolicy for volunteers, members andusers.

The 1974 Health and Safety at WorkAct outlines the duties employershave in ensuring the health, safetyand welfare of their employees. As agrowing project you should aim todevelop good practice around:identifying and managing poisonousplants; keeping pathways clear;proper use of tools; well-managedcompost heaps; considering a dog-free, apart from guide dogs, and poo-free zone.

InsuranceTo operate a community growingproject you should have publicliability insurance that should coverany person on your site for personalinjury. If you are going to employpeople you will also need employers’liability insurance. And in addition itis good practice to have an all-riskspolicy to cover against theft,vandalism, fire etc. You may needother insurance depending on theactivities on the site.

Being legalYou need to be aware of legalrequirements regarding employment,fire, food, and finance:

• if you have - or plan to have - abuilding, invite the local FireSafety Officer to assess yourproposals

• if you intend preparing and /orselling food, either regularly or atone off events, then invite the

local council EnvironmentalHealth Officer to give advice

• all projects should keep accountsand in most cases are legallyobliged to do so.

Keeping recordsYou should keep records as evidenceof decisions or achievements, and asa way of learning for the future.Information recorded can also beuseful for publicity, fundingapplications, new members, or tolook back at what you have done.Records can take many forms:

• visual records - photos, slides,video, planting plans, drawings

• a day book - so members comingto do some work can check whathas happened since their last visit

• a horticultural calendar• comments book/suggestions box -

to encourage users and visitors toinput their ideas.

Evaluating progressIt is important to measure the qualityof what your project is offering andthe progress it makes in order to:

• show value for money to funders• show you have achieved your

objectives to your members andsupporters

• evaluate and learn from users’experiences

• help the project managedevelopment and change.

These guidelines cover the basics ofsetting up a new project and therewill be many other aspects, such aslearning about plants and growingtechniques, to find out about. Themain thing to remember is thatcommunity growing should be goodfun!


For further details see the ‘CommunityGarden Starter Pack’, available free tocommunity groups, from the Federationof City Farms and Community Gardens.

(a) See Guide to Constitutions andCharitable Status this includes modelconstitutions, trust deeds,memorandum and articles ofassociation and guidance onapplying for charitable status.Available from SCVO see pp32 forcontact details

Growing Interest

Funding

The term ‘community growingproject’ describes a range of projectswith differing and sometimescomplex activities. These projectsoften have complicated fundingarrangements. Funding was an issuefor most of the projects interviewedand a great deal of time was spentresearching and applying for it. Fewof the projects had a single fundingsource and all were aware of the needto develop fundraising as a key partof their workplans. Fundraisingtakes time and effort, this sectionprovides an introduction to some ofthe issues that have to be consideredwhen developing a funding strategy.The section has four themes:

Key pointsGetting adviceFunding opportunities

Key pointsBe clear about the aims, objectivesand strategy of your project. Havestrong reasons for your project withclear objectives and outcomes.However try to develop a range ofoptions, different ways to take thework forward; this will help tobroaden out the opportunities forfunding. Develop a plan for futurefunding and have an evaluationframework. Communicate and makefriends, remember that you will haveto publicise your work outside thearea that you work in; the morepeople know about you the wider thenet of opportunities and support for

of the booklet) and ForwardScotland. Both of these have smallgrant schemes. There are also UKwide organisations who coverScotland, eg Thrive (therapeutic andtraining gardens), Grounds forLearning, (growing in schools) andthe Federation of City Farms andCommunity Gardens (co-publisherof this booklet).

Local organisationsThere are a number of local sourcesof advice and funding. Some arestronger in some areas than others. Itis worthwhile looking to the healthpromotion departments and publichealth departments of your localhealth board, your local councilLocal Agenda 21 (LA21) officer orsustainable development worker.There may be specific projects inyour local area eg in Glasgow theHealthy City Partnership is a usefulsource of information there may beSocial Inclusion Partnerships oreconomic and social developmentagencies in your area. Localvoluntary sector support agencies, egMidlothian Voluntary Action, localcommunity development workers orfood co-op development workers arealso useful sources of advice.

Other projectsDon’t forget that some of the mostfocused advice can come fromprojects that are attempting to do thesame work as yourself. Thispublication is an attempt to bringgrowing projects together and the

funding. Not all the best ideas getfunded! In raising money from anysource it is important to be able tomake a good case and to have arange of options. While you may feelthat your project should be fundedthrough the Social InclusionPartnership (SIP) or the HealthBoard there is an increasing demandon these sorts of funds and other(possibly larger) local projects willalso be making bids. If you are a newproject and an unknown quantity inthe local fund-raising market itmight pay to explore other sources offunding. This may allow you to getstarted, to build up a track record,and make it easier for you to accessmore mainstream funding. Being ableto show that you have builtevaluation into the proposal is veryimportant-different funders willmake different demands in relationto evaluation.

Getting adviceThere are a range of sources of adviceavailable in Scotland on fundingfrom bodies who provide support tothe voluntary sector and fromdevelopment and funding agenciesthemselves. The national voluntarysector support agencies are coveredin the final theme of this section.

National organisationsUseful advice and information onfunding and development-relatedissues can be gathered from nationalorganisations such as the ScottishCommunity Diet Project (publishers

Funding

contacts listed here and availablethrough the databases of the SCDPand the FCF&CG are good startingpoints. As this is a developing areathere will be many projects comingalong. This is a good reason forsharing information and adviceabout your project, for this will helpyou stay abreast of what ishappening across the country.

Funding opportunitiesGrowing projects often includeactivities such as: training, retail,regeneration, environmental action,community development, healthpromotion, nutritional awareness,therapy, poverty action and landreuse as well as being about growing.Projects often address multiples ofthese activities. While this can makethe description of the projectscomplex and the definition of thereoutcomes difficult, it also opens up arange of funding opportunities tothese projects. As can be seen in theexamples in this booklet it is notuncommon for projects to have acollection of funders.

In its publication ‘How to RaiseFunds - A Guide for ScottishVoluntary Organisations’ SCVO liststhe funding sources that areaccessible in Scotland. It groupsthem into:

• central government• local government• european union• non-departmental public bodies• company giving• national lottery• grant-making trusts

Central governmentCentral government funding is eitherin the form of direct grants from

departments who caninvolve voluntaryorganisations. In thedelivery of departmentalaims, in terms ofcommunity growinginitiatives this couldcome under headingssuch as the SustainableAction Fund or theActive CommunitiesInitiative (see links onthe Sustainable Scotlandwebsite). As governmentpolicy priorities andstatutory responsibilities can developover time, it is necessary to keepyourself informed about new areas ofwork coming through in policypapers. The other area ofgovernment funding is throughindirect grants usually managed bynon-departmental public bodies whohave a responsibility for thedevelopment of certain areas andissues. Some of the projects in thispublication have received fundingfrom: Forward Scotland, theUnemployed Voluntary Action Fund(UVAF), Highlands and IslandsEnterprise and local SIPs.

Local authority, health boards andtrustsMany projects in this publication hadparts of their funding from localauthority and health sources. Theseare particularly useful sources offunding for local innovative projectsas the funders are local, visible andlobbyable. Voluntary organisationsupport from local authorities can bein a range of shapes, it’s not alwaysmoney! While it can be grants, it canalso be service contracts or freepremises, rates relief, staffsecondments or free training. Localauthority funding can often be

Example funding package(Buchanan St Community Gardens)

1. Entrust Small start-up grant2. Forward Scotland Small grant from this

environmental agency3. North Lanarkshire Forward Company set-up by

North Lanarkshire Council to administer LandfillTax funding applications

4. Wisestart Training Group Provided on-sitetraining in process of building garden thisattracted government training monies

5. Scottish Enterprise North Lanarkshire Providedshortfall monies plus access to businessexpertise

6. Fundraising by group Small contribution.

Growing Interest

matched with funding from othersources. SCVO estimates the totallocal government support of theScottish voluntary sector at £100m-£150m a year. Similar (albeit lowerin total spend) funding and supportcan be accessed from health boards.

Non-departmental public bodiesA range of these bodies exist, havingpublic funding to support thedevelopment of their specific areas ofinterest. Targeted approaches tothem can provide rich rewards. Anumber of projects in thispublication have funding from twoor three of these organisations as partof their funding portfolio eg ForwardScotland’s Small Project Grant Fundhas, since May 1997, successfullyassisted, advised and financiallysupported over 150 projectsScotland-wide covering 31 localauthority areas.

‘This year (2001), Forward Scotlandhas already supported over 40community groups to develop andrealise a variety of different projects

including: seminars, publications,community gardens and shoredevelopments.The geographical, issue and financialdiversity of these projects has providedForward Scotland with a uniqueworking portfolio of expertise in thesmall grants arena.’ (Annual report 2001)

Local Enterprise Companies areorganised in two networks: ScottishEnterprise-12 local enterprisecompanies (LECs) with local basesand a Glasgow central office; andHighlands and Islands Enterprise-9 LECs with local bases and anInverness central office. Othernational bodies that have fundedparts of growing projects are ScottishNatural Heritage, Health EducationBoard for Scotland and the UVAF.

Company givingPrivate companies can be sources ofa range of supports, not just cash,such as use of facilities, gifts ofmaterials and staff. The Groundworkproject in Glasgow in looking fornew premises for their project

approached an advertising companyfor the use of some vacant land forplacing a Portakabin and ended upwith a £5000 donation. Inapproaching private companies,often personal contact works best.There is useful advice on raisingmoney from industry in a number ofthe Directory for Social Change(DSC) publications listed on pp 32.

National lotteryAt the moment the appropriateNational Lottery fund sources forcommunity growing are the freshFutures and SustainableCommunities programme managedby its Award Partners, ForwardScotland and Scottisn NaturalHeritage. The Western Islessuccessful bid for a local growingproject under the (now finished)Healthy Living Centre programmereceived a grant of £112,630 for theFas Feallain ‘Grow Healthy’ project.

Grant making trustsCharitable Funding doesn’t yetappear to be a major source offunding for growing projects. It ishowever an area of funding whichhas a great deal written about it (seeSCVO publications on their website).The advice from SCVO about thebest way to research trusts is to usedirectories of trusts or one of thecomputer databases of all publisheddirectory information. Howeverbecause Scotland does not have aformal charity register, Scottish-based grant making trusts arerelatively unresearched. SCVO hasidentified around 4000 grant-makingtrusts of all types in Scotland, ofwhich around 500 are listed in itsDirectory of Scottish grant makingtrusts.

‘These may be small grants but with the added ingredients of localskills, understanding and enthusiasm they make a big impact.We were delighted when the Health Department agreed to increase thefunding available for small grants by 50% … However, we were evenmore delighted when we discovered the quality of this year’s applicants.Successful applicants will be tackling the barriers to an acceptable dietfaced by communities from Lerwick to Kelso. Some are growing food,some retailing, some catering. The activities will be taking place insettings that vary from a church to a family centre. All age groups areincluded, from a weaning initiative to an elderly lunch club. Most covergeographical areas, while a few are specifically aimed at groups facingeven more barriers such as users of mental health services and thehomeless. Many link the health agenda to the environmental agenda,while others promote social inclusion and multiculturalism. … This richdiversity is only matched by their common determination to tackle thebarriers they experience in ensuring a healthy, varied and acceptablediet for themselves, their families and their communities.’Press release for SCDP small grants scheme.

Way to Go

This overview of communitygrowing in Scotland gives a positivepicture of a developing area, howeveronly looking at Scotland means thatit misses out on the examples of, egthe rooftop city gardens of StPetersburg and the skyscraperbeekeeping in New York (Seewww.cityfarmer.org). Closer to homethere are many interesting examplesof both urban and rural communitygrowing to be found in the rest of theUK (many are to be found in theSustain publication ‘City Harvest’)

The Way ForwardAs Gillian Kynoch says in her visionfor a growing society:

‘Growing, buying and eating morevegetables and fruits will reduce ourrisk of the ‘big three’ heart disease,stroke and cancer and, at the sametime, promote healthier environmentsand sustainable development’.

As well as these benefits the mix ofpractical action, philosophicalrightness and plain good health thatcomes from participating incommunity growing seems to be ofincreasing interest to people acrossScotland.

Reality checkHowever it is not all plain sailing. Inthe year in which this publicationwas being developed a number ofvery interesting projects have foldedor had to change direction due toproblems with funding and or

support. Even in the the verypopular development of schoolgrowing there have been problems-some teachers have concerns aboutthe level of support needed andavailable to them to carry out thiswork. However this collection oftales of woe can be seen as just partof the development of new areas ofworking. For example the Sandwell(near Birmingham) CommunityAgriculture Project a well fundeddevelopment project with good levelsof support, discovered that many ofthe potential growing plots identifiedhad soil contaminated with heavymetals (lucky white heather! as wesay in Scotland). These are all justdevelopmental problems that have tobe addressed.

Dig InThe support for community growingin Scotland is increasing, fundingand help is coming from the ScottishExecutive and from Health Boards,Local Authorities, regeneration,economic development andenvironmental agencies and from theprivate and charitable sectors. Thereare also more support organisationsworking in Scotland, eg Thrive,Grounds for Learning, FCF&CG andSCDP. All of this underpinned by a‘Growing Interest’ in the productionof good quality local food.

Maybe we should revisit the ‘peanuts’cartoon that told us: ‘...the best wayto make the world a better place is togive every newborn baby a Banjo’and give every baby a spade and apacket of seeds instead.

‘Happy Digging’

Growing Interest

Gorgie City Farm51 Georgie Road,Edinburgh, EH11 2LA.Tel: 0131 623 7031

Knowetop Community FarmDavid Gallagher/ Eliza Mitchell113 Castlehill Road, Castlehill,Dumbarton, G82 5ATTel: 01389 732734

Sustainable CommunitiesProgramme41-43 Highcraig AvenueJohnstone, Renfrewshire, PA50LZE-mail: [email protected]: 01505 331424

Islay Disabled Endevours andActions (IDEA)Kilarrow House, Bowmore,Islay, PA43 7HLE-mail: [email protected]: 014968 10963

Scottish Projects

Kippen Environment CentreMain Street, Kippen, StirlingshireFK8 3DNTel: 01786 870247E-mail: [email protected]

Grow our Own (Stornoway)Mary MacleanCearns CommunityDevelopment ProjectCearns Resource Centre,Cearn ShulasgeirStornoway, Isle of Lewis, HS1 2YDE-mail: [email protected]: 01851 701909Buchanan Street Garden ProjectE Wardhaugh 01236 440274

Lunnasting Primary SchoolNorma Smith (Head teacher)Vidlin, Shetland, ZE2 9QBE-mail:[email protected]: 01806 577253

Coachhouse Trust84 Belmont Lane, Kelvinbridge,Glasgow, G12 8ENTel: 0141 334 6888

Redhall Walled Garden97 Lanark Road,Edinburgh, EH14 2LZE-mail [email protected]: 0131 443 0946

Scottish Allotments andGardens SocietySecretary Judy Wilkinson0141 357 0204e-mail: [email protected]

LETS Cafe and CommunityAllotment projects17-19 Irvine Place, Stirling FK8 1BZTel:01786 474459

EarthsharePam Bochel65 Society St, Nairn, IV12 4NLe-mail: [email protected]

Skye and Lochalsh HorticulturalDevelopment AssociationCatriona MacLean (secretary)Tigh Na SgireIsle of Skye IV51 [email protected]

1 SCDP (2001) Food in theCommunity: Directory of ScottishCommunity Food Initiatives SCDPGlasgow.

2 T Lang and G Rayner (eds)(2002)Why health is the key to the futureof farming and food UKPHA/Thames Valley Universitywww.ukpha.org.uk/health_key.pdf

3 Leigh Sparks (2000) Issues in foodretailing in Scotland in JMcCormick Healthy Food Policy:On Scotlands Menu ScottishCouncil Foundation Edinburgh.

4 E Schlosser (2001) Fast FoodNation, Penguin Press London

5 M Lean and A Anderson (2000)Healthy Food Policy: An Overviewin J McCormick Healthy FoodPolicy: On Scotlands MenuScottish Council FoundationEdinburgh.

6 Scottish Office (1996) Eating forHealth: A Diet Action Plan forScotland, HMSO Edinburgh.

7 UNDP (1996) Urban Agriculture:Food, Jobs and Sustainable Cities,United Nations New York.

8 Tara Garnett (1999) City Harvest:The feasibility of growing more foodin London, Sustain London.

FCF&CG has a range ofpublications CommunityGardening Starter Pack, TheCompost Box, Teacher ResourcePack, Good Practice Case Studies ,FCF&CG Bristol.

9 S Noble (1999) Earthshare MorayAgriculture Schemehttp://www.caledonia.org.uk/socialland/earthsha.htm

10 Val George (1999) Gardening,Mental Health and Community CarePaper from Redlands Garden.

References

References

Growing Interest

Scottish Community DietProjectc/o SCC, 100 Queen St, Glasgow G13DN. Tel: 0141 226 5261The Scottish Community DietProject contributes to thegovernment's national strategy toimprove Scotland's diet and health,and the inequalities that exist withinboth, by increasing the effectivenessof those working within and withScotland's low income communitiesto improve access to and take-up of ahealthy varied balanced diet.

It works by:• encouraging and enabling

community-based activities• operating a grant-making system

for community initiatives• facilitating information exchange

and networking• developing partnerships between

communities and other sectors egstatutory, voluntary, academic andcommercial

• developing methods for localcommunities to participate innational policy debates

• exploring strategic issues whichcould inform and influence policydebates.

The website includes informationabout all of its activities andapplication forms for its small grantsprogramme.www.dietproject.org.uk

Federation of City Farms andCommunity GardensThe Greenhouse, Hereford Street,Bristol BS3 4NA. Tel: 0117 923 1800Provides advice for community-runcity farms and gardens has a usefulset of publications.Website has a wide collection oflinks to other farms/gardens andorganisations.www.farmgarden.org.uk

Scottish Allotments & GardensSociety (SAGS)The SAGS website is a useful sourceof information about allotments inScotland. The Society exists toinform and enthuse aboutallotmenteering this site and thewebsite of the Edinburgh Federationprovide a first step inallotmenteering in Scotland.www.sags.org.uk

See also the website of theFederation of Edinburgh and DistrictAllotment and Garden Associationswww.fedaga.org.uk

F3 -Foundation for LocalFood InitiativesThe Foundation promotes andsupports the growth of healthy localfood economies, as a keycontribution to sustainabledevelopment. They can help develop:farmers’ markets; box schemes;community-owned farms; local fooddirectories; community gardens and

orchards; and city farms.Web site has a wide collection ofrelevant links.www.localfood.org.uk

Henry Doubleday ResearchAssociation (UK)Researches and promotes organicgardening and food.www.hdra.org.uk

Sustain: The alliance forbetter food and farming94 White Lion StreetLondon N1 9PI. Tel: 020 7837 1228Fax: 020 7837 1141Sustain aims to improve: the healthand welfare of people and animals;working and living environments;and the equity of society.Sustain’s City Harvest Projectpromotes urban food growing in awide range of settings.The website gives information aboutall of the work undertaken and alsoprovides good links into food andfood growing links around theworld.www.sustainweb.org

Grounds for Learning,Airthrey Castle, University of StirlingFK9 4LA. 01786 445922Grounds for Learning is the schoolgrounds charity for Scotland,developing and offering to everyoneconnected with education inScotland a bespoke programme ofadvice, contacts, programmes andgrant and award schemes tailored for

Useful Contacts and Sources

Useful Contacts and Sources

Scottish schools and the Scottishcurricula. They are developing andpublishing a set of Scottishcurriculum materials - 'LearningOutside Inside' which will build intoa teaching materials and training setshowing the range of opportunitiesto use the outside to learn and teachevery curriculum area in Scotland.www.ltl.org.uk

Community CompostingNetwork,67 Alexandra Road Sheffield S2 3EE.Tel/Fax: 0114 258 0483,email: [email protected] compost projects are setup by groups of local people to poolorganic materials to recycle largeramounts of waste and make largeramounts of compost than is possibleat home. The CommunityComposting Network providesadvice, support and loanableresources for community compostingprojects. Can advise on fundraisingand legal issues.

www.othas.org.uk/ccn

ThriveScottish contact: Fiona Thackeray0776 4894 [email protected] horticultural charitysupporting and researchinghorticulture for disadvantaged,disabled, and older people. Itsupports a network of specialistprojects and provides expert adviceon gardening, specifically for peoplewith disabilities and older people.Web site has a wide collection oflinks.www.thrive.org.uk

Common GroundGold Hill House, 21 High Street,Shaftesbury, Dorset, SP7 8JE, UK.Tel: 01747 850820;Fax: 01747 850821Common Ground is internationallyrecognised for playing a unique rolein the arts and environmental fields,distinguished by the linking ofnature with culture, focusing uponthe positive investment people canmake in their own localities,championing popular democraticinvolvement, and by inspiringcelebration as a starting point foraction to improve the quality of oureveryday places.www.commonground.org.uk

Eco-schoolsEco-schools, c/o The Tidy BritainGroup , Elizabeth House, The Pier,Wigan WN3 4EX Tel: 942 824 620Eco-Schools, an internationalschools based programme forenvironmental education manyScottish schools are participants.www.eco-schools.org.uk

Forward ScotlandPortcullis House,21 India Street, Glasgow G2 4PZTel: 0141 222 5600email: [email protected] Scotland is an independentcompany with charitable status. Itreceives development funding from arange of sources including TheScottish Executive SustainableDevelopment Fund. It uses theseresources to promote sustainabledevelopment in Scotland throughpractical projects and policydevelopment.www.forward-scotland.org.uk

n

Growing Interest

Volunteer DevelopmentScotlandStirling Enterprise Park,Stirling FK7 7RPTel: 01786 479593Fax: 01786 449285E-Mail: [email protected] Development Scotland isthe representative voice forVolunteering in Scotland. Itpromotes the value of volunteeraction in Scotland and celebrates itsachievements. It works to expand theboundaries of volunteering atnational and local levels and is thekey resource for good practice involunteeringwww.vds.org.uk/

SCVOThe Scottish Council for VoluntaryOrganisations (SCVO) is theumbrella body for voluntaryorganisations in Scotland, withoffices in Edinburgh, Glasgow,Inverness.It aims to:

• to promote and advocate theindependence, interests and valuesof the voluntary sector among themajor players in Scottish life andin the wider community

• to encourage voluntaryorganisations to realise their fullpotential by improving theireffectiveness and capacity throughproviding access to training,information, analysis, fundingopportunities, and services.

www.scvo.org.uk/

City Farmer's UrbanAgriculture NotesCity Farmer's home on the WorldWide Web promotes urban foodproduction and environmentalconservation from a small office indowntown Vancouver, BritishColumbia. Urban Agriculture is anew and growing field that is notcompletely defined yet even by thoseclosest to it. It concerns itself with allmanner of subjects from rooftopgardens, to composting toilets, to airpollution and communitydevelopment. It encompasses mentaland physical health, entertainment,building codes, rats, fruit trees,herbs, recipes and much more. Thiswonderful site covers it allwww.cityfarmer.org/

Sustainable ScotlandThe Scottish Executive,Victoria Quay,Edinburgh, EH6 6QQTel: 0131 244 1750Fax: 0131 244 019Sustainable Scotland WebsiteThis site is an information sourcewhere you can find out:

• about the benefits of sustainablepractices

• what current projects the ScottishExecutive are involved in

• who is responsible for drivingforward the message ofsustainability in Scotland andbeyond.

In each section there are relevantpublications you can download, anduseful links to external sites.www.sustainable.scotland.gov.uk

nFurther reading

Why health is the key to the futureof farming and food T Lang and GRayner (eds)(2002)UKPHA/ Thames Valley Universityhttp://www.ukpha.org.uk/health_key.pdf

People, Land and Sustainability:a global view of communitygardening Conference report, JFerris, M Morris, C Norman and JSempik(eds) 2000, HumanitiesResearch Centre, University ofNottingham.

Urban Agriculture: Food, Jobs andSustainable Cities UNDP 1996,United Nations, New York.

City Harvest: The feasibility ofGrowing more Food in London,Tara Garnett, 1999, Sustain, London.

Fast Food Nation, E Schlosser 2001,Penguin Press London.

Further Reading

Consuming Passions: food in theage of anxiety, S Griffiths and JWallace (eds) 1998, Times HigherEducation Supplement, Mandolin,MUP.The Food System: a guide, G Tanseyand T Worsley, 1995, Earthscan,London.

Food for wealth or health,R Jenkins, 1991, Socialist HealthAssociation, London.

A share in the harvest: A feasibilitystudy for Community SupportedAgriculture, 2001 The SoilAssociation

See also the range of publicationsfrom FCF&CG: CommunityGardening Starter Pack, TheCompost Box, Teacher ResourcePack, Good Practice Case Studies,FCF&CG Bristol.

Feeding Scotland Catherine Brown,1996 National Museum of Scotland.

Growing Interest

ColophonDesigned on an AppleMac G3 using PageMaker 7and Photoshop 6.Text: Berkeley.Headings: Daddy-O Hip + MetaProduced by Communicable Health 0141 552 0415

Scottish Community Diet Projectc/o Scottish Consumer Council,

Royal Exchange House,100 Queen StreetGlasgow, G1 3DN

Published by the Scottish Consumer Council

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