Page 41 - ALG Issue 4 2019

Yorkshire
Yorkshire and parts of Humberside
REPRESENTATIVE
Vacant
To be confirmed
MENTOR
Tony Urwin
Yorkshire & Humberside 0845 250 1292 turwin.nas@gmail.com
Welcome to our new members...
Thorngumbald Parish Council
Settle Town Council
Edlington Town Council
Clough Road/Oak Road Allotments Friends of Ravensthorpe Road Allotments Wansbeck Allotment Association
12 Individual Members
Garforth Allotments at Feastival
For the last 3 years we have had a
stall at the FEASTIVAL event on Main Street in Garforth. FEASTIVAL was created to help bring the Garforth and neighbouring communities together, to showcase and celebrate great independent food and drink businesses in and around the area. For us it
has been an opportunity to promote allotmenting by chatting to people, and to raise some funds for our Community Plot! Plotholders were invited to donate produce the day before to make up baskets of fruit and vegetables for raffle prizes. We made a bit of a social occasion of receiving and sorting donations. We had enough to make eight baskets!
On the day it was an early start to roll out our GROWBOT with its invitation
to ‘Lets Germinate’ along to the venue and set up the stall. We raised a few eyebrows along the way! One of our members donated plants he had grown and another lavender ‘wands’ she had made. Several others donated rhubarb, all of which we offered free to children and older residents. This engaged many people in conversation about growing and gave us the chance to invite them along to visit us on our community
plot over the summer. In the past this has resulted in new applicants for allotments. Two ladies who joined last year came back to thank us for being
there, as they are enjoying having their plot so much!
There was award-winning cheese, microleaves, samosas, sausages, homemade ice-cream and preserves, gin and locally brewed ales, and much more to savour, as well as musical accompaniment from the ukulele band, steel pans and community choir – all local! It was great to be a part of; the community plot is solvent again thanks to the raffle and we won best-dressed stall too! The funds will buy compost and seeds for our polytunnel and refreshments for volunteers.
We made a bit of
a social occasion of receiving and sorting donations
We also got our speaker for our annual talk – another local man who has set up an innovative educational project called Rethink Food, which facilitates diversion of surplus produce to schools across the city, as well as educating about food production and preparation.
So, a great day and a big thank you to all who contributed to make it a success!
Moira Flynn, Garforth Allotments Association
Allotment and Leisure Gardener 41