Page 52 - ALG Issue 4 2022

West Midlands
Shropshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Warwickshire
REPRESENTATIVE
Mr Tom Terrence
17 Stonefield Close, Walsgrave Keep, Walsgrave, Warks CV2 2PZ 024 7662 1350 tterrence@btinternet.com
MENTOR
Colin Bedford
West Midlands
07592 822195 cbedford.nas@gmail.com
Welcome to our new members...
Howard Road East Allotment Association Tibberton Allotments
7 individuals
Alcester Town Council
Chelmsley Wood Town Council
High Peak Borough Council Newport (Shropshire) Town Council Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council Shipston on Stour Town Council
The Birmingham Allotment Project
As the world continues to deal with Covid-19, and with the ongoing issues of increased living costs, the demand for allotments has surged. Allotments are proving to be vital to individuals’ wellbeing and societal health. Now
is the perfect time to celebrate the allotments of Birmingham before a generation of memories are lost.
A brand-new oral history project is taking shape, which will explore the heritage of allotments in Birmingham from the 1960s to the present day called: The Birmingham Allotment Project. It is coordinated by arts/ heritage organisation General Public and funded by the Heritage Fund.
Birmingham has 113 allotment sites and nearly 7,000 plots – more than any other local authority in the UK. Working with Birmingham and District Allotments Confederation, the idea for the project is to inspire, engage and encourage local residents to learn about allotments, their history and their place within
the city today. To keep this project as closely linked to the community as possible, a dynamic team of volunteers will be involved, who will carry out various tasks, including interviewing plotholders, transcriptions, and archive
research. By the end of the project, over 50 oral histories with allotments holders will have been completed.
Six local schools with 180 young people will also be trained in making oral histories. These oral histories will be conducted with an inclusive interviewee
base from diverse groups, who are typically under-represented in heritage, including OAPs, BAME communities and women, for main demographic audiences. Capturing and sharing these memories will showcase an alternative social history of Birmingham through its allotments whilst focusing on issues of health and well-being and ethnically diverse food and culture.
These stories and memories will
be presented in an exhibition at the Library of Birmingham in 2023, in
the main gallery, where anyone will
be welcome to view and discuss the materials present. An archive will also be produced of the collected interviews, photographs and discussions, where they will be stored electronically on the Birmingham Allotment Project website and in the Library of Birmingham archive. There will be a number of publications and educational packs produced where this legacy can live
on for future generations to access
and appreciate, no matter their age or accessibility needs.
Birmingham has 113 allotment sites and nearly 7,000 plots – more than any other local authority in the UK
52 Allotment and Leisure Gardener