Archive for July, 2009
Food mentoring project
July 20th, 2009
WASHA Family Food Mentoring Project
Why did we start this project?
We are hugely disappointed whenever families give up their plots and when possible we ask why.
We have found that it is the pressure of family life. Mothers who happily work with babies in slings find the crunch comes on their return to employment. Some return after only an absence of a few weeks and find they are ‘weeded out’ and back to square one. Others are discouraged by the poor results. “I planted a full row of lettuce and when I returned the next day every plant had disappeared!”
“I dug for hours and got nowhere”. “I read the books but when I was faced with the plot I didn’t know where to start!” are recurring comments.
Our site lost six families last year.
We felt that we should also encourage the school to keep their plot. In the past they have been discouraged by lack of success and were considering giving up.
WASHA tries to help plotholders in difficulties but the very informality of the approach mitigates against success. Helpers don’t like to interfere; strugglers don’t like to “put upon” helpers by repeatedly asking for help and advice. Other prospective helpers are unsure how to approach the struggler.
Feedback from plot holders and families clearly shows that a project with guidelines and co-ordinators was needed.
We consulted the school. The teachers told us that parents with the necessary skills and time to help are scarce. Holiday periods are hard to cover for watering and weeding.
With this feedback in mind we began the process of working out what our aims should be and what we needed to meet them. Obviously the budget expenses mounted up and were beyond the financial capabilities of WASHA which has no fund raising capacity. Fortunately we were able to obtain a “small” grant from Big Lottery – Changing Places – Local Food which allowed the project to proceed. Thank you Big Lottery!
The overall project aims are
• to assist those parents who want to grow food for their families on allotments
• to assist teaching staff at the nearby school to educate their pupils in growing food on the school allotment.
•
Mentors (advisers) are drawn from an existing supply of excellent food producers who are allotment tenants on the Aldershot Road site. Each participating family has a mentor assigned to them. Mentors give advice which results in successful food production. Mentors also give encouragement and where necessary can give practical hands-on help with cultivation, watering, and harvesting. Grant monies are used to provide equipment which makes cultivation of the site soil (heavy clay) easier and also provides necessities such as fuel, soil improvers, nets, fertilisers and seeds. It also funds goodwill payments to the mentors.
The school plot has a professional mentor who liaises with the teachers of the chosen age group for the year. Together they have worked out the curriculum linkages which will help the children with a broad spectrum of educational activities. The children regularly visit their plot and are assigned different tasks. Other WASHA members are called on to assist at peak activity times. The children are learning all the basics of gardening. They have tools made for children (funded by a separate Lottery grant) which are strong but manageable. They dig, plant, rake and hoe. Their favourite tasks are harvesting and all produce is distributed for their consumption.
Most of the work on their plot is done by the children themselves with enthusiasm and enjoyment.
They have already learned to identify the fruit and vegetables on their own plot. They also benefit from supervised excursions around the site to see other crops under cultivation. They can observe insects, slow worms and other site flora and fauna.
Here are the stated aims of the Project:-
By the end of the project there is a 75% reduction in the number of families who give up their plot through lack of support.
By the end of the first year families that have been supported by a mentor will report a 50% increase in the amount of food they have produced.
By the end of the project, 100 school children the school plot will have a better understanding of where their food comes from.
By the end of the project there is a 75% reduction in the number of families who give up their plot through lack of support.
By the end of the first year families that have been supported by a mentor will report a 50% increase in the amount of food they have produced.
By the end of the project, 100 school children the school plot will have a better understanding of where their food comes from.
As at the time of writing, July 09, all objectives are being met.
All mentored plots are producing food – many in abundance. No families have given up and 60 of the 100 children (different 60 children next year) have learned the basics of food growing.
The Project was officially opened by a long time friend of the site, the Mayoress Pauline Searle who commented as follows:
“The community spirit on which this project relies is evident with benefits to all on site.
One of the most pleasing aspects is the social interaction between the generations.
The successful production of fresh, tasty, healthy food at a fraction of the shop cost makes a real contribution to family budgets in this time of recession.
At a time when fossil fuels are depleting rapidly, it is vital that sustainable production of local food is encouraged. This is the primary purpose of Big Lottery’s funding and we are grateful for their investment in a Project which benefits families and children of our local community.”
Pauline judged a selection of scarecrows which were entered in a competition organised by the WASHA Secretary. These are all in use on site and have certainly scared a lot of humans if not the crows and pigeons!
Light refreshments were served and some families took the opportunity to picnic on site
Thank you to all the plotholders who supported the Project Day and entered a Scarecrow, this reinforces the community spirit which is alive on the Aldershot Road site. I hope that everyone will be as supportive of the sunflower competition, the date for which is to be advised soon. Some feedback on this and whether we should have a family bar-be-cue would be very much appreciated.
A house (read allotment) divided cannot stand and the more support we have from plotholders the more we can stave off the possible threat of re-development. Support from everyone is required.
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Food mentoring project. Official opening photos
July 20th, 2009
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Why are you waiting?
July 17th, 2009
Currently, due to such high demand, the waiting list for allotments is closed even though there are 39 unused plots on the Aldershot Road site. When you consider the waiting list across Guildford is now over 500 it does seem strange that the council will not allow these 39 unused plots to be used by the community?
Adequate provision of allotments is a political decision. Please write to your local councillors or MP about the fact that 39 plots are unused on the top of the Aldershot Road site (Guildford Allotment Society is not allowed to rent them out). This area is still ‘earmarked’ for housing even though this is a statutory site and representations for change of use would need to be made to the Secretary of State. These representations would need to show that the allotments were surplus to requirements. This is clearly untrue as numbers of people on waiting lists across Guildford have risen to over 500. There are over 100 people in Westborough alone waiting for an allotment. As well as this, the recent site allocations consultation showed that local residents want this open space kept for allotments for future generations.
Do you think it is right that the local council is keeping 39 plots in an unused state when the waiting list is so long?
The Aldershot Road site is Guildford’s only site with a formalised teaching program to encourage the next generation of food growers
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Courgette curry
July 17th, 2009
Preparation 10 mins, cooking time approx 15 mins.
1 1/2 tbspns oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
225g/8oz courgettes, sliced into 5mm rounds
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
400g canned tomatoes, choopped
salt to taste
1 green chilli, chopped
1 sprig coriander leaves, chopped
1. Heat the oil and add the cumin seeds. When they crackle, add the courgette slices.
2. Stir and sprinkle with the chilli, coriander and turmeric powder(s).
3. Mix well and add the tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt, the green chilli and fresh coriander.
4. Cover and cook for 10-12 mins.
When this is completed and cooked, I add creamed coconut, you can get this from any supermarket, in block form, this really makes it creamy and yummy, freezes really well. Enjoy
Linda Plot 47
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Westborough Wildlife Watch, June 09
July 6th, 2009
Hi All and welcome to the June wildlife watch. This has been an exciting month with some unusual sightings as well as the ongoing presence of previously reported creatures, most noticibly the large contingent of ladybirds which seem to be everywhere at the moment. Anyway on to new sightings, reports have reached me of the visit on a couple of occasions of a small Deer, it has yet to be confirmed whether this is a fawn or an adult Muntjac (as at least one sighting was initially suspected to be a large Fox my moneys’ on a Muntjac) in any event the presence of Deer of any species may not always be welcome on site because of the damage they can do. The same is also true of our next visitor the humble Rabbit. The rabbit is not a true British species but was believed to have been introduced by the Romans as a food source and have become so widespread as to have become a pest no matter how cute they are , and talking of cute pests Grey squirrels have been seen (I would have been surprised if they hadn’t) but perhaps they will be kept in check by the Buzzard that I have seen once or twice in the last week or so along with reports of a very welcome preditory bird the Thrush. The report I received was that the bird in question was a Mistlethrush but I am just delighted to see any species of Thrush on site (for obvious reasons). Finally this month was the sighting of a mating pair of Stag beetles (thanks to David Bird for the photo) this species is now confined to Central & Southern England but has little protection at present therefore if you should encounter the larve please let them thrive.
That about wraps it up for this month please keep the reports coming and I’ll post them as soon as possible. 
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