Grass Roots 1 the RHS Community Update
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Grass Roots 1 The RHS Community Update Issue • Spring 2020 rhs.org.uk/get-involved Share some sunshine with Grow Social Free sunflower seeds to get started Plant a butterfly border Growing for food banks Measure your impact on wildlife rhs.org.uk/get-involved 2 2 Welcome 3 News 5 Lessons from Bloom 6 Grow a butterfly garden 8 Monitoring wildlife 10 Saving seed Welcome… 12 Growing for food banks RHS / GEORGI MABEE 14 Big Soup Share ….to the spring issue of Grass Roots, the magazine for all community gardening groups, including Bloom and It’s Your Neighborhood groups 12 Gardening for the planet and RHS Affiliated Societies. With a relatively mild winter, by February it Despite this, we would love to hear your seemed spring had sprung early, only to be brilliant ideas on inviting bringing different swiftly followed by a succession of named groups together and reaching out to storms and record levels of rain. Then, people that may be feeling isolated. We worst of all, has been the unprecedented hope you will be able to put some of these threat of COVID-19, which has curtailed into action at some point this year. many plans for all of us. We do hope you The sunflower seeds, free with this issue, are staying safe and well. are a chance to spread some local cheer – It had been hugely inspiring to see so perhaps you can share some seedlings with many groups embracing the idea of Grow others, or the spent seeds in the autumn. Social – a chance to form new connections Take care out there, in your communities through growing. @RHSBloom However, in line with government advice, rhscommunitygardening we are now recommending all groups postpone their events if they haven’t Cover image: RHS / Mark Waugh. A volunteer at done so already. DEBOIS RHS / PAUL Emily Braham – Editor Petrus Incredible Edible Rochdale’s community allotment and garden. Your views – Your views – from twitter Queen’s award @KSBScotland #BeautifulScotland is all This magazine is printed on paper using about sharing and learning from each Stoke Poges, Wexham & Fulmer 100 percent recycled fibre. Please pass it other. Brighten up Kirkconnel and New on or recycle it. Horticultural Society was delighted to Luce met at last year’s awards and are receive the Queen’s Award for Voluntary now meeting to share hints and tips. Grass Roots is published by Service from Princess Alexandra in RHS Community Horticulture February. The highest award a voluntary 80 Vincent Square, London SW1P 2PE group can receive in the UK, it @uptonuponsevern Troughs on riverside T: 020 7821 3122 recognises the ‘passing of horticultural railings submerged for 2–3 days, E: [email protected] knowledge and tradition from hopefully will be OK. Very sad some ©2020 The Royal Horticultural Society generation to generation since 1884.’ houses flooded, which is much worse. Registered Charity no: 222879 / SC038262 Pupils from three primary schools presented the princess with a book of @kathfarrell Volunteering at a The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s history about Stoke Poges, a scrapbook community garden gave me huge leading gardening charity, dedicated to with photographs of the three schools’ support when I became a single parent advancing horticulture and promoting gardening. pupils gardening, with their comments a decade ago, and launched my career Our community campaigns support more about gardening, and a posy. as a horticulturist. I recommend than 5,000 groups in creating greener and more interconnected communities. For more community gardening to everyone... information about RHS Britain in Bloom, RHS Ruth Rooley, Chairperson, Stoke Poges, It’s Your Neighbourhood and RHS Affiliated Wexham & Fulmer Horticultural Society Share your news @RHSBloom or email: Societies, please visit rhs.org.uk/get-involved [email protected]. Letters and tweets may be edited. Grass Roots • Spring 2020 Uneven 3 New fund to bring people together The Allen Lane Foundation has a new fund for community projects Growing social in 2020 that work to bring people together, Thousands of schools and groups around of Bloom we had this new opportunity,’ including marginalised groups, or the country had signed-up to host he explains. ‘I wanted to put the spotlight which help to break down social connecting events as part of Grow Social on the Sikh community, so it was personal barriers. The fund is particularly – a new RHS initiative to help schools and in a way, then Joanna from the church welcoming projects that could work groups spread the benefits of growing. was amazing, so the dots started joining. to heal local divisions and promote It was hoped these events would help The church is within 100 yards from the social cohesion in the wake of the groups reach out to people that could be Gurdwara – we are these two central Brexit referendum, as well those feeling isolated, in recognition of the role buildings in the village, so it just made which would support disadvantaged that community gardening can play in sense. Now we are like two best mates in communities. Available UK-wide addressing the UK’s loneliness epidemic. the community.’ except London. Unfortunately, following government In another, York House Community Interested people should contact advice and the ongoing situation with Gardens, an It’s Your Neighbourhood Tim Cutts – [email protected] COVID-19, we are recommending that all group in Milton Keynes, supports a network https://allenlane.org.uk groups postpone their Grow Social events of communities with individual plots on a until later in the year. shared reclaimed piece of land, including However, here are a couple of examples branch of the WI, a playgroup, and Spread your love that could offer inspiration for future therapeutic horticulture groups. There are of trees events, or some much needed cheer in shared working days and open events to The Woodland Trust’s Tree Charter the meantime. invite groups to connect with each other, as campaign, of which the RHS is a Paul Singh from Wednesfield in Bloom, well as to open up the garden to the public. partner, is looking for new branch shared how the competition has allowed Stony Stratford in Bloom hosts an annual members – are you or your group the village’s Sikh Gurdwara and St Thomas plant sale fundraiser for the gardens at the interested in being a local tree Church to come together, the two village site, coinciding with a coffee morning and champion? This could involve institutions now hosting joint breakfasts, mini Shakespearean performances. encouraging and sharing the benefit working days and clean-up events. ‘The As this situation is changing daily, please of trees where you live, or helping to Gurdwara had flowers anyway, to help the follow government and NHS advice for up- secure more support and land for grounds look beautiful, but then because to-date information on COVID-19. tree planting. You could also apply to become a ‘charter branch lead’ and co-ordinate local efforts. Visit https://treecharter.uk/ get-involved, or for more information, contact charter woodlandtrust.org.uk. City nature challenge This April, nature enthusiasts are encouraged to join global efforts to find and document the wildlife living in cities as part of the fifth international City Nature Challenge. The bioblitz-style citizen science competition, designed to get people involved in wildlife recording, is organised by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and San Francisco’s California Academy of Sciences. It takes place between 24–27 April 2020, and will see more than 250 cities competing to see who can make the most observations of nature, find the most species and get the most people involved. Citynaturechallenge.org RHS / BRIAN MORRISON rhs.org.uk/get-involved 4 Support global science You could join in citizen science efforts this month to harness the power of volunteers to help solve some the world’s biggest problems. There are options to add details of your group’s work to online datasets and contribute to international understanding on topics of interest to science. Events and topics include ‘keeping your neighbourhood litter free’ – helping to map litter across the planet – and light pollution, a known factor in recent mass declines in global insect numbers. https://scistarter.org/events RHS / HELEN YATES Urban tree report A new report says that UK urban centres should plant a greater range Growing new connections of tree species, with more large New community growing projects around reflection. The garden will eventually be species with wide canopy cover. the UK are again are again poised to set used by the team for informal therapy work, The report published in the journal seed. thanks to RHS funding under the such as to help share skills on managing Forestry: An International Journal of Greening Great Britain campaign, sponsored emotions and coping with feelings. Forest Research examined 12 cities by M&G Investments. Around 50 projects There are also plans to use the garden to or urban areas in the UK and found have been offered practical support from the help the young people connect with the that even where tree cover was community outreach team, along with up to wider community, which ‘would be a real good, there was a lack of diversity, £500 to transform unloved spaces and achievement for Salford’, according to the which risks greater loss of tree cover create new community connections. hub manager. from disease and also offers limited In just one example, an RHS advisor will The RHS outreach programme has a wildlife benefit. The report includes a work with Route29 – a project co-ordinated particular focus in Salford, as part of a guide to urban forestry it advises by Salford Youth Service that supports commitment to the community surrounding local authorities should follow.