Arkwright Meadows Community Gardens was created by local Meadows residents coming together to transform part of this disused, unloved, rubbish-strewn playing field into a green space for the local people to use.

They Say:

In 2001, Arkwright Meadows Community Gardens was created by local Meadows residents coming together to transform part of this disused, unloved, rubbish-strewn playing field into a green space for the local people to use. Local residents now enjoy the benefits of a safe space for family events, place of learning and opportunity to buy freshly-grown fruit and vegetables.

By July 2003, with the help of volunteers and partnerships with local training schemes, the Gardens started to transform; native hedging and orchard trees were planted, new members signed up. A triple-skinned polytunnel was erected and the curved walls and raised beds built. Over the following years the Gardens have further developed into an oasis in the heart of the Meadows, with residents regularly coming to buy vegetables, hundreds of attendees at events and numerous daily visitors.

In 2007 we successfully secured funding from the Big Lottery Fund to continue our work and aims for a further five years. It has allowed us to employ additional staff and enables us to extend our reach to the many diverse groups found within the Meadows community.

And what of the future? Our next step is to design and construct an eco-building, a space which will play host to more events, house training in horticulture and food practices, act as a meeting place for the local community and allow us to extend winter opening hours.

Arkwright Meadows Community Garden
Kirkby Gardens
off Wilford Grove
The Meadows
Nottingham NG2 2HZ
0115 986 7777
everyone@amcgardens.co.uk
http://www.amcgardens.co.uk

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Related postings:

'Fresh' Project at Ecoworks, St Ann's Allotments
http://indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/nottinghamshire/2007/10/382929.html

Sumac Garden Project, looking verdant [Food for the Future]
http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/05/430465.html

"Food for the Future" skillshare session at the Sumac centre
http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/05/430936.html

Sumac Garden Project, looking verdant 2 [Food for the Future]
http://nottinghamshire.indymedia.org.uk/2009/09/438647.html

much more 'Tash on Food' at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tash/sets/72157603274353832

Straw Bale Building at Meadows Community Garden
http://notts.indymedia.org.uk/articles/210

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ALAN LODGE
Photographer - Media: One Eye on the Road. Nottingham.  UK
Email:                 tash@indymedia.org
Web:                   http://digitaljournalist.eu
Member of the National Union of Journalists [NUJ]
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"It is not enough to curse the darkness.
                                   It is also necessary to light a lamp!!"
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