Hi <<First Name>> and welcome to our September newsletter
The Anglo-Saxons called September Gerst Monath (Barley Month) or Haefest Monath (Harvest Month) celebrating the barley harvest. Years later September is still a month of harvest but also a time when veg growers are planning ahead. It is also a time when young people are returning to schools and extra-curricular activities are considered. To us it means reopening our gates, helping young people and adults increase their self confidence and esteem and to improve their life prospects, as well as give them the skills and knowledge to grow their own food. It is great to welcome back Grow 19, Five Acre Wood, Grange Park and our home schooled students. Together with our volunteers there is a real buzz of activity on the field and a sense of excitement and anticipation!
We would like to share our successes with you and have prepared some interesting facts about sustainable, organic vegetable growing as well as information about activities we have planned for the upcoming months.
Helen Turner, Secretary and Trustee
|
|
|
Wilder Kent Award
We are proud to announce that Communigrow has been awarded Silver Award by Kent Wildlife Trust, which recognise schools and community groups that are taking positive actions towards combating the climate and nature crisis.
You can watch Naomi Jenkins, Education Coordinator at Communigrow accepting the award and read more about the award and other awardees here.
|
|
New Communigrow Home Education Programme
A unique opportunity to be part of our educational activities and give children the chance to learn and appreciate nature, food and the world around them. Sessions will take place at Communigrow Field.
Click here to find out more and book.
To view subjects for the upcoming sessions, go here.
|
|
|
|
Open Day 2020
We would like to invite you to our Open Day on Saturday, 3 October 2020 which is running instead of our annual Autumn Food Festival. We are looking forward to meeting you at the field, we have planned field tours, workshops, talks and much more to keep everyone busy. Click here for Information and Bookings.
Tickets are limited, please book early to avoid disappointment.
|
|
|
Organic September
At Communigrow, we care about ethical food production, land and nature conservation and personal and collective well-being. We use sustainable methods that reduce the impact we have on the planet – natural systems, no chemicals, low carbon footprint – plus we are expanding habitats for conservation and environmental study.
Organic September is a month-long campaign supported by the Soil Association to raise awareness of the many benefits of organic food and farming, which include supporting biodiversity and wildlife, helping to combat climate change, reducing exposure to pesticides, enjoying food as it should be, and food you can trust. You can read more about the campaign here to find out what 'organic' means, why it matters and what you can do to be part of the organic movement for a more sustainable future.
Did you know that organic farms have around 50% more bees, butterflies and other pollinators?
|
|
Have you read our blog?
Over the past months we have been extremely lucky with many new volunteers joining our team while working from home or being on furlough. Chloe Wing, Social Media Volunteer, wrote couple of blog posts sharing her experience at the field.
Are you interested in volunteering with us?
|
|
|
Our educational sessions with schools and home schooled students
We are so happy to be able to offer sessions to schools and Home Educated families once again. It seems like a very long time since we had all our young people enjoying the benefits of being on the field.
Read more here.
|
|
|
Veg Box Scheme
One of the easiest ways to support us is to purchase our Veg boxes. Each box consist of a variety of freshly picked seasonal produce. We harvest the produce on a Friday and Saturday and veg can be collected from the field. Small boxes (suitable for 1-2 people) are £6 and large boxes (for 2-4 people) are £10.
|
|
|
Veg Box recipes
We are excited to share our first veg box recipe - Crown Prince Squash and Sage Risotto. We would love to see others try this recipe so please tag us in your posts or send us your pictures.
|
|
Communigrow impact video by Kent Community
|
|
|
|
Other ways to support us
We are a small, local charity and we wouldn't be able to be in the place we are without an overwhelming support we've received over the years. Thank you to everyone who supported us so far. Our job is not done yet, we have great plans for the future and all donations will help us providing a broad variety of opportunities and activities using horticulture and social enterprise that educate, inspire and support young people and adults in West Kent.
- £5 will help us buy seeds for one of our 200 beds or five plants for the wildlife/flower/edible zones.
- £50 will help us run workshops for an entire group.
- £100 gives us the ability to form new partnerships with schools and groups in the area and provide our services for free.
|
|
|
AmazonSmile is a program that donates 0.5% of your eligible purchases on Amazon to a charity of your choice. All you need to do is start your shopping at smile.amazon.com. The donation will be made at no extra cost to you and you can choose from nearly one million public charitable organizations. Click above to register on AmazonSmile and choose Communigrow as your favourite charity.
|
|
|
Do you follow us on our social accounts?
If not, now is the best time to do so. We share updates from the field regularly on our social media accounts, click on the links below to follow us and be up to date.
|
|
|
|
