Family Gardening – Summer Sessions
Article Written:During the summer holidays, we welcomed local families to our community allotment, Root ‘n’ Fruit, to learn all about growing their own fruit and vegetables. Each week, the families were provided with an ingredients bag and a new recipe, funded by The Coalfields Regeneration Trust, to take home to try.
This is a beautiful allotment for the community, and I can’t believe I didn’t realise it was right on my doorstep
Across the six sessions, families were able to find out all about the different types of fruit and vegetables we grow on the allotment, learn new gardening skills and harvest various crops to taste and take home. They explored the allotment, investigated our different wildlife habitats such as the frog pond and bee houses, and hunted for bugs and discovered many different species! Each week there were craft activities using lots of resources found around the allotment.
I like making crafts outside using the sticks and leaves, it’s so fun!
I’ve never picked my own vegetables before, I liked digging potatoes, but my favourite was picking beans inside the bean tunnel, it was like being at the park!”
The weekly recipe bags included all the ingredients needed to make a healthy family meal. Families were also able to pick fresh produce from the allotment to add to their recipes. Recipes included pitta pizzas, omelette, and ratatouille.
Across the six weeks, 47 families joined the sessions and took home a recipe bag.
