UK: Communities turning to gardening for health benefits

Private allotments are being transformed into community gardens around the region.

BBC
Apr 21, 2022

Excerpt:

The idea was established by a group of friends who worked to find an alternative to long waitlists for council allotments.

The Roots Allotments team, which opened an allotment in Bath, has been inundated with customers.

The founders said the allotment is “the first organic no-dig site of its kind in the world”.

The team is actively looking for sites in Bristol, with the hopes to establish a garden there.

Ed Morrison, Will Gay, Josh Gay and Christian Samuels founded the site in Bath after realising the need to have a “modern day, inclusive allotment” that applicants would not have to wait years for.

Waitlists for allotments in Bristol are currently at three to four years.

The private allotments are more expensive than the council plots, with the Bath plots costing between £10 and £50 per month.

However, this is the only way for some people to gain access to green growing spaces.

Many of the gardeners who have plots at the Bath site commute in and split the rental fees, as they value the benefits – both physical and mental – of gardening.

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