Gardening with Community Elders
In early June 2023 Bradley Court and Locorum’s Digital Gardeners teamed up to plant seeds for the Windrush Anniversary Garden in Springwood Huddersfield. Pastor Orlando Brown joined in with residents to help plant nasturtiums, spring onions and runner beans.
An enjoyable afternoon was had by all, sharing memories of gardening and farming that went back over six decades to their own childhoods in the Caribbean. People recalled the names of many different fruits and vegetables including pawpaw (papaya), dasheen (coco or taro), guava, soursop (custard apple), yams, root ginger, red sorrel and achee. They talked about how plants grew differently across parts the Caribbean and shared how their families had used crops in different ways. The afternoon finished with tea and cake, kindly supplied by Velma, Pastor Brown’s wife. Thanks also to Mark Alexis (Housing Assistant) and Kayleigh Edwards (Housing Manager) for welcoming Locorum’s gardening project to Bradley Court.
- Dorothy
- Rowena
- Everyone decides which seeds they will plant
- Filling pots with compost and planting seeds
Schools join our Adopt a Pot Planting Scheme
As Spring came to the Windrush Anniversary Garden, Springwood we looked for people to help this community garden to grow and bloom. We invited children in local schools to take part in our Adopt a Pot project.
Head teachers at Birkby Junior School and Spring Grove Junior and Infant School responded to our invitation and we provided seeds, soil and plant pots for the children.
Some children took their seeds home over the holidays and brought back seedlings. Others watched their seedlings grow at school. After collecting the seedlings and hardening them off at York Avenue allotments, we have planted out a mixture of seedlings at the Windrush Anniversary Garden in Spring.
Over the coming weeks visit the garden and have a look at how the seedlings are developing into plants. We hope you will see runner beans, broad beans, sweetcorn and nasturtiums. Over time we hope to plant more herbs, vegetables and wildflowers and create a Caribbean-inspired blaze of colour and fill the garden with plants that are reminders of Springwood’s international history.
We also invited children to keep one seedling at home or at school to see how it grows. We would love to receive pictures, writing or photos from the children about how the seedlings have grown.
If anyone wishes to be involved with the garden please make contact via our website.
Let’s Grow Together!
