Fostering Sharing and Community Engagement
Allotment gardening in Wembury goes beyond just cultivating plots of land. It serves as a hub for sharing, collaboration, and community engagement. The allotments can provide a unique platform for individuals to come together, share resources, knowledge, and experiences while fostering a sense of belonging and community spirit. In this brief section, we will explore how Wembury allotments promote sharing and community engagement. The success of this depends on the willingness of all tenants to take part !
- Sharing of Knowledge and Expertise: Wembury allotments act as a gathering place for gardeners with a diverse range of knowledge and skills. This presents an opportunity for experienced gardeners to share their expertise with beginners, offering guidance on plant care, cultivation techniques, and pest management. Through informal conversations, workshops, or organized events, allotment gardeners can exchange ideas, learn from one another, and grow together as a community of passionate gardeners.
- Resource Sharing: Allotment gardening often involves sharing resources among community members. This can take various forms, such as:
a. Seed and Plant Exchanges: Plot holders can exchange seeds, seedlings, or even established plants, enabling everyone to diversify their gardens and try new varieties.
b. Tools and Equipment Sharing: Not everyone may have access to all the necessary gardening tools or equipment. Allotment gardeners often share tools, such as spades, rakes, or wheelbarrows. Currently there are 2 wheel barrows in the Communal Shed available for plot holders to use. Please ensure these are returned clean and ready for the next user!
c. Surplus Produce: Allotment gardeners often find themselves with a surplus of fresh produce. Sharing excess fruits, vegetables, herbs, or flowers with fellow gardeners or even local community organizations helps reduce waste and ensures that the harvest is enjoyed by a wider circle. There is a specific box where plot holders may place any unwanted produce for the local community to take and enjoy. It is situated by the middle gate that leads on to the Recreation Ground.
- Collaborative Projects: Wembury allotments could provide an excellent platform for collaborative projects that bring the community together. These projects could include:
a. Community Gardens: Allotment gardeners can join forces to create communal areas, rewilding zones or similar within the allotment space. These spaces could serve as places for collective gardening efforts, socializing, or growing specific crops for community use.
b. Educational Initiatives: Allotment associations or local community organizations can organize workshops, seminars, or gardening demonstrations to educate and engage the wider community in sustainable gardening practices, environmental awareness, or similar.
c. Social Events: We could host social events like picnics, barbecues, or harvest festivals, providing an opportunity for plot holders and community members to come together, celebrate their achievements, and strengthen social bonds.
- Volunteering and Community Service: Wembury allotments can serve as a platform for volunteering and community service initiatives. Gardeners can organize collective efforts to maintain communal areas, support local environmental initiatives, or contribute to the broader community through activities like donating produce to local food banks.
There is a mowing rota organised in the Summer months and plot holders are urged to volunteer for this scheme which keeps the shared areas and paths looking clear and well maintained. Usually the allotments are divided into sections with named plot holders taking responsibility for organising their sections into mowing teams.
The petrol mowers are stored in a metal shed next to the Poly tunnel. The key to this is stored behind the shed in a lockbox ( See Plot Steward for the current code )/
Mowers should not be used on individual plots. They are for communal areas and paths only. They must be cleaned after use and securely stored away.
Wembury allotments are more than just individual gardening plots. They serve as a vibrant community that fosters sharing, collaboration, and engagement among gardeners and the wider community. By promoting knowledge sharing, resource sharing, collaborative projects, and community service, these allotments create a sense of belonging and connection, enriching the lives of individuals and strengthening the community spirit