Spaces to Grow
The number of community groups growing food in their local area in Scotland continues to rise, a positive, practical response to multiple complex issues from ecosystem collapse and food security to social isolation and cohesion, health and wellbeing. Community centres, whether local authority-managed or led by independent organisations, are coming to the fore as both providers and supporters of this movement. They do this in ways that suit them and the community they embody, and can extend the reach of the food-growing activity by acting as a base and a hub, opening up opportunities to their wider community. Centres often have limited space to grow; however, many in the community have underused garden space or sunny windowsills at home and skills to share with others. A ‘Hub’ approach from the Centre brings this together and builds confidence and motivation to try growing; it can be an efficient, practical and proven way to grow some food and community in tandem.
We believe that every community can have a local food connection, and in many instances, the best way to get started is to identify and work with existing activities in an area to see where they take you. Our Spaces to Grow page includes multiple examples of centres across Scotland that are quite literally sowing seeds for this year, and years to come, investing in simple yet powerful ways to strengthen nature connection and community engagement and build, person by person, home by home, a community connected to food and each other. If you have underused land in your setting and would like to try growing something to see where it goes, perhaps we can help? Our most recent story highlights the work and learning of Dundee’s Maxwell Centre and community garden here.