Good to Grow Week launch: Protecting nature and building a Right to Grow

We welcome you to this webinar to launch Good to Grow Week 2024. Join us to hear from experts, campaigners and community growers who are creating flourishing green neighbourhoods and fighting for community growing access for all across the UK. 

At the roots of every community garden lies a tale of resilience, sustainability, and a commitment to nourishing both the land and the people who tend to it. Across the country, these green spaces have become sanctuaries, not just for wildlife and plant life, but for entire communities. They are classrooms for acquiring new skills, arenas for forging friendships, and, crucially, sources of nourishing, sustainable, and delicious food.

Yet community growers are grappling with the UK's stark lack of land and growing access. Recent research has revealed a staggering 174,183 people currently on allotment waiting lists in England, Scotland, and Wales and cash-strapped local authorities feel that they must make a choice between green spaces and affordable housing. Biodiversity is declining at a rapid rate and one in six species are at risk of being lost from the UK.

We welcome you to this webinar to launch our annual Good to Grow Week which will run from 22 - 29 April 2024. Join us to hear from experts, campaigners and community growers who are creating flourishing green neighbourhoods and fighting for community growing access for all across the UK.

In this webinar, we delve into two interconnected themes that shape the future of community gardens. We're pleased to be platforming expert speakers fighting for land jusice and the right for community growing access for all. Discover the hurdles to growing for marginalised communities, why this fundamental right should be accessible to all citizens and how you can build this movement in your local area.

And we’ll hear directly from community growers committed to enhancing biodiversity and adopting nature-centric approaches. Explore why cultivating in harmony with nature is not just an option but a crucial foundation creating a sustainable, thriving green communities.

Chair: Richard Choksey, Social Farms and Gardens

Richard is a seasoned horticulturist and nature-engagement practitioner. He has worked with community food growing and gardening organisations across London including Meanwhile Gardens, Black Rootz and Walworth Garden. He currently facilitates networking and peer-to-peer training between community gardens and city farms, focussed on organisational resilience and economic sustainability.

Speakers include

• Niellah Arboine is a writer, editor and broadcaster from south London. Her work centres on the intersections of nature, politics, culture and identity. Currently, Niellah Arboine is the artist in resident at Sadeh Farm. They run workshops for Sadeh participants on Land Justice and Nature writing as well as growing Carribean vegetables in the market garden.
• Pam Warhurst is a community leader, activist and environment worker who founded Incredible Edible, the organisation spearheading the Right to Grow campaign - a movement building momentum across the UK that is pushing for community access to growing spaces on suitable public sector land to be enshrined in local and national policies.

Join us as we embark on a journey to recognise and protect the indispensable role of growers and mark the launch of Good to Grow Week 2024, and have the chance to ask your own questions.

Thank you so much for your interest in this event. We would just like to take this opportunity to remind you that we are a diverse and inclusive community, so please bear this in mind when you attend.

For example, avoid using cultural references outside your own sphere of experience and be considerate of other people’s points of view. We’re looking forward to having an open and respectful conversation with you all.