Chapter Community Garden

Since October 2009, we have been working in partnership with Chapter on the development of a community garden in the centre of Canton, as a resource for the local community, volunteers and schools.

A series of workshops, consultation and design exercises has led to a largely edible garden that will include:

• Food Growing
• Community Participation
• Schools Projects
• Training Courses
• Recycling & Composting
• Volunteering
• Recipe Cards

The project started in October 2009 with discussions with Chapter about the possibility of developing a community garden. In February 2010, we held a series of practical gardening workshops with local garden designer Michele Fitzsimmons of Edible Landscapes, who helped the group to formulate plans and ideas for the site.

These plans were then refined and developed to form the basis of the overall scheme through consultation with local residents, community groups, members of Canton Community Gardens and Chapter staff.

Over the years we have held a number of fundraising events and awareness raising days to raise money for the project, including stalls at the RHS Cardiff Shows and the Canton Garden Fair in Victoria Park in 2010 and 2011.

In November 2010, the project found out that it had reached the last eight projects selected from over 100 applications in the People’s Millions awards in Wales.

So it was onto the streets – dressed as vegetables and fruit to raise support and phone votes for the project and pupils from Radnor Road primary were filmed as part of a feature on ITV Wales. Following a lively campaign, we were awarded £36,000 in the Big Lottery’s People’s Millions.

Michael Goode of Canton Community Gardens said in March 2011:

 “It has been a very busy twelve months for the project with workshops, fundraising events and regular gardening sessions in the community garden, culminating in the announcement of the award live on the ITV Wales evening news. Everyone has worked really hard to achieve this success and it has really brought the local community together”.

The funding will allow the project to start some of the necessary hard landscaping of the site, as well as the purchase of a greenhouse, gardening equipment and beehives.

During the early part of 2012, pupils in local primary schools and adults attending art classes in Canton have been working with botanical illustrator Debbie Devauden on drawings of various fruit and vegetables for a series of bilingual recipe cards, for distribution to local schools, libraries and Chapter.

The cards will be launched at ‘The Big Lunch’ event which will be held in the Chapter Community Garden on Sunday 3rd June, between 12 noon – 4pm.

With some additional funding from Chapter, we have been able to appoint CCG Roger Phillips to the post of part time Gardener and Outreach Worker. Roger will work with local schools and community groups on visits to the community garden, gardening and bee keeping activities. He has been appointed one day per week for six months initially, and will be in the garden every Tuesday evening and Thursday morning.