Arkwright Meadows Community Gardens

Woman:
The name of the project is Arkwright Meadows Community Garden and that came about because the land is between the two schools, Meadow School and Arkwright School. This was derelict land belonging to the education department and people were using it as a walk-through. You name it, they were dumping it here and living so close to it, we thought, well, we need to do something. But it was the headmaster from the Arkwright School that came up with the idea to ask the residents what they would like to have done with the land. So we had a meeting and then we had consultation with the people who live around this site and came up with ‘let's have a community garden’.

Man:
The hard work started then because we had to find funding to redevelop the site. So when that funding comes in, it was a God send. It was, well, it was the answer to all of the prayers.

Woman:
We do have every age range here from, as you see, the nursery up to secondary schools and then youth groups. And then we have local community members who are on the mini plots, and they range from all different countries. What's grown here is based on every group that could use it. Like from the tropical theme, the Caribbean theme, Pakistani theme through the planting and the herbs.

Child:
Right there is like all the cucumbers. Down there's a banana tree, tomatoes are through down there.

Child:
Down there, there's some runner peas. There's ginormous pumpkins down there as well.

Man:
They want to know everything. What's those? What's those? I says they're tomato. Nah, can't be tomato, they doesn't look like that, they're in the box or they, you know, tomato sauce. I says, alright, go and pick one. And they pick it, try it and get one bite and they're amazed. The look on the face of not only shock, but it's true.

Child:
It's gorgeous, because instead of buying it from the shops, where it's all frozen and that, you can just make it on your own and then you feel proud because you've made it as well as it ain't that rubbish because it's your own food.

Woman:
We've had children who nag their parents to buy little greenhouses to grow their own tomatoes in, so they've got these little plastic greenhouses in their back yards and tell us each week what they've, what they've done to their plants and what have you.

Child:
I've actually learnt not to hurt plants because they're living things and you should respect them because they are gorgeous and nice and they keep you alive, so they're really helping you.

Woman:
Getting money from the Big Lottery Fund was really good for us. The next five years, we can now build our building blocks to become self-sufficient and as the money we've asked for tails off, we're going to make our own money, be able to pay our own way, which is what we want to do.

Woman:
The greatest buzz is that we have something that belongs to us here in the Meadows. The children, the grown ups, everybody, and to see a wasteland become something like this, it is fantastic.

Woman:
You see some children who have just completely changed and they've got a focus. We've got children who, who live for gardening club, who live to come over and find out what's happening.

Woman:
I'm sure that they'll never forget and take their, our memory, with them wherever they go really.

End of programme.