“I feel better for PLOT 22. It’s very inspiring. It’s very carefully nurtured. And it’s made me grow enormously.”
My name’s Louise and I am the Project Lead for Grow & Play which is a nature and food growing session for pre-school children and their parents and carers. It’s two hours of delight, exploration, and fun! It’s a monthly drop-in open to everyone but we give priority to new families and to children who don’t have access to a garden or forest school. Lots of parents always ask if they can come back because they’ve never had anything like this before! Sessions are loosely structured because children want to play and we encourage that because they learn the most through free play.
I’m a Dietician by background and before I became involved with PLOT 22 I really had no idea how to grow food. It can be quite clinical working behind the laptop and studies can seem quite reductive - looking at things just in terms of nutrients. It always felt like a gap in my knowledge but now I feel like a more well-rounded person and it has given me a lot of confidence. It makes me see an alternative perspective and that food is more than just what we eat. It’s about enjoying the whole experience of growing food.
I remember the first time I started digging for potatoes I imagined I was one of my ancestors working the fields! That’s what everyone used to do - people used to grow their own food.
At the plot lots of parents say they’ve never seen food grown before or tasted something in particular, or wouldn’t have let their child use a knife before coming here. They’ve really loved it. They see their child learn the value of food and the nurturing and work it takes to grow food. They see them learn that it is a really valuable part of life. These sessions also open children’s eyes to their environment. My daughter notices things a lot more on the way to school having been on the allotment.
I was really interested in working with young children because I wanted to help them grow food and prevent fussy eating, but now I also feel these sessions help children feel they can do something about the environment. It gives them more confidence. The messages out there can be doom and gloom but Grow & Play helps grow their respect for the environment and makes them more likely to feel they can make a change. Little things can make a difference and parents can do things at home. For example, growing herbs on your windowsill rather than buying from the supermarket means that you are reducing your plastic use and food miles.
When people imagine a community allotment they think of a patch of grass and rows of veg, but this is like a National Trust place! It’s landscaped, it has zones. It’s magical, charming, playful, and spiritual. I would call it an ‘Enchanting Edible Garden with Secret Cubby Holes’!
We foster a feeling of teamwork as much as possible here. When it comes to harvesting the children share those tasks and the food gathered, and when washing up they take turns using the sponges. At the end they can talk about their achievements – so they get to shine and feel special too.
I was really surprised at how much I enjoy it. What I’ve realised about living by the seaside and in the city is you don’t notice the depth of the seasonal changes so much. Lots of concrete can disconnect you. At PLOT 22 you really see it. You watch the plot go through the seasonal journey and you move through it too. I see myself as part of that natural cycle now. For me, it’s been good to see that winter isn’t dead!
I’ve felt really supported at PLOT 22. It’s felt quite seamless starting as a volunteer for Nature’s Nippers and then taking the lead after Grow & Play was developed from those sessions. I used to go to the Lady Garden group to learn about the plot and help prepare me for this role and it’s surprised me how lovely the whole PLOT 22 project has been. It’s very very important. It’s a priority for me – and it’s my priority work.
I’m doing more high-profile projects now and I don’t think I could have done that without my experience at Grow & Play and PLOT 22. I’m proud of myself because I’ve won two pots of money to do two projects and that came from the confidence I got from learning how to apply for funding through the plot. I’ve felt really supported in that and I want to be able to pass on what Emma and the plot did for me and help someone become a leader too.
I feel better for PLOT 22. It’s very inspiring. It’s very carefully nurtured. And it’s made me grow enormously.
As told to Vaska Trajkovska November 2019