HI i'm Audrey

Hi i'm Audrey, the new Outreach Worker for the Green Street project at Stonebridge here to help you get growing your own fruit and vegetables at home, whether you've got an allottment, a garden or even just a couple of containers! It's a great time of year to get started, to prepare and plan and there is still plenty that can be planted at this time of year to keep you going through the winter. This week we've been potting up strawberry runners so we have new plants for next year and sowing seeds of winter salads, rocket and spring cabbages. At Stonebridge we've harvested lots of beautiful chard with red and yellow stems. So if you want a home visit to see what you can grow at home and how we can help, just email or phone me at Stonebridge and I'll arrange to pop around.

The Farm Open's It's Doors Once More...

...to three major events sponsored by Boots' Charitable Trust, Transitions St Ann's and Local Food strand of the Big Lottery Fund.

Sunday 6th of September.

Boot's Charitable Trust: "Roots and Reconnections 4"

Thanks to Boots Charitable Trust, we delivered our fourth Roots and Reconnections open day at the farm.

Over 350 people visited the farm to take part in free activities including eating a free healthy meal of courgette soup and fruit cobbler with yoghurt - made with ingredients cultivated and produced here at the farm.

Recipe cards were provided and staff were on hand to discuss issues of health and wellbeing with residents.

Visitors were able to talk to staff about the benefits of locally produced food, to purchase plants and plantlets, and talk about planting and methods of maintaining a great food garden.

The easily made courgette soup went down particularly well, showing that you don't have to be a Michelin five star chef to produce top quality food for your dining table. And using local ingredients.

On your left is the delicious wild fruit cobbler with natural yoghurt instead of custard. Again, easy to make and a dessert you will remember eating rather than something you forget after five minutes.

Nottingham's own "academy of wellbeing" since the turn of the century, Boots, have been a magnificent supporter of the farm's drive to improve awareness of healthy living in St Ann's and we hope they continue to do so in the future.

Our Roots and Reconnections programme of healthy living open days have attracted around 1500 people to the farm and we estimate half of those have visited for the first time. The support of people visiting us was essential in downloading funds from the Big Lottery "Local Food" strand for the Green Street project.

Transition St Ann's

The day was shared with new group Transition St Ann's who are also interested in promoting healthy living in the community with a focus on local food. To wit, they supplied activities including smoothie making (using the energy generated from an old racing bike) and communal soup making using pesticide free vegetables. Volunteers showed a series of films about modern food production which, I'm told, may be available for loan - they are certainly fascinating to watch.

Green Street Formal Launch

Finally, on a very busy day, we launched Green Street, our new Lottery-funded programme.

Audrey introduced herself to the public and offered her first "Open Forum" session to several eager food growers! If you couldn't make it, come down in the week and join us. We've already reached 40% of target for enrolments this year and if you do want advice, support, a training DVD, a password for the Green Talk message board, a visit from Audrey to get you started/move you on and loads and loads of education about food growing then you need to get in touch with us and fill in the enrolment form. It's simple and once you're in, you're in for three years!

And don't forget the Harvest Festival next year where you can display the food you've grown to your community.

Anyway, that's enough from me, more photos tomorrow.

Cheers and Healthy Living to you all!!

Mark

Cheers

Mark

Green Street Project Launch!!!!!

Great news!!!!!

The good ship Green Street will be fully launched and ready for business on Sunday 6th September at Stonebridge City Farm, as part of the Roots and Reconnections and Transition St Ann's Open Days.

The farm is open to the public from 11am-3pm.

Those people interested in enrolling on the Green Street Local Food programme can come in and speak to the Green Street staff.

Audrey Leech - our new Horticultural Outreach Worker
Keith Cosgrove - our Green Street worker/Beekeeper
Jo Swann - Green Street Supervisor
Mark Barry - general Green Street Information Person!!

If you join formally, this entitles you to -

• Outreach support with your home growing



• Access to expert local food growing advice



• Preferential access to a Beekeeping Course



• Free local food "plantlets" to start your own patch



• A free growing DVD



• Password for our new message board and cyber community of local food growers



• Display your produce on our annual Harvest Festival of Local Food.



• Experience of volunteering in food growing at your local community farm!!

...and loads more!! And all this is FREE!! Come and join us and make Nottingham an oasis of Local Food. We'll have forms available and all the information you need.

More details are available further down the page!!!

The Roots and Reconnections/Transitions St Ann's Open Day itself will offer-

• Free healthy, nutritional lunch (first come, first served), supported by Boots (including a crumble made entirely from farm produce!!)



• Recipe cards for the above, supported by Boots



• Smoothie making - bursting with vitamins



• Nature trail and accompanied tour of the gardens



• Free growing and cooking workshops



• Craft activities for all ages



• Films and displays



• Green Street launch



• Animal feeding, Trading Post, animal handling and all the usual Stonebridge activities you know so well.

All this is ABSOLUTELY FREE and everyone is welcome as usual.

We look forward to seeing you!!!