Shout out to Marbury Road Edible Garden a volunteer-led community group growing fresh, quality food for people living on Marbury road council estate to access for free whilst providing a safe and welcoming space for residents and visitors to enjoy.
GALVANISE
Marbury road council estate borders an affluent area in Stockport and one resident, Kell, saw how this led to the needs of people living on the estate being overlooked, with the nearest food pantry being some distance away and not easily accessible for everyone. Being a food grower, she wanted to help by donating her fresh produce to existing services but was turned away due to processing and labelling regulations.
Determined to provide freely available quality food to those who need it, Kell rallied a small team to pitch to Stockport council an idea to grow on a patch in the local park where residents could harvest the bounty of veg, fruit and herbs for free. If you can’t donate, why not provide for others to take?
Ignoring initial “everything’s going to get robbed” skepticism from a few, Marbury Road Edible Garden started in April 2022 and since then has flourished. The park patch is well-loved by the community who now help replenish the beds and plant their own cuttings for others to share. It has become its own micro circular economy.
Galvanised by the difference they could make, Kell and her small team of volunteers applied their land management skills, meticulous ecological planning and hard graft to secure the council’s support and have now expanded the project across three fields. Here, they provide a welcoming, safe and inclusive environment for connecting with nature and others, hosting regular volunteering sessions that are open to all. For a peppercorn rent, people can take on their own plot and have the opportunity to discover hidden horticultural passions and talents.
NURTURE
Prioritising her own well-being has been a big motivator for Kell, who is neurodivergent and struggled with the 9-to-5 office job and felt an urge to work outside. Working with the land has helped manage her eco-anxiety and enabled her to develop a quality of life where she feels she is living better, doing good work and loving what she does. Kell runs sessions in growing, propagating and foraging walks, passing on her generational knowledge of the land – always ensuring this learning is affordable and accessible for everyone. She’s seen how the well-being of others has benefitted from being out in nature, observing how an invitation to volunteer can be the incentive people need to get outdoors – the result being a boost to their mental and physical health.
“Lots of people are struggling. If people know they’ve got a space they can come to, maybe they will come out. People really benefit from the space; they come and have a good time,” Kell tells us. For her, it’s the human connection and learning that’s one of the best things about growing.
EXPLORE
When asked about the long term vision, Kell says “to be able to feed the whole estate”. There are plans to scale up the growing to be able to set up a veg box subscription that would subsidise free or low cost food boxes for those that need it. Carbon sequestration is a topic Kell is passionate and knowledgeable about; she can list endless ways the garden incidentally sequesters carbon already. Another avenue to explore is offering sections of the land to businesses to offset their carbon footprint and help generate income for the garden. However, this is a plan to tread carefully as keeping the space accessible to the community is the number one priority for Kell and the team.
AMPLIFY
Kell talked about how we need to value volunteers and give more praise to their effort, work and contribution. At times there is unnecessary tension between doers on the ground sharing their knowledge and skills for free and the third sector adopting a profit-making mentality when collaboration is key. For a lot of community groups, funding is not easily accessible. Devolving funds to the communities that know best their needs would be a more effective way of working.
CELEBRATE
When we asked Kell what she was most proud of, she replied “planting 70 trees in the park because planting a tree is leaving a legacy”. These trees will help the planet, absorbing carbon and improving soil quality and become a public orchard, providing fruit for free for everyone for years to come.
One tip for someone starting out…
“Just do it. You can always take it away if someone doesn’t like it. As the saying goes, ‘better to ask for forgiveness than permission’” – Kell
