Circle 33 residents join forces to create new Kitchen Garden at Priory Court

Local residents dig deep for community spirit - new kitchen garden created at Priory Court

More than 40 local residents took a leaf out of Charlie Dimmock’s book and joined forces to create a new Kitchen Garden at Priory Court Community Centre in Walthamstow, and are calling for more residents to get involved.

The garden was created at a one day Gardening Event, organised by Circle 33 Housing Trust part of Circle Anglia - one of the UK's leading providers of affordable housing.

Circle 33 worked in partnership with Organic Lea, a Lea Valley food growing cooperative, Growing Concerns, a community based gardening & landscaping team and the Forest Recycling Project to create the event which introduced residents to the joys of gardening, growing their own food and creating tasty culinary delights with the harvest.

Green fingered residents discovered how to grow flowers and vegetables and those without a green patch learnt how they could make the most of windows and balconies using plant pots and containers, which they took home afterwards.

During the sunny afternoon, residents took part in ‘Chop and Change’ cooking sessions, on how to prepare their delicious garden harvest and learnt more about healthy eating, nutrition and weight management.

To create the new community Kitchen Garden, residents planted sweetcorn, salad, beans, courgettes and different herbs at a new plot at the back of the community centre. It will be maintained by the users of the community centre and is designed to bring residents closer together and improve the overall quality of life on the estate.

Jackie Bickmore, mother of four children, said: “The kitchen garden is going to be great as it gives us the change to grow our own veg and save some money which is always good. My family likes to eat healthily, but I sometimes get stuck for ideas so I was really pleased to come away with some great simple recipes that I can try at home.

"Hopefully other residents will also join us and get involved in keeping the garden going – it will be good to meet even more people from the estate.”

Sussan Rassoulie, Community Development Partnership Manager for Circle 33 Housing Trust, said: “Gardening is good for the soul. This is a great opportunity for us to give residents a helping hand with their outdoor spaces on the estate, it is fascinating what you can achieve with little knowledge about gardening, the results are certainly rewarding.

"The event was a great success and it was fun to watch residents discovering their talent for gardening and taking part in all the different activities. We hope the ‘Kitchen Garden’ will continue to be a success and are looking forward to see it see it flourish in the hands of our residents.”

Residents interested in being part of the ‘Kitchen Garden’ maintenance team, can contact Sussan Rassoulie on phone 020 7447 3067 or email sussan.rassoulie@circleanglia.org. Everyone is welcome.

The Gardening Extravaganza came to life with the support of Organic Lea, a Lea Valley food growing cooperative, Growing Concerns, a community based gardening & landscaping team, part of Old Ford Housing Association, and the Forest Recycling Project.

It is part of Big Lottery funded Activate London Programme which is designed to enhance wellbeing in communities of need. The programme has three specific priorities; eating healthily, improving physical activity levels and sound mental health.