Incredible Edible Prestwich and District- Right to Grow
Andrew from Incredible Edible Prestwich and District approached Bury VCFA for support with their topic paper for the ‘Right to Grow’ in Bury. The ‘Right to Grow’ will allow local community groups to use public spaces to grow fruit and vegetables. The Incredible Edible movement aims to encourage more people to get involved with growing food and connecting with nature where they live. At present, the council reviews growing projects on public land on a case-by-case basis. Getting the Right to Grow will speed up this process as local groups can select from a list of pre-approved growing spaces before starting a new project.
Andrew from Incredible Edible Prestwich and District approached Bury VCFA in May 2024 for support with his topic paper on the Right to Grow. At this initial stage, Andrew was looking for evidence to support the local demand for the Right to Grow in the Bourgh of Bury. Katherine from the Bury VCFA Capacity Building team assisted Andrew with mapping local green groups across Bury in addition to providing details on local organisations running food-centred projects.
Andrew was able to use this information to build a case for the Right to Grow in Bury and presented the evidence to the Bury Council’s Environment, Climate Change and Operations meeting. With the evidence provided by Katherine, Andrew demonstrated how the Right to Grow could address food insecurity, promote community cohesion, and enhance environmental sustainability in Bury.
“Right to Grow now has broad support from the leader of Bury Council to volunteers from local green community groups. I recently presented the initiative at the Council’s Environment, Climate Change and Operations meeting and it received unanimous support.” – Andrew, Incredible Edible Prestwich and District
Andrew will be working with Bury VCFA for the next stage of the project which is mapping suitable green spaces across Bury for new growing projects. These spaces will then be pre-approved by the council for groups to use for the next growing season.
if you’re interested in finding out more about the ‘Right to Grow’, Incredible Edible Prestwich & District have created this fantastic explainer video. You can also visit their website here to find out more about how you can get involved with the group.
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