Welcome, February!

caldmorecommunitygarden Leave a comment

It’s cold and frosty in the garden, but we are still there every Thursday and the good work continues!

Steve has finished the crazy paving around the pond and made an amazing rope fence around it, so we are feeling much safer now! The pond is only missing the plants and some frogs, but for that we will have to wait until March.

10923311_755488964499630_7665329915931922422_n

In the meantime, we are starting to notice first shy signs of nature coming back to life – some snowdrops in the wild corner, daffodil and tulip leaves coming up slowly, ready for the end of February and March…

10947181_752140011501192_3828754299495709202_n

 

See you on Thursday!

Tips for starting a community garden – part 1

caldmorecommunitygarden Leave a comment

Great post by Our Own Organic Gardens. We couldn’t agree more! I would only ask that one should always hope for the best, people will come and will bring their own unique ideas and projects that will push the garden in unexpected directions.
And speaking of practicalities, always try to negotiate the longest lease possible. 7 years may seem like a lot at the beginning but it will be gone before you know it.
Another tip would be: establish links with local schools and organisations. They have the people and their own promotion channels. It is sometimes difficult to fit with their schedules and regulations, but when you make it, it’s worth every minute of effort.

Elliot Lord's avatarOur Own Organic Garden

Yesterday, I went to another Big Lunch Extras (Eden Project) event, which was in Wolverhampton itself. It was another successful day and we had a speaker to talk us through bid writing, which is a difficult process and there are plenty of things we need to know to write them successfully. We also had craft workshops and made things from fabric and lanterns from willow. Both were very good and everyone was engaged in them all afternoon. In the evening we watched the film Project Wild Thing which is about a father who wants to reconnect people with the great outdoors.

IMAG0771

I was introduced to Bethan from Birmingham who wanted to start a community garden and I wanted to give her as much as advice as I could. So I thought it would be useful to write out a blog post to go through some things that will need to…

View original post 1,410 more words

Near Neighbours funding for the garden

caldmorecommunitygarden Leave a comment

near-neighbourslogo

We are really happy to announce that we have received Near Neighbours’ funding for our project Grow-Cook-Make (A Difference Together!)!

Starting from February 2015 we will be working hard to bring various faiths and cultures together around growing, cooking, sharing cultural traditions and doing things together.

Caldmore is a wonderfully multicultural place and we want to celebrate with:

  • sharing diverse cooking traditions – COOKING WORKSHOPS
  • growing food from all around the world – GROWING PROJECT
  • enjoying cultural heritage – OUTDOOR CINEMA IN THE GARDEN
  • learning with and from each other – BUILDING A TANDOORI OVEN AND A BARBECUE
  • making things together, for all ages – ARTS AND CRAFTS AND GRAFFITI WORKSHOPS

So stay tuned, get involved and join us in the garden!

Calling all knitters and crocheters!

caldmorecommunitygarden Leave a comment

tree-poster2Help us to dress a tree in the Community Garden!

Share your talent and donate anything knit or crocheted – can be a granny square, a knit flower or bird, or elaborate piece of needlecraft.

Any items completed by the end of November can be handed to Anna at Caldmore Community Garden, but don’t worry if you run a bit late, we will be continuing the project throughout the year!

If you’re looking for inspiration, visit us on Tuesdays or Thursdays 10-2pm or book a special visit to the garden with Anna (07871813252, caldmoregarden@gmail.com).

In partnership with Inn Stitches.

Wild Fires – October Writing Workshop

caldmorecommunitygarden Leave a comment

wp_20140918_020

Tuesday 28th October, 11am – 2pm.

The second Writers’ Workshop in Caldmore Community Garden looks towards winter, with its shorter days and colder nights, and the fires we burn to keep our spirits bright. We will explore the theme and the garden in relation to each other, and also bring our own thoughts and experiences of the ways we have found to bring light to dark days.

Once again this is a self-contained workshop, free of charge, and writers in any genre and of any experience are welcome. For those who intend to come to more than one workshop, it can be used to develop and add to a growing body of work. If you wish to book, please email David Calcutt at: davidcalcutt@gmail.com.

We will spend about an hour in the garden, and then walk to the White Lion pub, just five minutes away, where the landlord, Colin, will be waiting to greet us with his hearty and very reasonably priced lunch menu. The workshop will continue during and after lunch. In the case of very bad weather the first hour of the workshop will take place in Caldmore Village Hub, in Caldmore Green, just a few minutes walk from the garden.

Caldmore Community Garden can be found in Carless Street, Caldmore, Walsall, which is off Bath Road, facing Caldmore Primary School and backing onto St. Michael’s Church. The postcode is WS1 3RH. There is some parking outside the garden. For those using public transport, the bus number 4M leaves from Bradford Place bus station and takes you to Caldmore Green. The garden is about 3 minutes walk from there. If you’re coming by train and bus, let me know, and I’ll arrange to meet you at Caldmore Green.

More information: http://naturalhistoriesblog.com

NCS with The Challenge – young people working to improve the garden

caldmorecommunitygarden Leave a comment

We’ve been a bit quiet the past few days but so much was happening… We went on an exploratory visit to Sandwell Valley to look for inspirations for a sensory garden and wild area, had a meeting drafting the garden’s constitution, our regular garden day on Thursday, wood chip and top soil deliveries, and most importantly – the visit of 60+ young people from NCS with The Challenge.

It’s incredible how much work they did in little more than 4 hours, building paths, filling them with wood chip, weeding, constructing and painting benches… As a result we now have an accessible picnic bench with wheelchair space (painted forest green), new footpath to the wild area, new ramp and footpath to the decking, new raised beds filled with top soil donated by Hollybush, and wonderfully weed-free beds!

Thank you, it would have taken us months!

And what a day it was! Some photos from our Open Day

caldmorecommunitygarden Leave a comment

What a day!

We’ve had 86 visitors, Good Traditions rocked the garden with its folk repertoire, we still smell of lavender and carry around our lavender sachets, we wrote little pieces about the garden that will inspire our Writer in Residence David Calcutt, the food was gorgeous and even bugs got their hotel!

Thank you all for coming, helping out and supporting the garden. Hope you enjoyed yourselves as much as we did!