Growing food can do so much more than fill a plate.
It can bring people together, improve our health, help wildlife, build skills and confidence, and make us feel more connected to the places where we live.
That is the idea behind Grow Your Own Cheltenham – a new project bringing together the people, groups and spaces across Cheltenham that are interested in growing. We are working with other local growers who are passionate about working in harmony with nature to bring this to life.
Across the town, wonderful things are already happening. People are growing food on allotments, in community gardens, school grounds, churchyards, front gardens and back gardens. Seeds are being swapped, compost is being made, vegetables are being shared and knowledge is being passed on.
But these projects and people are often quite disconnected from one another.
Grow Your Own Cheltenham aims to change that.
The project is about helping people find each other, share ideas and build on what is already happening. We want to celebrate the people who are already growing, while making it easier for more people to get involved – whether they have a large allotment, a tiny patio, a few pots on a balcony or no growing space at all.
Grow Your Own Cheltenham sits within our Roots & Shoots theme, which focuses on the connection between growing food, caring for nature and building community.
We know that food growing can support wildlife as well as people. A veg patch full of flowers can be buzzing with pollinators. Composting helps improve soil health. Growing organically can reduce the use of chemicals. Fruit trees, herbs and flowering vegetables can all play a role in making Cheltenham greener and more resilient.
At the same time, growing your own can help people feel more hopeful and more connected. It is practical, hands-on and rewarding. In a world that can sometimes feel overwhelming, planting a seed and watching it grow is a small but powerful thing.
Over time, we hope Grow Your Own Cheltenham will include:
- opportunities for people to meet and share ideas
- visits to local growing spaces
- practical workshops and talks
- sharing skills such as seed saving, composting and wildlife-friendly growing
- helping people find local groups, allotments and projects
- connecting food growing with our wider work on Cheltenham Gardens for Nature
We are already beginning to explore some of these ideas.
We are especially interested in how we can make growing more accessible and connected across Cheltenham. There may be opportunities to create more community growing spaces, share surplus produce and seeds, support people who are new to growing, and bring together the many brilliant people who are already doing this.
Ultimately, Grow Your Own Cheltenham is not just about growing food. It is about growing community, confidence and a greener future for Cheltenham.
If you are already growing, or would like to, we invite you to join our friendly Facebook group.
If you have always wanted to start growing, perhaps this is the year.
