Tower Hamlets’ community food growers welcome Samantha Cameron visit

Samantha Cameron today visited a prize-winning group of community food growers in Tower Hamlets, part of the Capital Growth scheme.

Mrs Cameron toured food gardens created by the Rocky Park Urban Growers, on the Teesdale and Hollybush estate in Bethnal Green. She met volunteer residents who are successfully cultivating a thriving food garden, and helped the team to plant new seedlings.

Capital Growth is a community grow-you-own-food scheme in London, with a target to create 2,012 food growing spaces by 2012, and was launched by the Mayor Boris Johnson and London Food Link in 2008. Volunteering is at the heart of the project and since it launched, new research shows that at least 20,000 people are now involved in over 600 Capital Growth plots across the capital. The Rocky Park Urban Growers have recently been singled out as part of the Edible Estates Capital Growth competition targeted at people living in social housing. Residents in the Rocky Park projects have transformed formally neglected spaces previously plagued by anti-social behaviour by involving around 150 residents in growing fruit and veg. As part of this, residents have created raised beds, along with a herb garden used by a local special needs school for play and learning. The growers also have excellent eco-credentials collecting rain water in butts, composting green waste and nearly everything on site is recycled or salvaged from tips.

Samantha Cameron said: ‘Capital Growth want to help Londoners transform the capital by creating 2,012 new food growing spaces by the end of 2012. I hope my visit will raise awareness of the initiative and encourage Londoners to get involved in making the scheme a reality in their own area.’

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London said: 'This fantastic project in Bethnal Green shows how communities working together can reclaim unwanted patches of earth and turn them into food growing oases, all the while getting to know their neighbours. This embodies exactly what the Capital Growth campaign is all about.'

Rosie Boycott, Chair of London Food, said: 'The Rocky Park Urban Growers have shown what can be done to transform neglected spots into thriving, beautiful food growing spaces the whole community can enjoy. More than 20,000 Londoners are now involved in our 600 Capital Growth plots all of which have an inspirational story behind them. We have been thrilled to show off this project to Samantha Cameron.'

Lizzie Noel, the Mayor’s Advisor for Volunteering said: ‘ This estate is a fantastic example of a community galvanised in action to make improvements to their local environment. Volunteering is at the heart of Rocky Park's success and this is something the Mayor wants to help replicate across the capital.'

Margaret Cox of Rocky Park Urban Growers said: ‘The plants we are putting in today are funded by our Edible Estate prize. We are delighted with the visit today and the support, as it will give our new growers a flying start with developing their allotments over the winter months ‘

Rocky Park Urban Growers took part in Capital Growth’s Edible Estates competition designed to find London’s best housing estate food growing gardeners. They were runners up in the ‘best estate category’ which rewarded projects for taking advantage of local resources to develop their garden such as the skills of tenants and recycled materials. It was also chosen for how it changed life in the estate and how it improved relationships with neighbours. Capital Growth also runs a primary schools competition.

Capital Growth sites are in all manner of places across London including schools, on roofs, in skips, in private gardens open to the local community and alongside canals. The project has recently been shortlisted for a prestigious national Green Award.

For more information, visit: www.capitalgrowth.org

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Notes to Editors

Capital Growth is a partnership initiative between London Food Link, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and the Big Lottery’s Local Food Fund. It is championed by the Chair of the London Food Board, Rosie Boycott, and aims to create 2,012 new community food growing spaces across London by the end of 2012. Capital Growth offers practical help, grants, training and support to groups wanting establish community food growing projects as well as advice to landowners. It is funded by the Mayor of London and by the Big Lottery’s Local Food Fund.

Recent evaluation shows there are over 20,000 people who are involved in the 600 + Capital Growth spaces that are registered to the campaign. Over 900 events have been held involving over 12,000 people and a further 348 session involving over 30,000 people.

Rocky Park Urban Growers were runners up in the Best estate garden category of the Edible Estates competition and received £100 B & Q voucher, fruit bushes from Gardening Express, vegetable garden voucher from Rocket Garden and training from the Capital growth team.

There are Capital Growth plots across London. The following 12 London boroughs have formally signed up to Capital Growth campaign Camden, Croydon, Greenwich, Haringey, Islington, Kensington & Chelsea, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Sutton, Tower Hamlets, and Wandsworth.