Incredible Edible Todmorden

http://www.incredible-edible-todmorden.co.uk/

Imagine waiting at the train station for your commute home, feeling peckish, and simply grabbing a piece of fruit from a tree right off the side of the platform. Implausible? Not in the Lancashire town of Todmorden. For nearly three years the town's residents, young and old, have been busy taking over carparks, grass verges, graveyards, pavements and schoolyards and turning them into edible landscapes.

Pam explains how it all works

The efforts are led by a loose coalition of residents who have challenged the established notions of what physical changes people can create in the public realm. After an initial 'guerrilla-gardening' appropriation of open spaces for food growing, the initiators started approaching both public sector and private landowners for permission to plant on their unused grounds.

No formal membership is required to start growing, but Todmorden residents are encouraged to farm wherever and whenever they can. All the town's schools and several public and private bodies are engaged in the campaign. Schools now grow food in raised beds and polytunnels and involve students in harvesting and preparation of produce. The local health centre has started an 'apothecary garden', and one housing association has launched its own Edible Pennine initiative, offering tenants a free starter pack with seeds and advice.

The scheme is a virtuous cycle: the improvements in the physical environment make residents proud of their town, which in turn has generated further support for resident-led public realm activities.