How We Grew Our Own Community (Part 2)

Suzy Glaskie, 40, runs Peppermint PR. She’s married with three children and lives in Manchester.

I’d almost given up hope when I got a call saying a plot was available. But it was 130 square metres and I realised I couldn’t manage it by myself and, even if I could, there would be surplus produce.

“My allotment was too big for me – then I had the idea of getting my staff involved”

That’s when I came up with the idea of sharing it with my colleagues. I run a PR agency with 20 staff, and am always trying to come up with quirky team-building exercises. We’ve done Legs, Bums and Tums, and alternative therapies, so why not gardening?

Initial reactions were bewilderment, then interest. Living in a city centre, many of my staff didn’t have gardens, so this was a first chance to have a go at growing their own. And the more seasoned gardeners could share their knowledge.

Our first team outing to the allotment was one Friday afternoon last March, to prepare the soil for planting. Six of us piled into a couple of cars with spades and trowels that I provided, and I bought everyone a pair of gardening gloves too. Fortunately, it was a sunny day and everyone was eager to get going. Some of the neighbouring allotments were being tended to by retirees, who didn’t know what to say when our group of glamorous women, aged 22 to 40, turned up, all kitted out in colourful willies and even ballet pumps!

We spent three hours turning over the ground and digging in manure. Everyone was laughing and even though our muscles were aching by the end of it, we all felt relaxed and invigorated.

After that, I scheduled morning or afternoon allotment sessions into the diary and most people were happy to get involved, although it’s not something I enforce. We sowed seeds for salad leaves, and beans and potatoes, which I brought along – as it’s my allotment, I like to cover any costs.

Since we started we’ve added squashes, fruit bushes, sweet peas and more, and there’s also a small greenhouse where we grow tomatoes and cucumbers. People pick what they want while they are there, and I’ll often bring a trug of vegetables into the office to share. We also have fresh flowers from the allotment on our window sills.

Having the allotment has really changed the way my company works. It’s given us a common purpose that’s not work-related, which has brought us closer together. Our best ideas and brainstorming sessions often come from being in the great outdoors!

Sarah Cruz, 46, is a graphic designer. She is married with two children and lives in Chiswick, London.

A Chiswick Bridge in London

A couple of years ago, my neighbour put a note through my door to say he had too many jars of homemade honey and did I know anyone who would like them? A week later, my other neighbor offered me apples from their tree. I realised they weren’t the only ones with surplus produce. The streets and gardens of Chiswick were full of trees and bushes with fruit that would fall each autumn and go to waste on the ground.

I came across a group in Sheffield called Abundance, which collected excess fruit and redistributed it throughout the community, and I decided to set up a similar project in Chiswick. A friend, Karen Liebreich, had been involved in a charitable venture to teach children how to grow their own and suggested combining the two – inviting primary school children to lend a hand with the fruit picking during the week then letting adults volunteer at weekends. We both work flexible hours so hard time to coordinate it together.

I then put a post on the Chiswick community website to see if anyone had fruit trees that needed picking and was overwhelmed by the response – retired couples who couldn’t physically manage to pick and busy professionals who didn’t have the time were just some of the types who contacted me.

We put together an information pack, which we distributed to nearby schools. Two immediately said they’d like to participate and now we work with six, and have another six on our waiting list.

Our first organised pick took place in September 2010. We took a group of 15 children, aged five to ten – including our own, which was lovely – to an elderly couple’s garden to pick Bramley apples from three big trees.

At first I sold the apples at farmers’ markets, giving the money to the tree owners, or to charities. But as interest increased I was picking from up to eight gardens a week, so I approached local restaurants to see if they’d buy the fruit from me at wholesale price. That proved really popular and we now regularly see “Abundance apple pie” on the menu.

Now we pick other fruits as well – pears, quince, mulberries, damsons or whatever is in season. Volunteers turn some of it into jam or we bake with it, or press it to make juices that we sell at food fairs. Every October we host a gathering with stalls and entertainment to thank everyone for their support.

Picking fruit is such a simple concept but it really can make a difference. It has given residents in Chiswick a reason to come together and it’s great to see people from all walks of life getting together and having fun.