Our story
Grow Batheaston was formed by an enthusiastic group of Batheaston residents and became a registered charity in 2023, securing a footing to continue and expand our activities.
We saw a need to do something and to encourage people to grow more for themselves at home, reduce food poverty, cook local organic produce, reduce food miles and also look for unused spaces around the village that we could try and take on.
Early on we gave out seedling boxes for free, many of which were to residents that had never tried to grow anything before. We then had 1500 letters printed and delivered to approx. 1300 households in the village with a colouring-in competition on the back of the letters and each of the winners got a seedling box, most entries were from children in the village. This helped to grow our following on social media and spread the word about the initiative.
Working together with Curo (Housing Association) and BANES we then arranged to do some fruit and nut tree planting around the Elmhurst / Catherine Way estate as our first initiative to be followed up with other edible planting as funds allowed.
We aim to grow connections in the community between different areas and age groups, sharing skills, and encouraging physical and mental health, in time creating employment opportunities. We are also hoping to secure some land to start a community-supported agriculture scheme.
Our advice
Funding can take considerable time to come through so start applications as soon as possible!
Try and share the load and look at other projects and providers as you may be able to link in with them.
Finding out who owns what land can be tricky and takes time, so plan ahead so your organisation can continue to grow as more people get involved.
Our Changeprint
Our Changeprint can be measured by the increasing number of residents growing more of their own food and buying ethically; better community connections; and improvements in local biodiversity.
