First 50 Growing Hope kits given out at Grange Pavilion!
The first 50 Growing Hope kits were given out at Grange Pavilion on Saturday 26th March at the launch of their Climate Action Café. The staff and volunteers at Grange Gardens did a fantastic job of providing refreshments, cake and food kits to visitors and there was an excellent turnout! Hats off to the volunteers for organising this event, which aimed to raise the issue of what is happening to our climate and how we can all do our bit to help. Visitors were able to see demonstrations of how our climate has warmed dramatically in recent years and the effect this was having on our planet. The first guest speaker, Dr Rhys Jones is a wildlife presenter and associate professor at Cardiff University. He shared a spine chilling story of his quest to find Snow Voles in the peaks of the Dolomite mountains in Italy. Sadly, due to a rise in Co2 and temperature in the region, the Snow Vole has been driven to local extinction by the more resilient Field Vole.
Next to speak was former Wales rugby player, Richard Parks. Richard is now an extreme endurance athlete and TV Presenter and told the story of his solo expedition to Antarctica in December 2019, which had to be cut short due to the unexpected weather conditions that the changing climate had contributed to. Another poignant reminder of the dramatic changes that have already taken place.
Edible Cardiff are pleased to be supporting the Grange Gardens staff and volunteers with their valuable work in the community.
Edible Cardiff Winter/ Spring gathering - February 2022
Thanks to everyone that come out to our first Edible Cardiff gathering of 2022! Here's a little run down of what went on:
We had 25 people there plus Edible Cardiff staff. We held the first part outside and Isla and Claire (Grow Cardiff) told us all about the Dusty Forge Community Garden and an overview of how the social prescribing element works. There was a chance for people to ask questions on this before having a wander around the garden.
People were given the opportunity to offer help or ask for help before we moved inside for an update on what Edible Cardiff has been up to. We (Edible Cardiff) gave an update on the Plot to Pantry project and opportunities to apply for small grants, growing kits and plug plants for the Spring Festival.
We told the group about an exciting new project being planned for a rooftop garden in Cardiff Bay and they were invited to provide some input and feedback to BIC Innovation, who are carrying out the research project on behalf of Cardiff Council.
We watched a presentation by Buglife and heard all about the Pollinator Pledge and how to get involved.
The network was keen to talk about seeds and how organic seeds could be bought in bulk and distributed for a reduced cost to those wanting to use organic seed but finding the cost of purchasing them prohibitive. We also talked about setting up a seed swap event in Cardiff next year and running a seed saving practical workshop later on this year.
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