Community gardens and groups are pulling together to encourage Aberdeen residents to get involved in food growing and enjoy the outdoors.
The Community Garden Festival was held last year to show Aberdeen residents the hidden treasures around the city.
The festival will return next week with 13 venues delivering 49 different events across Aberdeen.
Cfine has been coordinating the festival through Granite City Good Food, with the support of Aberdeen City Council, and working alongside community gardens and growing groups to encourage food growing.
Over the course of the week, the public will be able to enjoy exploring the community gardens and take part in a number of events across the city.
There will be cooking demonstrations, workshops and even a photography competition, as well as a number of family interactive activities.
The festival will also feature movie showings and yoga in some of the gardens so people with no interest in growing can benefit from the community green space.
Rebecca Dunn, Cfine’s community growing development worker, said: “People have come up with all sorts of ideas, like using the space not just as a garden, like having film showings or doing some yoga.
“It’s a good way to get people interacting with the space and figuring out different ways the garden can be a place for them.
“Community gardens start to become about more than gardening – they’re places people can go and meet to feel a part of the community.”
Increasing food security
It is hoped to encourage more people to grow their own food and participate in community events.
Martin Carle, sustainable food coordinator, coordinates Granite City Good Food and the Sustainable Food Places Partnership for Cfine.
He explained the festival is all about people discovering the “power” of food growing, increasing food security for some.
Mr Carle said: “People knowing and understanding about community growing, and how food growing can increase food security and how it can be a real social opportunity, showing everything community growing and a community garden can do for you.
“I think it’s exciting to think about the prospect of people discovering that potentially for the first time, or rediscovering that.”
Miss Dunn also highlighted the festival encourages people to take part in outdoor activities, which can be beneficial for physical and mental wellbeing, improve dietary habits and boost peoples’ self-esteem.
Living in the city can mean some people do not have access to gardens, meaning they cannot reap the benefits of gardening unless they take part in community growing.
However, some of the community gardens are “tucked away” or people may not realise they can also take part.
She said: “The festival is an opportunity for people to find out about places that could be right next door to them or across the street from them but they’ve not really engaged with before.
“It’s just kind of that lightbulb moment of realising there is something there they can take part in and enjoy.”
Big Food Appeal
As part of our Big Food Appeal, the Press and Journal and Evening Express have been working to highlight initiatives like Cfine helping our communities.
We have been reporting on the cost-of-living crisis, threatening households right to the brink, while our appeal aims to help charities and volunteers with their vital work.
We have also been making sure those in our communities know where to get help when they need as well as dispelling misconceptions around accessing emergency food.
The festival will run from August 8 until August 14 at gardens across the city – which can be found on the interactive map.
Details of events, including if they need to be booked, and partners are listed on the festival’s brochure.
Conversation