We're visiting community groups and youth project participants across the UK to learn about the wonderful ways they are using their Grow Wild grants.
Gaia and Chloe kicked off the visits with a trip to Sheffield and Leeds, where they were met by inspiring people making a difference for local people and wildlife.
Joe’s Wild Garden at Zest
Our first stop was the Alder Bar in Sheffield to meet the Percy Street Collective team, who are supporting Joe with his project, “Joe’s Wild Garden”.
Joe showed us the amazing work he had done on a previous project at the Alder Bar, where they created an impressive herb garden. He named all the different species of plants he had grown, and it was incredible to see how many different foods they could grow in such a small space. They gave us a lunch made from a harvest there, which included mint tea, tomatoes, lettuce, spring onions, edible flowers, and the sweetest peas we’d ever tasted!
Next, we were taken to the Zest Community Center, where a disused corner of the center’s peace garden is the focus of Joe’s new project. The area had already been cleared, and we met Trish, who works there, who expressed her happiness at seeing the space in the garden being transformed.
This project is particularly special due to Joe’s family connection to Kew Gardens. His great-great-great-grandfather worked for Sir Joseph Hooker, director of RBG Kew from 1865, and was sent to work at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Trinidad. Inspired by this family history, Joe has used Google Maps to shape his plans to look like a part of the garden in Trinidad.
Chloe and Gaia met the people involved in 'Joe's Wild Garden'
Joe explained his vision for the garden to us, and the Percy Street team also discussed some challenges with the space, such as its large slope and awkwardly placed trees. However, the team is working hard to find ways to work around these challenges and transform this corner of Sheffield. The team finished by putting up a poster in the Zest Center to inform the community about the project underway and spread the word about Joe’s Youth Project.
Nether Edge and Sharrow Sustainable Transformation (NESST)
Next, we visited Nether Edge and Sharrow Sustainable Transformation (NESST) at their Woodhead Road Wildlife Garden. Despite the rain it was smiles all round as some of the group members showed us around the huge (almost 100m2) council planter that they are reviving with help from a Grow Wild grant.
NESST volunteers standing in front of the large planter they are transforming.
NESST are planting a wildlife garden with native flowering plants, shrubs and a tree, to create a haven for invertebrates, birds and night flying insects.
They enlisted the help of horticulturalist, Fran Halsall, to design the planter, which includes different sections for various kinds of plants: tall herbaceous mix; spring bulbs and late flowers; wildlife attracting herbs; two woodland wildflower areas; and a native meadow mix.
The planter is in the centre of the city, with lots of large roads nearby and a football stadium right across the road. On match days, thousands of people walk past the planter – no doubt the project will have a huge impact on the community and visitors to the area.
The group are part of a NESST project to survey and support sparrows in the Nether Edge area of Sheffield, part of which involves growing plants to increase the number of insects which sparrows rely on for food. They wish to grow the project in coming years to create green corridors branching out from the planter across the city.
A top tip from one NESST volunteer: spread chilli powder paste mixed with water around young plants to keep foxes away!
Which native species has NESST planted?
Some of the native species planted by NESST are: wavy hair grass (Deschampsia flexuosa), foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), primrose (Primula vulgaris), wood sage (Teucrium scorodonia), dog violet (Viola riviniana), quaking grass (Briza media), greater knapweed (Centaurea scabiosa), wild carrot (Daucus carrota), viper’s bugloss (Echium vulgare), Lady's bedstraw (Galium verum), common toadflax (Linaria vulgaris), musk mallow (Malva moschata), selfheal (Pr, devil's bit scabious (Succisa pratensis), dark mullein (Verbascum nigrum), heartsease (Viola tricolor).
Leeds Piano Trail
The next day we headed to Leeds to find out more about the Piano Trail Festival being created as part of Leeds International Piano Competition’s Grow Wild project.
Chloe and Gaia met the Pianodrome team and community growing groups from across Leeds and Bradford to help transform Pianos into planters.
Ten community gardening groups all over Leeds and Bradford are in the process of creating planters by taking the insides out of upright and grand pianos, to be filled with pollinating plants, flowers and vegetables. These beautiful pieces of public art will be spread throughout the centre of Leeds during the Festival in September to convey an important biodiversity message.
We were lucky to meet some of the groups creating planters for the festival.
Firstly, Sally introduced us to Caroline from Incredible Edible Meanwood, one of the groups involved in the piano planter project. They are creating an edible planter with vegetables, fruits, and edible wildflowers such as chamomile. The group has also collaborated with arts and crafts group Stitch-Up, who are making insects out of the inside bits of pianos in their after-school club.
Caroline, leader of the Incredible Edible Meanwood planter project, is passionate about showcasing the connection between food growing and biodiversity:
“I think that historically we used to think that conservation was a separate thing to food growing, you know, and for me, really, it's the same thing. We can grow an abundance of food and have a biodiverse garden that's great for wildlife and great for everyone, basically!”
Caroline, Sally and Chloe at Incredible Edible Meanwood’s community garden, at Meanwood Community Centre.
We also met Beth, who is leading the creation of the piano planter for Bedfield Community Forest Garden, creating an edible forest garden in their piano planter, demonstrating six of the seven layers of an edible forest garden.
Edible forest gardens consist of trees, shrubs, herbs, flowers, and vegetables creating a self-sustaining, biodiverse and productive ecosystem.
Part of the space at Bedfield Community Forest Garden, Leeds.
Leeds University’s Grand Grassland piano has already been planted up with native wildflowers to create a mini piano meadow, led by Seb Stroud. Seb is carrying out work on a project creating mini meadows to reduce carbon emissions and provide habitats for flora and fauna.
Species in the piano meadow include yellow rattle, wild carrot, and bird’s foot trefoil, all waiting to bloom.
The piano planter at Leeds University
The final stop on our tour of the Piano Trail preparation was a piano dissection workshop at Besbrodes Pianos in Leeds, where the Pianodrome team are helping groups to turn pianos into planters – harder work than you’d expect!
It was inspiring to see everyone gathered to give so many pianos a new lease of life in such creative ways.
Loosening each string to take out the tuning pins
Grow Wild will continue to visit groups receiving Grow Wild support throughout the summer. It is always inspiring to meet the people involved and share the wonderful work they're doing for biodiversity and their communities!
