Edible Estates* is an initiative of Re:Solution to work with communities to regenerate the greenspace in and around housing estates to create opportunities for food growing. These greenspaces provide a huge opportunity to encourage and support local residents to become involved in their local community, learn new skills, and improve their health & well-being, by growing fruit and vegetables.
The key components of an Edible Estates project are:-
- Re-thinking Greenspace within a social housing estate as an opportunity to create diverse and edible landscapes which promote Personal and Community Well-being.
- Setting up of a Community Growing & Teaching Hub in the heart of the neighbourhood to provide a place for households to access Grow Your Own Courses and have their own raised bed.
- Encouraging & supporting households to establish growing spaces throughout the neighbourhood in their own tenement gardens.
- Creating wildlife habitat and ‘Edible Landscapes‘ by establishing wildflower meadows and forest gardens.
- Working with the community and local area partners to establish an Edible Estates Association for the neighbourhood to network and support households interested in growing and to provide a forum for the ongoing roll out of the project.
These ideas have been developed at our two most recent projects Sunshine On Leith Gardens and Lochend Secret Garden.
Our aspiration is to establish projects which are delivered and managed by the communities they serve, that provide a demonstration of what is possible and equip the participants with the skills and knowledge to take their project on. Find out how we go about doing this in How We Work >
* Edible Estates is a term first coined by Fritz Haeg an architect/activist involved in the creation edible landscapes in the urban context, for more information see his website www.fritzhaeg.com.