Appletree Allotment and Community Garden

Wakefield, United Kingdom

City population: 330254

Duration: 2015 – ongoing

Implementation status: Ongoing

Scale: Sub-microscale: Street scale (including buildings)

Project area: unknown

Type of area: Residential

Last updated: October 2021

Appletree is an outdoor community resource, where people of all ages and from all walks of life, get together to grow e.g. fruit, and contribute to developing and maintaining the area. The growing space and garden are divided into different areas, offering a range of gardening experience. The community also contributes to their permaculture, wildlife and wildflower areas. The community is constantly planting and regenerating areas of the garden. (Ref. 1)

Appletree Allotment and Community Garden (2017)

Sharon Darwell, retrieved 08/18/2018

Overview

Nature-based solution

Community gardens and allotments
Allotments
Community gardens

Key challenges

Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Green space creation and/or management
Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
Environmental education
Social justice and equity
Social cohesion
Social interaction
Health and well-being (SDG 3)
Enabling opportunities for physical activity
Improving physical health
Creation of opportunities for recreation
Cultural heritage and cultural diversity
Promotion of cultural diversity
Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
Sustainable production

Focus

Creation of new green areas, Knowledge creation and awareness raising, Other

Project objectives

As part of the City's 'Health and Wellbeing board', the overall mission for Appletree allotment and community garden is improving health and wellbeing for people in Wakefield. (Ref. 3) The Appletree community offers e.g. gardening experience (which includes contributing to permaculture, wildlife and wildflower areas). (Ref. 1)

Implementation activities

Mainly work on organic principals (the fruit and vegetables are pesticide free). Trying to foster an environmentally friendly ethos and take care of the wildlife on site (e.g. through creating and insect house and a hedgehog home made by one of the volunteers). (Ref. 5) Offers community harvest, basic gardening courses, run special projects with school (to involve schoolchildren in creative activities with natural materials), and has major projects with local businesses throughout the year. (Ref. 1) Also, “there are lots of allotment based activities available from weeding the raised beds (there's also hardstanding between the raised beds to allow wheelchair access), planting, potting up, harvesting etc to more physical challenges such as digging and clearing.” (Ref. 2) Their homepage states " We’re an outdoor community garden in Agbrigg, Wakefield, offering a spacious and vibrant place for people of all ages and walks of life to come together, to be outdoors, and to grow and enjoy organic fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers. Appletree is open to everyone, whether you’d like to learn new skills or share existing ones, meet new people, or simply enjoy being out of doors in an emotionally uplifting and friendly green garden space." (Ref 11)

Main beneficiaries

Citizens or community groups
Marginalized groups: People with functional diversities
Food producers and cultivators (i.e. farmers, gardeners)
Young people and children
Other

Governance

Management set-up

Co-governance with government and non-government actors

Type of initiating organisation

Local government/municipality

Participatory approaches/ community involvement

Dissemination of information and education
Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
Co-management/Joint management
Citizen oversight (e.g. boards, advisory)

Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project

Appletrees allotment and community garden is a governmental organization (and allotment committee), where Wakefield Council’s Street Scene Services is responsible for the management of allotments. (Ref. 4, 2) The organization includes citizens, volunteers and corporates with e.g. local schools and businesses in projects. (Ref. 1, 2)

Project implemented in response to ...

... an EU policy or strategy? Unknown

... a national policy or strategy? Yes (The Health and Social Care Act (through the Wakefield Health and Wellbeing Board). Appletree Allotment and community garden is part of this (created by the "staff within the Health Improvement team at Wakefield Council"). (Ref. 3, 2) )

... a local policy or strategy? Yes (The Health and Wellbeing Strategy for Wakefield 2013-2016 (Ref 3))

Financing

Total cost

Unknown

Source(s) of funding

Public local authority budget
Other

Type of funding

Donations
Membership or entrance fees
Other

Non-financial contribution

Type of non-financial contribution

Provision of labour
Exchange of services

Who provided the non-financial contribution?

Citizens (e.g. volunteering)

Impacts and Monitoring

Environmental impacts

Climate change
Strengthened capacity to address climate hazards/natural disasters
Green space and habitat
Increased green space area
Increased number of species present

Economic impacts

Increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
Generation of income from NBS

Socio-cultural impacts

Social justice and cohesion
Improved social cohesion
Increased access to healthy/affordable food
Health and wellbeing
Improved physical health
Improved mental health
Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
Cultural heritage and sense of place
Promotion of cultural diversity
Improvement in people’s connection to nature
Increased awareness of flora and fauna as culturally and historically meaningful
Increased appreciation for natural spaces
Education
Increased support for education and scientific research
Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
Increased awareness of NBS and their benefits
Other

Type of reported impacts

Expected impacts, Achieved impacts

Presence of formal monitoring system

Unknown

Presence of indicators used in reporting

No evidence in public records

Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports

No evidence in public records

Availability of a web-based monitoring tool

No evidence in public records

References

Ref. 1. Wakefield Council (n.d.) Appletree Allotment and Community Garden. Healthy Wakefield. Information obtained: 2017-07-10. [Website not available in 2020]
Ref. 2. Nova (2015) Appletree Community Allotment and Garden, Agbrigg. News. Information obtained: 2017-07-10. Source: Source link [Accessed 28 September 2020]
Ref. 3. Wakefield Council (n.d.) Health and Wellbeing Board. Public health. Information obtained: 2017-07-10. Source: Source link [Accessed 28 September 2020]
Ref. 4. Wakefield Council (2013) The Allotments Policy. Street Scene Services. Source: Source link [Accessed 28 September 2020]
Ref. 5. Appletree Allotment & Community Garden (2017) Environment. About us. Information obtained: 2017-07-10. Source: Source link [Updated in 2020. Accessed 28 September 2020]
Ref. 6. Wakefield Council (2010) Wakefield Green Infrastructure Plan. Source: Source link [Accessed 28 September 2020]
Ref. 7. Wakefield Council (2014) Allotment handbook. Source: Source link [Accessed 28 September 2020]
Ref. 8. Incredible Edible Wakefield (2015) What future for allotments in the Wakefield District? Source: Source link [Accessed 28 September 2020]
Ref. 9. Facebook (2020) Appletree Allotment and Community Garden. Source: Source link [Accessed 28 September 2020]
Ref. 10. Appletree Allotment & Community Garden (2020) Community Harvest. Source: Source link [Accessed 28 September 2020]
Ref. 11. Appletree Allotment & Community Garden (2020) Mini Growers. Source: Source link [Accessed 28 September 2020]
Ref. 12. Appletree Allotment & Community Garden (2020) Home. Source: Source link [Accessed 28 September 2020]

Appletree Allotment and Community Garden

Sharon Darwell, retrieved 08/18/2018

Community Meal at the Appletree Allotment and Community Garden (2016)

Sharon Darwell, retrieved 08/18/2018