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Declaration of independence by a town that grows its own
WHEN a group of green fingered residents in the border town of Todmorden decided to start a grow your own campaign, not everyone was convinced it would work.
Some people scoffed at the idea of a self-sufficiency drive, dismissing it as little more than a fad that had about as much chance of lasting as a doughnut in Homer Simpson's fridge.
But during the past six months the Incredible Edible Todmorden initiative has blossomed, transforming the town's landscape and becoming a catalyst for other communities keen to produce their own food. The scheme is the brainchild of cafe owner Pam Warhurst who, along with her friend Mary Clear, got the ball rolling back in February.
It started off with a few people planting fruit and vegetables, such as rhubarb and chard, in public spaces but has since taken off in a way few imagined possible. As well as being given 7,000 towards creating an orchard by the Community Foundation for Calderdale, there are now allotment projects underway in six local schools, while Calderdale Council recently agreed to start running business land management courses at Todmorden High School.
Not only that but Incredible Edible Todmorden has also submitted a 700,000 bid for lottery cash to help fund an organic fish farm at the school, which, if it gets the go-ahead, could help to provide a ready-supply of fish and vegetables for people in the town.
The scheme even attracted the attention of culinary crusader Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, who featured Todmorden on his River Cottage TV series and described the project not only as a celebration of good, local produce, but a "blueprint for making life better in every town in Britain".
Dr Nick Green, treasurer of Incredible Edible Todmorden, has been at the forefront of the campaign to plant apple trees and approached Calderdale Council about turning two unwanted football pitches into an orchard. "They couldn't let us have the fields, but they agreed to let us have the area around the edges and in February we're going to plant 500 trees."
And they've been helped by a fruit tree specialist from the Royal Horticultural Society who has shown them "grafting" techniques. "This allows you to effectively splice any variety of apples you want and in the long term we want to grow an orchard with our own plants and get the youngsters involved so that they can say, 'I grew that tree'."
What's happening in Todmorden is more than just some politically right-on eco project involving a few hippies, it has galvanised people from all walks of life.
"There are lots of people who've been quietly growing things in their own backyards for years. I was in a hardware shop not long ago and I got talking to a guy who said he'd had an allotment for 30 years and was now growing an orchard round the back of one of our local cricket clubs.
"We've also got the Probation Service helping us de-bramble some of the land, and if just one young offender becomes passionate about growing fruit trees, then that would be brilliant."
What makes this initiative different from most others is the number of people who are getting involved.
"There's always been an independent spirit about Todmorden and this project is all about encouraging people to take the initiative, rather than waiting to be given permission," explains Nick.
Mary Clear, a Todmorden In Bloom volunteer, says their inaugural harvest festival in September proved how popular it was. "We had no idea that 400 people would turn up and bring food they had grown themselves. There were berries grown by the roadside, beekeepers brought their honey and we even had local meat producers, it was amazing."
There are some ambitious plans in the pipeline. In January, Incredibly Edible Todmorden is launching Every Egg Matters,
a campaign which one day hopes to ensure that every egg eaten in the town is grown locally.
Campaigners are also working with Salford University to create a viable model that allows public and private landowners to entrust tracts of land to people to grow food on.
"At times like this, when we're in a recession, the ability to grow your own food becomes even more important," says Mary. "Which is why we've been going out and talking to other communities and local parish councils to show them how they can do it. Because this isn't about creating an empire for Todmorden, it's about having incredible edible towns everywhere."
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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