Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation and the RHS are joining forces in an innovative community-focused programme to create three new sustainable green spaces in the heart of the town.
It is hoped that the project will ultimately be used as a model for how communities, especially those in low-income areas, can best utilise their public green space for food production and to create affordable and attractive areas, which are a benefit to local wildlife as well as the community.
The project’s three new gardens will include an allotment to demonstrate low-cost gardening, a biodiversity garden, with a focus on encouraging wildlife, and a sustainable garden where the emphasis will be on organic gardening. The gardens will include a number of information boards to supplement the learning and educational elements of the project.
Letchworth Garden City, an eight square mile area in North Hertfordshire, has a relatively high proportion of social housing (33%) compared with the national average of 19%. Part of the original concept of Garden City was creating a community that feeds itself and this aim has been reinvigorated through a growing demand to be self-sufficient due to increased awareness of issues like the distance food travels, the cost of food and the use of chemicals in global food production.
John Lewis, Chief Executive of the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation said: “This is an exciting partnership which will look to deliver beautiful gardens at the heart of Letchworth Garden City’s town centre and lead to a range of projects to promote sustainable gardening in our community.”
Source: RHS – RHS Teams Up with World’s First Garden City in Major New Grow Your Own Project
