An Update from the Wilderness Foundation

Our friends at The Wilderness Foundation run a series of plots at Melbourne Park, called 'Down to Earth Allotments' and the area has a distinct variety of growing areas, and indeed natural spaces. Apart from the vegetables, fruit and various poly tunnels, there is also a log pile or beetle hotel, and a wetland area which was unfortunately sabotaged along with the damage incurred over christmas.

The foundation came to the allotments over 12 years ago and were motivated to make growing food more accessible to a wider audience, or for those with less time and financial resource to run their own allotments. They chose this location as it is close to their office at Chatham Green, and took over from a council run project in 2008.

The Down to Earth Allotment program is based here where we run six plots, opening them up to a range of community groups and schools.

Most of our young adult volunteers are living with mental or physical disability, and also use the allotment to engage recovery clients from Open Road (Drugs & Alcohol charity), MENCAP, New Hall School and Columbus School & College, catering for young people with complex and severe learning difficulties.

Currently the food grown at the allotment is shared amongst those growing it as the best way to learn where our food comes from and engage people with the subjects of nutrition and cooking.



The Covid outbreak has affected the Foundation project more harshly than it has personal plot holders, as the reliance is on schools, volunteers and others to tend and keep the project running. Jonathon has kindly provided the following article as an update on what they have been doing over the period and how they have managed.

Since the lockdown in late March we have been running the community allotments on a skeleton staff of Myself and volunteer Trudi Warner to keep it going through busy spring and summer months. At the beginning of the lockdown the allotments had never looked better due to the hard work of all the volunteers and participants, whether we will be able to keep it that way over the coming months is another matter but we will be working hard to maintain it as well as we can.

This spring was set to have record volunteer numbers with Honeywood school and Chelmsford College visits added to the existing groups and volunteers. We had a great start to March with James King (from Columbus College) being awarded for a volunteer award, with the ceremony being postponed till after the situation returns to normal.



We had repaired a lot of the damage done by vandles over the winter and were ahead of the game with planting early potato and a new Asparagus crop. Autumn raspberries and fruit trees had been pruned and the willow tunnel had been weaved and cut back. We have spread the compost heap to help with fertility and started to plant out Goosberry, Current and grape cuttings we did last autumn.

We have been sowing trays and pots of tomatos, leaks, beans, pumpkins, carrots, etc and planted extra Broad bean and spinach seeds that were saved from the previous year. We have created a new small pond on the plot (using an old header tank) and in recent weeks have been harvesting Rhubarb, Spinich, Purple Sprouting, Salad and the last of the leaks. Some of the Broad beans will be ready to pick next week. As the next few months will not have volunteers to share some of the produce we will contribute food (through the Melbourne Allotment association) to a food bank charity. We hope to get publicity through local media for the allotments and to encourage more people to grow food at home at this time of national crisis.



We look forward to the situation returning to normal in the late spring or summer and welcoming groups back to our project. We are grateful to the team who run the Melbourne Park Allotment Association for all their support and the wonderful team spirit from other allotment plot holders. We see this as an opportunity to get more people interested in growing their own fresh fruit and vegetables which also saves money and helps the participants remain fit and health. Anybody who wants to get involved with our community allotment project please e-mail or phone at the numbers below

To find out or discover more about the Wilderness Foundation, exactly what the charitable foundation represents, either speak to Jonathon Barker on 07939 561995, or visit their website www.wildernessfoundation.org.uk

Courtesy of Jonathon Barker, Wilderness Foundation.