Get Growing Project

Get Growing is a new Landlife project that will increase opportunities for local food growing and healthy cooking, widen participation in active gardening, and increase awareness of nature and the environment as a positive resource for health in Knowsley.

Get Growing will target in particular local community groups, local schools, health and wellbeing groups, disadvantaged groups and individuals, families and young people. Through Get Growing, we want to explore creative uses for open spaces and community areas, community centres, gardens and social residential housing as part of food growing and to improve their natural richness and diversity. This is part of our strategy to develop better health promoting environments as a way of reducing health inequalities in Knowsley.

Overall Project Aims
Local people and community groups are leading on demands for their own places to grow local, healthy food and to learn gardening skills. Interest in good food and better cooking skills is also increasing, as is the commitment to reduce food miles and our carbon footprint. Through its base at the Centre, Get Growing will work on an 18 month programme of on and offsite activities in Knowsley.

• support existing best practice 'clusters' of local community food growing
• extend food growing to new areas and communities
• Improve cookery skills and confidence in how to eat well
• provide training and resources in growing and cooking food
• run creative events to inspire and engage
• strengthen our nature and health partnerships

The project will focus on approaches to: growing veg, herbs and plants; creative growing and use of space; school gardens, community gardens and residential gardens; creative cooking, good food, local food; using nature for wellbeing.

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• Engage communities in their own health and develop their capacity to support individual behavioural change for healthier lifestyles
• Build partnerships between organisations and communities
• Develop innovative practices for community based health improvement.

Key health priorities for Get Growing are:

• Tackling health inequalities
• Tackling obesity
• Improving mental health

Widening Participation

Landlife and the National Wildflower Centre have a strong track record of community engagement and widening access to nature, particularly for those experiencing specific barriers to participation. Get Growing is providing new, additional resources to extend our outreach work into community food growing, supporting active gardening and increasing cookery and food preparation skills in local Knowsley communities to combat health inequalities. Get Growing will work sensitively with groups and individuals to support them and increase their environmental confidence.

We have an ongoing schools education programme through the National Wildflower Centre that this project will support and extend to food growing and healthy eating. This will include the new Knowsley Learning Centres and other informal learning bases. Our public workshops at the Centre are usually well attended throughout the opening season and some delivery of Get Growing will be through Centre-based events. We also run in partnership with Knowsley MBC two key Court Hey Park events - the Green Fayre and Knowsley Flower Show which Get Growing will fully support.

Recent surveys through Landlife's Great Outdoors project show that local people consider the Centre and Court Hey as a healthy place to visit, eat good food and take part in nature events. Our resources at the Centre are recognised by local hospitals such as Broadgreen and Alder Hey for rehabilitation and respite, and we are well used by carers, people with learning and physical disabilities and people experiencing mental health illness, walkers, cyclists and nature lovers.

We are developing a strong environmental partnership with other voluntary sector agencies, and work as a signposting service to them.

For more information please contact us by email get.growing@landlife.org.uk or contact us by phone on 0151 738 1913.

Get Growing Events

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