Unanimous agreement on the health benefits of community gardening in social housing! WEN volunteer Bex Paffard reports from the Growing Health in Housing conference in Mile End.
Representatives from various organisations in discussion at Growing Health in Housing 2014
On 20th November 2014, representatives from housing associations, local authorities, public health and third sector organisations flocked to the Southern Grove Community Centre in Mile End for Growing Health in Housing, an event organised by Women’s Environment Network (WEN) and Capital Growth. The conference brought together key players in community food growing to discuss the benefits and incentives for housing associations and residents to get involved.
Attendees sharing ideas and experiences
Rosie Boycott, Mayor of London Food Advisor kicked off the event with an inspiring overview of her involvement in community growing and some of her proudest achievements with Capital Growth. Next up, presenting case studies of progress made by Poplar HARCA, was Director of Communities and Neighbourhoods Babu Bhattacherjee, who explained why other housing associations should be following suit. Babu was followed by Steve Cole from the National Housing Federation, who provided a national perspective of food growing in the social housing agenda, and highlighted inequality associated with access to green space.
After a coffee break, Abigail Gilbert and Susie Crome from Tower Hamlets Public Health presented the figures behind the benefits of food growing, and gave an insight into their perspectives as commissioners of the Tower Hamlets Food Growing Network, as well as the Gardens for Life project. WEN’s very own Kate Metcalf followed with an overview of Gardens for Life, highlighting the key lessons learned from working in partnership with three Registered Providers. Photos of the gardens and testimonials (video below) from residents that were participating in the project showed just how much positive impact the project has had so far. Paul Wilson from EastendHomes then provided a unique insight into how the green spaces and community gardens have improved the wellbeing of residents in the area around Southern Grove Community Centre.
A round table discussion then opened up the floor for delegates from a range of organisations to share their own ideas and experiences. Discussions emerged around the evaluation of food growing projects for improving health and wellbeing, the potential for community gardens to be spaces where residents become engaged with their Registered Provider in new ways, and the potentially transformative power of community gardens with regards to combating and deterring anti-social behaviour. The panel included representatives from WEN, Tower Hamlets Public Health department, Poplar Harca, EastendHomes and the National Housing Federation.
Paul Wilson and conference guests in the community garden at Grafton House
After refuelling on a healthy lunch provided by the wonderful Penny Wilson, who runs Southern Grove Community Centre, some of the delegates headed out to Grafton House community garden, one of the fifteen gardens set up as part of Gardens for Life. Here Paul Wilson spoke about the process of setting up the sixteen raised beds and how effective this garden has been in sparking the interest of residents in surrounding blocks. Antisocial behaviour was a key concern for EastendHomes in setting up the community garden at this location, but happily there have been no reported incidents.
Kate Metcalf addresses the conference on Gardens For Life
The overall feedback from attendees was great; they praised the event as a useful opportunity to network with relevant organisations in the field, as well as for providing a comprehensive overview of the current status of community gardens in the social housing sector. Delegates commented that the case studies on existing projects were particularly inspiring, and that the programme of speakers had provided an important reminder of the benefits of partnerships between health, housing and third sector organisations.
This conference was organised by Capital Growth as part of the Gardens for Life project, carried out by Women’s Environmental Network (WEN) and funded by the public health team at London Borough of Tower Hamlets. WEN would like to thank Capital Growth for their role in organising the event, Sarah Williams for doing an excellent job of chairing the conference, and all our inspiring speakers for their contributions.
We hope that Growing Health in Housing will be the first of many such events to celebrate the abundance and successes of local and national community food growing projects!
For photos from the event, check out Tower Hamlets Food Growing Network’s Flickr. For updates and information about future events like this one, follow WEN on Twitter or like us on Facebook.
Growing Health in Housing 2014
