The next Bedford Fields workday is this coming Saturday 14th March.  See below for poster.

They have just installed the ‘Bedford Shed’, a new classroom on the site, and have made some ‘hugelbeds’ (long-term fertility raised beds), so there’s lots to see!  They now need to plant an edible landscape planting to screen the classroom from the south.  So it is interesting times, a good chance to learn about edible landscape planting, and trained fruit tree planting.

They are also looking for people who would like to get more involved with the project, so if you are interested in that please let them know.

Also there is some preparation to do before Saturday, so if anyone is available to help, especially this thursday or Friday, please let them know.

Venue – Shine, Harehills Road, LS8 (10.00-1.00)

Details yet to be confirmed, but this will be a very practical and useful workshop with lots of tips and expert advice from a top grower (who many will know from BBC Radio Leeds).

Suitable for new growers and experienced ones.

Places are limited so please let Back to Front know as soon as you can if you like to come! Make sure you put the date in your diary!

http://www.backtofront.org.uk/

Friends of Stank Hall in Beeston have finally received a licence to build an edible community garden, on the site of the oldest house in Leeds.

They are on the hunt for ground cover materials, paving slabs &wood for raised beds. They can’t dig due to site archaeology so are having to make sure the ground is covered securely and everything is in raised beds. Laying these is the first step. As this is how medieval gardens were built they are basing their design on 12thc kitchen gardens to stay in keeping with the site

If anyone is able to help, details of how to get to us are on thier website https://friendsofstankhallbarn.wordpress.com

The two small orchards in Burley Park now have their Feed Leeds signs.
The trees are doing fine, some have needed tlc, about 6 have been replaced over the year as too damaged. Luckily the local group has a member who grafts fruit trees, and any rootstocks that are removed are recycled with a further graft. A big thanks to the local Park staff for their assistance and careful mowing through the year.
The group are looking forward to a first small harvest this autumn.

The Feed Leeds blogs and email groups have been reconfigured to allow those who are interested in growing and consuming local food, and those who are interested in the wider issues around food to connect more easily. (We’ve also added functionality to the LESSN blog and email group for those specifically interested in growing food at schools).

See the Potting Shed and Think Tank.

LESSN has launched a new e-mail-based forum. https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/lessnchat

“With spring in the air we thought it was finally time to create a simple way for everyone interested in growing food in Leeds schools to communicate directly with each other. So here it is: LESSNchat will, we hope, provide grower-to-grower moral and practical support wherever you are in Leeds – along the journey to a great school growing project. We’ve people already running projects (volunteers, teachers, assistants, senior team, caretakers, caterers, parents, governors – all welcome) who have experience to share, we’ve people wanting to start schemes (some are complete beginners – but keen to learn), we’ve expert growers not currently involved with schools but happy to offer advice, and we’ve people from various organisations that can help in various ways. So, please join the group – tell anyone you know who may be interested to join up too (I’s hard to reach teachers, so please email any you know – and let’s get growing!”

We have completed the Feed Leeds CPA Advice leaflet, which suggests how growing groups can prepare for the somewhat daunting process of filling in a Community Partnership Agreement.

We are now working to develop equivalent documents for Housing and Environment (who we understand may sometimes charge for officer time and/or require a licence (although no official licence seems to exist), Highways (who do require Highways Cultivation Licence which costs about £85) and Education.

Click on the pic to make it big.

Back to Front hosted GQT at Leeds Beckett University (formerly Leeds Met) on 28th October.

The evening was a great success, and the two shows recorded will air on   November 7th and 9th (featuring the Leeds Jungle Garden) and January 9th and 11th (featuring Back to Front)

Andy Goldring stepped down as chair to concentrate on hosting the International Permaculture Conference in 2015. He’s replaced by Nigel Jones from REAP. Professor Leslie Firbank, Chair of Sustainable Agriculture at University of Leeds, was elected onto the committee.

Dr Chiara Tornaghi relaunched her Urban Food Justice research project.

Parks and Counryside are launching a new Leeds Food Growers Forum with a strong focus on allotments – which Feed Leeds will attend.

For full details / minutes please email tom@urbal.tv