Edible Playgrounds and Political Vegetables

[Guest guest]

Published on Wednesday, November 26, 2008 by The Guardian/UK

Edible Playgrounds and Political Vegetables

From school playgrounds to digging up the lawns of the White House and

Downing St, there are many wasted spaces where we could be inspiring

people to grow their own food

by Leo Hickman

 

 

 

A couple of weeks ago I was fortunate enough to visit Marlborough

First and Middle school in Harrow, Middlesex, to congratulate its

pupils on winning the national Charlie and Lola recycling competition

held earlier this year.

 

Hundreds of primary schools across the country took part and

Marlborough's pupils were awarded first prize for their hugely

impressive playground mural made with hundreds of discarded CDs,

bottle tops and other domestic waste items they had collected at home.

 

On a tour of the school's grounds afterwards, I chatted to the

teachers about the concept of edible playgrounds and how the idea was

growing in popularity. They said they loved the idea, and would start

one as soon as they could, but that they were currently stymied by the

fact that there was barely an inch of the school's grounds that wasn't

covered in concert slabs or asphalt.

 

We discussed the idea of using stacked tyres as containers, but there

was clearly a real desire to break some earth. They said they might

even use the small patch of lawn in front of the school by the gates

to build some raised beds but were a little unsure what those in the

neighbouring houses that overlook the school might think.

 

It all reminded me of an interview I did back in the late summer with

Monty Don, the new president of the Soil Association, who said one of

his main goals in his new role was to inspire communities to come

together and start growing some of the own veg for a wide variety of

reasons - health, environmental, social bonding, economic. But he

admitted that the big challenge is to convince people to just give it

a go. Once people try it and see the fruits (and veg) of their labour

in their own hands they tend to be hooked for life. So what will it

take to inspire people to pick up a pitch fork and join the radish

revolution?

 

Well, opinion formers such as Monty Don showing the way forward is

always going to help. That's why I really like the idea of the WHO

Farm Project in the US. It's an attempt to convince Barack Obama to

also reach for the spade when he takes the keys to the White House in

January and symbolically dig up the famous front lawn in order to toss

in some vegetable seeds. It's exactly what the Roosevelts did during

the second world war and it helped to inspire over 20m so-called

" Victory Gardens " across the US.

 

The garden at 10 Downing St isn't blessed with quite as many rods of

prime growing land, but Buckingham Palace, and other world-famous

sites across the UK, certainly are. It's not as if a decent veg patch

needs to take up that much room. And just think of all those other

wasted spaces where veg could easily be grown - parks, verges,

roundabouts (OK, that might be a little dangerous) and all those

monoculture corporate HQ landscaped gardens.

 

And if Gordon Brown, or any other leader, is thinking about their

legacy, what would be better than knowing a vegetable variety has been

named after you in recognition of your services to vegetable

gardening. The problem for the grateful public would be deciding which

vegetable should represent which leader ...

 

© Guardian News and Media Limited 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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