Growing Connections in South Somerset

To all people seeking land and all landowners, public and private, in South Somerset.

Somerset Community Food invites you to:

Growing Connections in South Somerset

 Exploring, enabling & supporting opportunities to increase access to land

for new and existing food growers

at

 Magdalen Community Farm, Winsham, Chard, TA20 4PA

Tuesday 10^th May 2011

 9.30am – 4.30pm 

£15 for individuals or £40 if attending in paid time

(includes a totally local organic lunch)

Who should attend?

·         All those in South Somerset looking for land for growing

·         Landowners (large and small, public and private) interested in supporting community growing ventures

·         Any intermediary organisations able to support this agenda

Bookings by 18^th April 2011 based on a 1^st come 1^st served basis.

The Conference will offer the chance for anyone involved in food growing locally to gain contacts, share knowledge and learn skills to enable them to start and keep growing.

To find out more and book a place visit our website www.somersetcommunityfood.org.uk and click on our Conference link or download a program here http://bit.ly/SCFConferenceProgram and a booking form here http://bit.ly/SCFBookingform

Attendees will have the choice of several workshops and talks on issues such as the social, community and financial benefits to landowners of sharing land, where to start in looking for land as well as exploring what it’s possible to grow in small spaces (from a small plot to a smallholding).  

Participants can also hear from inspiring case studies from across South Somerset.

Somerset Community Food’s Spring Conference will highlight and celebrate community food growing in the towns and parishes of South Somerset. There are many new and existing inspiring projects happening across the district. However, with more than 250 people on allotment waiting lists in the district, there is high demand for new land to be brought into production near to where people live.

If you are seeking access to land – or you are a landowner willing to consider making land available for community growing - this is the event for you!

Our conference on 10^th May at Magdalen Farm, Winsham near Chard, will bring individuals, parish councils and community groups looking for land together with public and private sector landowners considering making land available where there is demand. Our research shows that the longest waiting lists are currently in Chard, Yeovil, Crewkerne and Wincanton but there is also need for land in some of the rural villages.

A range of specific workshops featuring key people with expertise and influence will seek to get the ball rolling on how to bring more land into production as community growing spaces in South Somerset. Hear from successful projects, meet landowners and talk to experts from national organisations. And last but not least take a tour of the wonderful Magdalen Project http://www.themagdalenproject.org.uk/ and enjoy a top notch lunch sourced with food footsteps rather than foodmiles! The programme is attached for your convenience.

We are trying hard to spread the word about this event both to people seeking land, and willing landowners, so if you can help by sending this invitation to on to any contacts you have with people looking for land, local allotment associations, including this in any publications, communications or on websites, we would be very grateful. The more people who can come together around this issue, the quicker people will get access to the land they are seeking.

Growing your own food meets a wide range of needs – from getting more active, to being more self reliant, saving money, improving your health, reducing foodmiles and packaging waste and, perhaps most importantly, introducing children to where their food comes from!

Somerset Land and Food can help you to solve the problem of access to land by tailored support and advice, information about funding streams, basic growing skills training and access to tools. Contact us for more information.

We expect high demand for this event. Bookings will be taken on a first come, first served basis with a strict deadline of April 18^th. Please book online at the link above or call us to request a hard copy.