October saw Houlton, Rugby deliver 39 brand new allotments to some lucky green fingered residents. There was huge demand for the allotments emanating, from the cost of living crisis, coupled with the prospect of better food security as well as the mental, social, environmental and physical health benefits gardening can bring to one’s life.
To mark the Houlton team held an opening event on a Saturday morning for all the successful allotment holders. We had a brilliant turn out and attracting people of all ages.
Each allotment plot holder received an allotment starter pack containing some essentials, such as gardening gloves, seed packets and flower scissors. In the spirit of innovation, we customised each pack with Houlton branding and a QR code which took them to join an Allotments Whatsapp group which has been buzzing ever since. There’s already been talk of an Allotments Association, educational sessions and quarterly get-togethers.
As part of the launch there was also a session with Amber, from Bradley Murphy Design, who provided some insights on life as an allotment holder including, what to look out for, some hacks to see them through the winter months and how to plan their allotment space.
With the next generation fully involved via ribbon cutting and the prize draw selection, we are confident that these allotments will be treasured for years to come. As the first of three allotment areas within Houlton there will also be strong demand for our future plots.
It was clearly really well organised and everyone running the event was warm, welcoming and passionate about the community. The starter pack is a lovely touch, doing a competition was also a fab idea and the ribbon cutting etc was great. It was also great to hear some more bits of info about how the community is developing in the Dollman Farm area.
It was great to have a get together to meet other allotment holders and meet new people. The experienced speaker was very informative and made an inexperienced grower like me feel more confident!
This time next year will mark the first harvest at Houlton. Soup makers and roasting tins at the ready!"