A festival for new and experienced growers 20–29 March 2015
Waltham Forest Council's Urban Food Growing Festival
www.cultivatewf.org
Foreword from
Councillor Clyde Loakes As Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment I am proud to invite you to Waltham Forest Council’s Food Growing Festival – Cultivate 2015. Last year’s inaugural event was a huge success, culminating in a wideranging number of engaging and creative events. From workshops packed with residents keen to grow their own food, to food tasting that showed what can be done with the great food we can grow right here in the borough, there was something for food growers old and new.
I was especially pleased that last year we gave away over 30 tonnes of free compost to our residents, and awarded allotment plots to the winners of our competition. We also involved hundreds of local residents in events such as Gardener’s Q&A, which featured invaluable tips and advice from expert growers. For me, this is what Cultivate is all about. Getting residents interested in the potential for food growing, showing what sorts of resources are out there to help them get their hands dirty, and spreading the knowledge
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so that they can turn their creative impulses into real results. This year we will be delivering even more events across the borough and my hope is that as you look through this brochure, you will choose to get involved. Take the opportunity to meet new likeminded people, share and exchange ideas, and engage in new experiences that you will continue to reap the benefits from even after Cultivate has ended. I would also like to thank in advance all those groups and organisations helping to make our vision a reality. Without you this festival could not happen and the residents of Waltham Forest would be poorer for that. So, let’s get on with it and dig for victory! I will hopefully see many of you at one of the events – enjoy Cultivate 2015, and enjoy growing more food.
Yours, Cllr Clyde Loakes Deputy Leader & Environment Portfolio Holder
© Nicola Tree
Transforming our corner of the capital into the garden of London is a bold vision, but one I am confident we can achieve, as we build momentum and stake our claim to the title of London’s top food growing borough.
About Cultivate We believe Waltham Forest is a hothouse of talented gardeners and chefs all busy creating scrumptious foodstuffs, sometimes alone, sometimes sharing their skills. We want to nurture our urban oasis and see it grow! Cultivate is a festival celebrating the food, gardens, allotments, cooks and growers of our verdant borough. Our partners together with organisations and initiatives across Waltham Forest have created an informative and mouth-watering ten day programme of events demonstrating a broad range of approaches to urban food growing. New and experienced food growers are invited to come together to shape the local food network and cultivate a spirit of community. Food for Thought? There are events all across the borough to whet your appetite: Events, talks, tours and performances, which highlight food growing initiatives, training, resources and local history. Join us! Swap seeds, exchange skills and knowledge, collect free compost and take part in the Cultivate Grow Your Own Challenge.
So we hope you enjoy this opportunity to get digging, growing, making and thinking. Let’s germinate a culture of swapping and sharing, be it seeds, equipment, skills, knowledge… or phone numbers! The Cultivate Crew
Festival Info Visit the festival website and follow social media for updates and festival news. Festival website: www.cultivatewf.org Twitter: @CultivateWF Facebook: Cultivate Waltham Forest Press enquires: cultivatewf@to-market.co.uk Event enquiries: events@artillery.org.uk Access: All of the festival venues have step free access. Cover illustration by John Devolle Graphic design by Sara Carneholm
Festival at a Glance A festiva experie Friday 20 March Waggle Dance Launch Party Saturday 21 March The Big Dig Sunday 22 March Gardeners’ Q&A
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Saturday 28 March Urban Herbal Street Party Sunday 29 March OrganicLea Open Day 24–27 March Free family workshops in libraries 21–29 March Fringe festival events all across the borough: Events, talks, tours and performance highlighting food growing initiatives, training, resources and local history.
Waltham Fores Council's Urban Food Growing Festiv
Taster sessions for beginners include; sowing seeds, simple growing and sprouting for the windowsill, and opportunities to volunteer on community growing projects. Younger growers can make seed bombs, join Kids Kitchen or the Grow Your Own Theatre workshop. Experts will be on hand to incubate your ideas.
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Cultivate Grow Your Own Challenge Will you? Do you? Could you…grow your own fruit and vegetables? It is no accident that the Cultivate festival happens in March, now is the right time to start planting and sowing your summer crops. Looking ahead we can almost taste the fresh salad leaves, the sun warmed tomatoes, the crunchy beans, the sweet strawberries. And this July we hope to do just that! We invite all Waltham Forest home growers to share this season’s achievements at the Cultivate Summer Produce Show at the Walthamstow Garden Party (18th July). Where you see this symbol you can: pick up a Stater Pack, learn skills to help you with your challenge or pick up seeds and other things to grow for the Summer Produce Show.
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Announcing the Cultivate Waltham Forest Summer Produce Show (18th July) We encourage you to share your growing achievements at Cultivate’s first Summer Produce Show. We are inviting people to submit entries in the following three categories: 1 Fresh produce – a selection of what you are eating fresh from your plants. 2 Preserved produce – pesto, jam, jelly, chutney, pickles, sour dough bread… how do you preserve your homegrown fruit and vegetables? 3 Ingenious planters – entries by photo showing the most ingenious solutions to maximise growing space in small areas.
Cultivate Potato Parties
Schools Challenge Are you and your school up for a challenge? OrganicLea invites you and your school to participate in the 2015 Potato Challenge and get stuck in with Plant Out Parties. Throughout Cultivate, OrganicLea will be hosting parties in participating schools to celebrate the planting out of their potatoes. These will be community events where school staff, students and families are invited to plant out potato crops that might win your school team a trip to OrganicLea’s 2015 Potato Fest. Who knows you may even be crowned the Potato Challenge champions. There will also be prizes that will be given out as part of Walthamstow Garden Party in the summer. The parties will launch the challenge set to students: could your plot grow enough potatoes to feed your entire school?
A festival for new experienced grow Contact OrganicLea for more details: elizabeth@organiclea.org.uk
© Nicola Tree
Cultivate Grow Your Own Starter Packs Our Starter Packs are intended to help novice growers to start growing their first season’s fruit and vegetables. The pack includes an information sheet with planting recommendations, growing tips and recipes plus a variety of seeds suitable for growing in containers or in the ground; tomatoes, beans, beetroot, radish, perpetual spinach, cucumber, and chard. Recruit your neighbours and friends to the challenge by sharing any excess seeds from your pack. Download additional information sheets from www.cultivatewf.org
Community Group Starter Packs We have a limited number of Bumper Starter Packs. Community groups, resident associations and clubs are encouraged to contact Morag to request a pack: morag@artillery.org.uk
Register your interest to take part at Cultivate festival events and at the website: www.cultivatewf.org The show is open to all Waltham Forest residents and is part of the Walthamstow Garden Party, Lloyd Park. Follow the Cultivate Waltham Forest blog for news on local growers progress between now and the Summer Produce Show.
20–29 March
Friday 20 March
Introduction to Volunteering with OrganicLea Volunteering with OrganicLea is a chance to get involved in growing and selling the food that feeds Waltham Forest. Whether you’re on the box pack, or participating in horticultural activities there is something for everyone. If you would like to learn more about the work that OrganicLea does or are thinking about getting involved this is a great opportunity.
Waggle Dance Launch Party Start your festival here Returning to her home turf, Natalie Coleman, winner of BBC One’s MasterChef 2013 opens Cultivate Festival. You’ll get the chance to meet Natalie, find out the latest festival buzz, speak to our hive of bee experts and enjoy an evening of bee-themed music and performance to kick off Cultivate. Just as bees announce news of the best neighbourhood nectar with a waggle dance, we encourage our guests to carry news of the Cultivate Festival programme across the borough. Launch Party Line up: Opening speeches from Natalie Coleman and festival organises. Ask the experts – look out for our bee experts in stripes to answer your beekeeping questions. Collect your Cultivate Grow Your Own Challenge pack – see page 4 opposite for details. Pick a sour dough starter portion as part of the Cultivate Grow Your Own Challenge from the Fermentarium. See if you can keep it alive and make different bread from it – recipes and advice also available from the Fermentarium. Sour dough makes deliciously tasty bread – it’s made by a long fermentation of dough which needs weekly feeding. Some bakers can keep it growing to serve their bakeries for generations.
Local writer and performer, Rob Auton, will be reading from his brand new book, Petrol Honey. Poet in residence at Glastonbury festival 2014. Awarded funniest joke at Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2013.
We have openings within the following roles that support our food growing and enterprise work: Horticultural Assistant, Veg Packers, Cooks, Stall volunteers. 11am–4pm Hawkwood Plant Nursery 115 Hawkwood Crescent Chingford E4 7UH 020 8524 4994 info@organiclea.org.uk www.organiclea.org.uk Free entry
Auntie Maureen cranks her 1930’s gramophone. Feel free to dance… Food lovingly produced by Norman Loves and a specially brewed Cultivate honey beer by the Left Bank Brewery at Blackhorse Workshop. 6pm–8.30pm Blackhorse Workshop 1–2 Sutherland Rd Path Walthamstow E17 6BX Free Booking in advance via: www.waggledance.eventbrite.co.uk or www.cultivatewf.org
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Saturday 21 March
The Big Dig Gardens across London will open up their doors and welcome in volunteers to get the new growing season off to a great start! The Big Dig is back on Saturday 21st March to encourage local people to get down to their local garden and get their hands dirty, learn something new and hopefully decide to continue to help throughout the growing season. There are over 80 edible gardens across our Borough and 7 of these growing spaces will be opening their gates and looking forward to a helping hand from their local Waltham Forest residents. Activities taking place include: Mission Grove Wildlife Area At Mission Grove Wildlife area we will be building a greenhouse using plastic bottles collected by the children. 8am–4pm Mission Grove Primary School Buxton Road Walthamstow E17 7EJ Mission Grove Meadow At Mission Grove Meadow we will be developing the area into a more usable space for the school and the garden. 9am–4pm Mission Grove Meadow Edinburgh Road Walthamstow E17 7QB Church Lane Community Garden At Church Lane Community Garden we will be sifting, mulching, weeding and planting, with soup, bread and cake for all. Please bring your own
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forks/spades/trowels if possible. 10am–4pm Church Lane Community Garden Harold Road Leytonstone E11 4QX Kelmscott Science Garden At Kelmscott School we will be preparing the beds for spring, clearing a new area for planting as well as planting trees around the school. 10.30am–12.30pm Kelmscott School 245 Markhouse Road Walthamstow E17 8DN Chingford Hall Community Garden At Chingford Hall Community Garden there will be free refreshments and seed sowing in pots to take away. Have a dig! Plant a potato. Come and see local organic fruit and veg growing in your community and meet the gardening geeks that grow them. 11am–2pm Chingford Hall Community Garden Ching Way Chingford E4 8YE Rushcroft Community Garden At Rushcroft Community Garden we are inviting students, parents, neighbours and our community to help improve our community garden. Students attending our “SHINE” Saturday school will be on hand to welcome everyone and dish out refreshments. 11am–2pm Rushcroft Community Garden Rushcroft Foundation School Rushcroft Road Chingford E4 8SG Greenway Community Play Garden At Greenway Community Play Garden we will be doing a range
of tasks, from weeding to making compost bins to planting and tidying up around the garden. Plus activities for the kids. 12pm–4pm Greenway Community Play Garden Off Greenway Avenue Walthamstow E17 3QQ Full details of these, including start times, are available on the Big Dig website www.bigdig.org.uk You can also sign up to tell the garden you are coming! In London, the Big Dig is organised by Capital Growth and over the last two years over 150 of the growing spaces in their network have welcomed thousands of volunteers to events on their growing spaces. The Big Dig day in London is funded by Urban Food Routes, a project run by The Plunkett Foundation, and supported by the Mayor of London and Seeds of Change.
Fringe Events Saturday 21 March Sustainable Beekeeping Course This course is for anyone from beginners to experienced beekeepers who are interested in learning about more sustainable methods of beekeeping. The first day of the course will take a look at the fascinating world of the honeybee, introducing key concepts in their biology and ecology. Day 2 will focus on how to keep bees in Waree hives and the practice of keeping bees within an ethical framework. You will need: good boots, clothes for all weather, paper, pens, a veil if you have one. 10am–5.30pm Saturday 21–Sunday 22 March Hawkwood Plant Nursery 115 Hawkwood Crescent Chingford E4 7UH 020 8524 4994 courses@organiclea.org.uk www.organiclea.org.uk £70 (or £35 for one day)
Seed Dating Just can’t seem to grow that perfect tomato? Looking for a more exciting salad green? Join OrganicLea growers and volunteers for a light-hearted and interactive seed swapping experience – take home seeds, meet other aspiring growers, get tips, and learn more about growing with limited space. We will also be available to offer advice and guidance on growing – including container gardening. Feel free to bring your own seeds to swap or just stop by for a bit of playful horticultural fun! 11am–4pm Walthamstow Town Square Walthamstow E17 7JN 020 8524 4994 elizabeth@organiclea.org.uk www.organiclea.org.uk Free entry Brew, Bake and Smoke A celebration of local beer, baking and smoked foods. The Fermentarium and Vol’s Smokery showcase artisanal crafts. Visit the Left Bank Brewery to enjoy the house-brewed ale, try the organic sourdough bread and take away some starter to bake your own loaf, and discover the taste of smoke with Vol’s winter dishes. Experience live smoking and other demonstrations. 12pm–10pm Blackhorse Workshop 1–2 Sutherland Road Path Walthamstow E17 6BX 07815 849523 info@thefermentarium.org.uk www.thefermentarium.org.uk Free entry
A festival for new and experienced growers
Fermented Foods An introduction to the art of lactic fermentation, including how to make sauerkraut, kimchi and sour gherkins. Learn how to make brines and to make these tasty and nutritious foods at home. 10.30am–1.30pm Blackhorse Workshop 1–2 Sutherland Road Path Walthamstow E17 6BX 07815 849523 info@thefermentarium.org.uk www.thefermentarium.org.uk Booking via email / £30 per person
20–29 March 2015
Sunday 22 March
Gardeners’ Q&A Meet our panel of experts for edible gardening and food growing advice, an afternoon in the style of Gardeners’ Question Time. Our esteemed panel members and associate in ‘dictionary corner’ will be announced on the Cultivate Festival Website. Join us beforehand for a talk on preparing the ground for planting and take part in a fun seed swap activity. 2.30pm Preparing the Ground Julian Beere draws on his 12 years experience as an allotment gardener and member of a local crop sharing scheme to present a talk and discussion about preparing your growing sites for this summer’s fruit and vegetable crops and planning your planting. And there’s more than tips to take away – take home strawberry plants to start your own strawberry bed. 3.30pm Tea and seed swap Just can’t seem to grow that perfect tomato? Looking for a more exciting salad green? Join OrganicLea growers and volunteers for a light-hearted and interactive seed swapping experience. Bring along your own surplus seeds to swap. Tea and biscuits served by The Vintage Sisters Travelling Tearooms. 4pm Gardeners’ Q&A Our horticultural experts answer your questions about growing produce and give their own Topical Tips. The Gardeners’ Q&A audio will be broadcast live and the key topics raised
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will be shared via live Twitter updates – so do ‘tweet in’ your questions before or during the event if you can’t be there in person. Please see our website to book or for details on how to listen in. 2.30pm–5.30pm Walthamstow Central Library High Street Walthamstow E17 7JN Free Booking in advance via: www.gardeners.eventbrite.co.uk or www.cultivatewf.org Join in via Twitter @CultivateWF
tival for new and erienced growers
0–29 March 2015
‘Mister Maker meets Masterchef’: Family Feast. A delicious veggie meal in a beautiful setting for under 5’s and adult accomplices. The best part is that you AND your kids will be making it. They won’t even notice how much they are learning!
© Nicola Tree
orest s od stival
Kids Kitchen Presents: Family Feast Got an inquisitive, creative toddler? Want new ways to excite their minds and tastebuds, and a great meal for you?
We’ll start from with the raw – locally sourced – ingredients at 10am… and by midday we’ll be sitting down together to eat the fruits (and vegetables) of your labour. We’ll feed their brilliant minds, and bodies. And we’ll even get them doing the washing up. Some older siblings and adult friends are very welcome, but space is limited so please contact if you have any queries. 10am–1pm John Beanse Centre Pimp Hall Reserve Near Kings Road Recycling Centre Chingford E4 7HR info@kidskitchen.org.uk Please book via: www.kidskitchen.org.uk Standard Price: £12 Adults, £8 Children. Concessions available.
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Collect your pre-ordered hops and help grow Walthamstow Beer If you like beer and have a small, sunny spot in your garden then you might be interested in signing up to Walthamstow Beer. The community hop growing project invites the people of Walthamstow to plant a dwarf hop in their gardens or allotments in March. The summer is spent protecting them from pests and keeping them well watered. Green fingers are not a prerequisite, it’s easy enough to learn along the way and you’ll get lots of support and growing advice. The hops are harvested at the end of the summer and East London Brewery uses them to brew a delicious green hopped beer ready for a launch party in October. 10am–2pm Walthamstow Beer 6 Glenthorne Road Walthamstow E17 7AR walthamstowbeer@gmail.com Please note: Hop rhizomes will not be available for purchase on the day, they need to be pre-ordered. Orders need to be placed by Friday 6th of March. It costs £20 to join, which gets you a hop rhizome, growing instructions and your share of the beer once it’s brewed. Additional hop plants can be purchased for £10.
Monday 23 March Talk: Copped Hall Walled Kitchen Garden Copped Hall Garden volunteers are restoring a four acre walled garden. Hear how the garden used to work as part of a large estate and see how we have brought it back to life after
many years of dereliction. We will illustrate our story with extracts from a journeyman gardener’s diary who worked on the estate, and our photo archive of the restoration and the resulting new crops. 6.30pm–8.30pm Vestry House Museum Community Room 11 Vestry Road Walthamstow E17 9NH info@coppedhalltrust.org.uk www.coppedhalltrust.org.uk Free Book via: www.coppedhalltalk.eventbrite.co.uk or www.cultivatewf.org
will learn that wine-making does not need specialist equipment and you don’t have to own a vineyard. Join OrganicLea wine enthusiasts to learn how to ferment fruit and wild food into country wine with some theory, some practical work, and a chance to sample some locally made country wine. 6pm–8pm The Hornbeam 458 Hoe St Walthamstow E17 9AH 020 8524 4994 jen@organiclea.org.uk www.organiclea.org.uk Free Entry
Gather & Grow Enterprise Event An enterprise afternoon for those involved in the areas of growing food and retailing, providing information, advice and inspiration. There will be 2 workshops, drop-in networking with advisers on hand and a Lessons Learnt session where live case studies from business owners will be shared via a Q&A session. This event is aimed at food growers and food producers looking to improve their marketing or move into retail. 2pm–7pm The Mill 7–11 Coppermill Lane Walthamstow E17 7HA Enquiries: hello@to-market.co.uk Booking £10 per person via: www.cultivatewfenterprise.eventbrite.co.uk or www.cultivatewf.org Make Your Own Locally Grown Wine Traditional country wine is a simple ferment composed of fruit, sugar, water, air and time. It is an age-old practice that preserves the best of the season. In this workshop you
Tuesday 24 March Make Your Own Baby Food Over the last few months Mums from around the borough have been gathering to turn locally grown veg into nutritious food for the next generation. As a group they have worked together to gain skills in enterprise, nutrition, cooking as well as making and preserving their own baby food that also feeds the whole family. Now with the support of the community, the group will be launching their own social enterprise. Come to this demo and learn more about the project! 10am–12pm Seddon Centre 33 Clyde Place Leyton E10 5AS 020 8524 4994 elizabeth@organiclea.org.uk www.organiclea.org.uk Free entry Sow what? Grow-your-own drop-in with Capital Growth. Pop in to plant some seeds
and get yourself starting to grow your own veg this season. We will also show you how to make a ‘seed bomb’ – an easy and fun way to grow plants in your garden, schools or growing space. Plus arrive early for a chance to receive a Grow Wild wildflower seed kit! Capital Growth is London’s Food Growing Network and offers practical help, training and support to people wanting to grow their own food, whether at home, on an allotment or as part of a community group. 3pm–5pm The Mill 7–11 Coppermill Lane Walthamstow E17 7HA Free Strawberry Stories Come and grow strawberry stories with us and plant your own seed to take home! Suki is the smallest strawberry in the field- join her on a storytelling adventure and help her grow! Drama and making with Sarah from Grow Your Own Theatre for all ages (4–8yrs recommended). 3.30pm–5.30pm Wood St Library Forest Road/Wood Street Walthamstow E17 4AA 07740 343240 sarah@gyot.org.uk www.gyot.org.uk Free entry Food Sovereignty in Action OrganicLea welcomes the local community to discuss our potential to realise food sovereignty within the borough, the city, the UK and beyond. The aim of food sovereignty is to reclaim control of our food system and recognises the power of the people who grow food, sell it, and eat it. This is a space for people to learn
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about the food sovereignty movement at the local and global level while brainstorming our own potential to create change. 6pm–8pm The Hornbeam 458 Hoe St Walthamstow E17 9AH 020 8524 4994 elizabeth@organiclea.org.uk www.organiclea.org.uk Free entry Sourdough Bread Basic Course Learn the basics of this wonderful technique to bake incredibly nutritious and tasty loaves. You will learn to make sourdough starters and production leavens to create three different doughs to be taken away and baked at home. This workshop will provide you with your own starter for future baking, recipes and lots of new skills. 6.30pm–9.30pm Blackhorse Workshop 1-2 Sutherland Road Path Walthamstow E17 6BX 07815 849523 info@thefermentarium.org.uk www.thefermentarium.org.uk Places to be booked via email in advance/£40 per person Sprouting @ The Wild Goose Whether you want to describe sprouts as packed with nutrients and useful enzymes or imbibing the essence of life, eating seed sprouts is certainly a good step towards a healthy diet. It is also inexpensive and leaves a tiny carbon footprint. If you know about sprouting come along and share your experience and if you know nothing come along and find out. Phil & Mihkel will have sprouts to share, some recipes and lots of information.
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7.30pm–9pm The Wild Goose Bakery 654 High Road Leytonstone E11 3AA 07973 733239 events@transitionleytonstone.org.uk www.transitionleytonstone.org.uk Free, donations welcome
Wednesday 25 March FoodWorks Taster Day Are you aged between 16-25, resident in Waltham Forest and currently seeking work? Have you ever thought about working in horticulture, food growing and associated enterprises? Come and find your place - as OrganicLea is really pleased to offer a work scheme for young people in partnership with Waltham Forest Council. Taster sessions take place at Hawkwood Community Plant Nursery in Chingford. Young people who’ve successfully completed a taster session will be eligible to join the work experience programme. Contact Clare on clare@organiclea.org.uk to arrange another opportunity. Our Food Works programme, offers a range of opportunities within our food enterprises including: • Introductory work tasters • 8–16 week work experience placements (includes completion of a City and Guilds Award) • Paid work placements • Start-up business support and grants “Hawkwood Nursery is a great place to work. Food Works has helped me to find the career I was looking for that I enjoy.” Brandon, 19, Leytonstone; speaking to Waltham Forest News
12am–4pm Hawkwood Plant Nursery 115 Hawkwood Crescent Chingford E4 7UH 020 8524 4994 info@organiclea.org.uk www.organiclea.org.uk Free entry The Makers Hub: Tasty Tomatoes with OrganicLea Bring your passion for delicious tomatoes to this workshop and OrganicLea will provide the rest. Make your tomato garden grow with some seeds and a little support. We will help you turn your variety of produce into something delicious to eat. 1.30pm–3pm Hale End Library Castle Avenue Highams Park E4 9QD 020 8524 4994 info@organiclea.org.uk www.organiclea.org.uk Free entry
Thursday 26 March Children’s Propagator Planting Workshop Kids: Have you ever grown something from seed and then eaten it? Would you like to try? Come to this free drop-in session and learn to plant vegetable seeds in a windowsill propagator to take home and grow. The Secret Seed Society will show you how to grow your own vegetables in a specially made propagator made from recycled materials. 3.30pm–5.30pm Leyton Library High Road Leyton E10 5QH Free entry
Gluten-Free Bread Course The ultimate gluten-free bread course that covers all you need to know about alternative flours and bread making. Taught by an industry professional – this introductory course will not only provide you with recipes, but guide you to create your own bread mixes to suit your diet and lifestyle by covering more than ten variations of gluten-free flours and their attributes. 6.30pm–9.30pm Blackhorse Workshop 1-2 Sutherland Road Path Walthamstow E17 6BX 07815 849523 info@thefermentarium.org.uk www.thefermentarium.org.uk Pay for places via email / £40 per person Three Acres And A Cow, A History Of Land Rights And Protest In Folk Song And Story ‘Three Acres And A Cow’ connects the Norman Conquest and Peasants’ Revolt with current issues like fracking, the housing crisis and transition town and food sovereignty movements via the Enclosures, English Civil War, Irish Land League and Industrial Revolution, drawing a compelling narrative through the radical people’s history of Britain in folk song, stories and poems.
© Clare Leighton
Part TED talk, part history lecture, part folk club sing-a-long, part fireside storytelling session… Come and share
in these tales as they have been shared for generations. Featuring Rachel Rose Reid, Robin Grey and guests. “The history lesson I’ve always wanted. Thank you for a very entertaining/ life changing Saturday evening. I’ll be looking at the land and listening to folk songs in a very different way.” Emily “Thank you for being a highlight of my festival… Fun, enlightening and empowering; at times I was joining in with the songs and at other times I was moved to tears.” Eliot 6.45pm–10pm The Asian Centre 18a Orford Road Walthamstow E17 9LN 07930 410280 robingrey@riseup.net threeacresandacow.co.uk Tickets are £5 plus a £1 online booking fee from our website – you can buy tickets for £5 without the booking fee from The Hornbeam Centre, 458 Hoe Street, London, E17 9AH. Raw Food @ The Wild Goose Did you know that we can lose most of the vitamins and minerals in fruit and vegetables through cooking? When we eat ‘Live’ food (raw or just warmed) we get more of the vitamins, the enzymes and what raw foodists call ‘life force’, with benefits to our mental and physical health. Many people have found that just making a shift to a diet containing 50% live food has helped them to balance weight, improve mental clarity, lift mood and boost energy. Stephanie will show you some delicious recipes which will save money on food and fuel, and time in the kitchen!
7.30pm–9pm The Wild Goose Bakery 654 High Road Leytonstone E11 3AA 07747 014235 events@transitionleytonstone.org.uk www.transitionleytonstone.org.uk Free, donations welcome
Friday 27 March Grow to Sell Hawkwood Tour Are you interested in market garden scale vegetable growing and local food enterprise? Come join us on a tour of Hawkwood Plant Nursery to see and hear about OrganicLea’s enterprise work. Here at OrganicLea we grow over £45k worth of vegetables a year on 1.5 acres of land whilst running successful food enterprises including a veg box scheme, two weekly market stalls and supplying 15 restaurants, cafes and grocers. We also support Waltham Forest growers to find small plots of land and train them to grow to sell, supplying produce to our outlets. Come find out more! 2pm–3pm Hawkwood Plant Nursery 115 Hawkwood Crescent Chingford E4 7UH 020 8524 4994 info@organiclea.org.uk www.organiclea.org.uk Free entry Guerrilla Seed Bombing Workshop Seed bombs are the perfect vehicle to spread flower power into nooks, crannies and hard-to-reach places across the city. Under-used spaces can be transformed into lush wildflower meadows. Join OrganicLea to explore the world of subversive seed dispersal – with exploding eggs, seed balloons, and the
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classic London clay. This is a great event for the whole family to get involved in. All ages welcome. 3pm–5pm North Chingford Library The Green Chingford E4 7EN info@organiclea.org.uk www.organiclea.org.uk Free entry
Saturday 28 March
Urban Herbal Street Party Herbs are easy to grow, fragrant, flavourful and versatile – and they look great on a sunny windowsill. Join us at our street party to celebrate all things herbal in the city! Walks, workshops, storytelling and more – there’s something for everyone in this fun-packed afternoon.
Plant a Paint Pot and More Plant a herb in a recycled paint pot and take it home to brighten your windowsill and add flavour to your meals. Discover a range of innovative planters made from recycled objects, and upcycle waste materials into simple plant labels or paper pots.
A festival for new and experienced growers
Food for Change Film Series: Dirt! The Movie One of our most valuable natural resources is the soil beneath our feet but it might also be the most taken for granted. Did you know that in the last 40 years, 30 percent of the world’s arable land has become unproductive due to soil erosion? To celebrate 2015 UN Year of the Soil, OrganicLea will be showing “Dirt! The Movie” as part of the Food for Change film series. Learn about the environmental, economic, social and political impact of soil. Norman Loves will be cooking up treats with locally sourced ingredients (as well as beer, cider and wine) and OrganicLea will be providing free popcorn for all. Free childcare will be provided! 6.30pm–9.30pm The Hornbeam 458 Hoe St Walthamstow E17 9AH 020 8524 4994 elizabeth@organiclea.org.uk www.organiclea.org.uk Free entry
Hero Herbs Make a bouquet garni, and learn about the culinary and medicinal uses of herbs. Pick up recipe and growing cards and join us in storytelling. We Love Low Cost Living Roadshow Meet local organisations that can give advice on how to live better for less, while treading lightly on the environment. Find out more about the We Love Low Cost Living campaign at welovelowcostliving.wordpress.com
20–29 March 2015 Herbal Forage Walk and Workshop Join Waltham Forest community herbalist Rasheeqa Ahmad of Hedge Herbs, urban forager Willy Forbes, and Waltham Forest LETS for a spring forage on the Marshes to explore the wild green potential of our edible and medicinal plant friends: local, native and abundant!
Head back with us to The Hornbeam afterwards to brew up some of the herbs and try them as teas, and mix others into a glorious springtime salad. Rasheeqa will be on hand to discuss using herbs in the home for health and how to make different medicinal plant preparations.
Waltham Forest Council's Urban Food Growing Festival
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Meet at the Lee Valley Ice Centre on Lea Bridge Road to head onto the marshes; we’ll walk for an hour and a half and then head back to The Hornbeam by bus or bicycle. 10am–12pm Lee Valley Ice Centre Lea Bridge Road Leyton E10 7QL rasheeqa@hedgeherbs.org.uk www.wflets.org Free walk
OrganicLea ‘A Taste of Local’ Market Stall Taste produce we source from local growers, our Chingford growing site and East Anglian organic farms – have a chance to meet one of our local growers, bakers or outreach workers. 12pm–3pm The Hornbeam and The Paint Place Bakers Avenue Walthamstow E17 9AH 020 8558 6880 info@hornbeam.org.uk www.hornbeam.org.uk www.frponline.org.uk www.organiclea.org.uk £1 entry (includes workshops and herb to plant and take home) The Hornbeam Café Pop in for a taste of delicious and lovingly prepared vegetarian food which is local, organic and fairly traded. 10pm–5pm The Hornbeam Café
458 Hoe St Walthamstow E17 9AH 020 8558 6880 www.hornbeam.org.uk Get Growing in Your School Walthamstow School for Girls is opening its beautiful garden to teachers, parents and community leaders throughout the borough to learn from their success. This will be an event that can give you the confidence to grow in your own school as well as get guidance to develop the garden you already have. Exciting and innovative curriculum links, accreditation,and engaging enrichment will be discussed. If you want to get growing in your school, this is your opportunity to learn how. Bring your wellies as we will also get stuck in and start preparing the garden for spring planting. We will provide tea and coffee. 9.30am–12.30pm Walthamstow School for Girls Church Hill Walthamstow E17 9RZ 020 8524 4994 schools@organiclea.org.uk www.organiclea.org.uk Free entry
own seeds that you’re happy to share with members of the community. At 1pm, Ruth from Groundwork will be showing us the proper way to sow bean and squash seeds, and how to care for the seedlings indoors before planting them outside. Participants will be able to take home pots of sown seeds. 1pm–3pm Church Lane Community Garden Harold Road (by playground) Leytonstone E11 4QX 07450 474538 cg@transitionleytonstone.org.uk www.transitionleytonstone.org.uk Free, donations welcome.
Get Growing—The ABC’s Want to grow food, but wondering how to get started? Learn the basics behind growing organic vegetables in this fun and interactive workshop. Using OrganicLea’s Hawkwood site as an inspiration, participants will get key planning advice and guidance on starting to grow food that includes a gardener’s surgery. So bring your questions or concerns, but above all bring your enthusiasm! 11am–2pm Hawkwood Plant Nursery 115 Hawkwood Crescent Chingford E4 7UH 020 8524 4994 courses@organiclea.org.uk www.organiclea.org.uk Free entry
Gulptivate To celebrate their first birthday and to close their pop-up in style Bestowed Kitchen will be hosting a specially curated vegetable, fruit and herb inspired cocktail night as part of the festival. The night will see the glorious mix of food and drink come together to honour all things grown and wild! On the drinks front expect refreshing creations such as a ‘cucumber, gin and coriander cooler’ amongst other delicious concoctions. Bottled local beer and soft drinks will also be available. To fulfil your hunger there be will be a selection of Bestowed’s fresh, handmade food to purchase. © Nicola Tree
Grow Your Own Salad Box Don’t have an outside growing space? Come join us to start your very own salad window box. At this workshop we will create window boxes and sow salad seeds with help from an OrganicLea grower. You can have nutritious salad greens at your fingertips all year long and you don’t even need a garden, as you can put it on your balcony or your windowsill. Drop in throughout the afternoon and invite the whole family. 10am–1.30pm The Mill 7–11 Coppermill Lane
Walthamstow E17 7HA 020 8524 4994 info@organiclea.org.uk www.organiclea.org.uk Free entry
Seed Sowing, Sharing, Swapping On March 28, the Church Lane Community Garden will be giving away seeds and sowing bean and squash seeds. From 1-3pm, come and check out the garden’s collection of seeds and take some home to grow your own fruit and veg and bring along some of your
So come along and help celebrate with some tasty and interesting food and drink, great people and good music! 7.30pm–11.30pm Hoe Street Central Unit 3 Central Parade, Hoe Street Walthamstow E17 4RT bestowedkitchen@gmail.com www.bestowedkitchen.com Free entry Please RSVP: gulptivate.splashthat.com
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Sunday 29 March
OrganicLea Open Day Take a look round our unique site and take part in shared work tasks and drop-in learning opportunities. Drop by at any time or stay for the day. We will have cake from Norman Loves and Hawkwood Herbal teas on offer at our popular cake stall. Our first plant and fruit bush sale of the season will also be open all day so you can stock up for spring seedlings! A special Forest School session will be open to children of all ages with the opportunity to explore and play in our woodland space. At the end of the day we will close the Cultivate Festival with a Waltham Forest Harvest of Stories panel where local food and community leaders share in the success and look forward to transforming our community into the food growing hub of London. Drop-in workshops: Each running 12pm–1.30pm and 2pm–3.30pm Introduction to Garden Wildlife Wildlife is an essential part of any garden, the buzzing of bees and insects is a welcome sound to any gardener. Join this workshop to learn more about the wildlife we have on site and the benefits of biodiversity as well as simple ideas to create some wildlife spaces of your own. Spring Seed Sowing As Hawkwood gears up for regular seed sprouting production, we’re offering a workshop where you can learn this simple growing skill. If you’ve ever had trouble growing from seed, or you’d like to drop in and ask
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some advice this is a great place to be. You will also get to learn about new and heritage varieties – you might even get to sow some seed that OrganicLea has saved from last year. Fly Your Food Flag The Fly Your Food Flag workshops make it to Hawkwood! Throughout the festival community gardens have been exploring their place within our complex food system. This is a chance to chat, to draw, to write poetry and to think a little more deeply about the food on our plates and the plants in our gardens. Sow some seeds of creativity and see what artistic fruits they will bear. 1.30pm Break for lunch, please bring a packed lunch 2.30 Hawkwood Site Tours Site tours are informative and fun. Hawkwood has much to offer beyond its glasshouses and growing beds. Learn more about our site design, vineyards and our work beyond the fields. Even volunteers who have been on site for years are still finding special nooks and crannies, so who knows what you might discover! 12.00–3.00pm Forest School A forest school is a type of outdoor education in which children visit forests and woodlands, learning personal, social and technical skills. Forest schools are often ‘led by the child’s interests’ by comparison and encourage them to explore with all of the senses, empowering children in the natural environment. Activities and free play for children of all ages. Children under 6 must be accompanied. Spaces are limited so please email londonforestschool@gmail.com
3.00pm-3.30pm Waltham Forest Harvest of Stories Panel and Closing of Cultivate Festival Cultivate Festival is an incredible insight into food growing activity that is happening throughout the borough. It’s exciting times around here with market gardens and food-enterprises popping up everywhere. Schools are teaching students how to grow veg and restaurants are working with growers to get more local veg on our dinner plates. Come and listen to the stories from community leaders who are the movers and the shakers behind this ‘growing’ movement. 12pm–4pm Hawkwood Plant Nursery 115 Hawkwood Crescent Chingford E4 7UH 020 8524 4994 info@organiclea.org.uk www.organiclea.org.uk Free Entry A Taste of Local Markets Taste produce we source from local growers, our Chingford growing site and East Anglian organic farms - have a chance to meet our local growers, bakers or outreach workers. OrganicLea market stalls are open every Saturday at the following sites: 10am–3pm The corner of Hoe St & Bakers Ave, Walthamstow E17 9AH 10.30am–3pm High Road nestled between Matalan & St Johns Church, Leytonstone E11 1HH
A Chingford Foodie History Walk Discover Chingford’s food and drink history on this walk with tour guide and local resident Joanna Moncrieff. Although only around 12 miles from Central London and 4.5 miles from Walthamstow, Chingford was practically cut off from civilisation until the arrival of the railways and still has quite a rural feel to it being right on the edge of Epping Forest. Hear about the three significant events at the end of the 19th Century that turned Chingford and the Forest into a tourist destination with some 100,000 visitors arriving by train on one bank holiday. Find out why the pub built as the railway hotel is nowhere near the station, where the 19th Century daytrippers to the Forest stopped for post-walk refreshments and hear about some of the more unusual foods eaten during Tudor times at Queen Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge. The walk will include one or two tasting stops of locally produced food/drink and will finish at the aforementioned 19th Century refreshment retreat on the edge of the Forest but only a 10 minute downhill walk back to the station. Please wear appropriate shoes as the last ten minutes of the walk will be across Chingford Plain. 11am–1pm Outside North Chingford Library The Green Chingford E4 7EN 07790 292444 Joanna@westminsterwalks.london Free. Book tickets in advance via www.chingfordfoodwalk.eventbrite.co.uk or www.cultivatewf.org Spring Into Your Saddle: Local Food Growing Tour Have some fun with the Walthamstow Family Bike Club and Transition
Walthamstow, with a cycle tour of food growing sites in Waltham Forest, and a volunteering activity at OrganicLea’s Hawkwood site. We’ll set off promptly at 1pm from outside the Ancient House, stopping off at a cafe for a bite to eat around 4pm and will return to the village by 6pm. Approximate distance 15 miles. 1pm–6pm Meeting at The Ancient House 2 Church Lane Walthamstow E17 9RW paul.gasson@gmail.com 020 8520 0648 www.walthamstowfamilybikeclub. wordpress.com Free
Throughout the festival Bestowed Kitchen pop-up Award winning food start up Bestowed Kitchen is to pop-up for two weeks in Waltham Forest Council’s special shop, Hoe Street Central (opposite ‘The Scene’/HSBC). We will be hosting a cafe-deli serving a range of our fresh and healthy food including: breakfasts (e.g. our own yoghurt with multi-seed and almond granola); gourmet salads (e.g. pearl barley, balsamic red onions, roasted pumpkin, toasted hazelnuts, lemon whipped feta and parsley); cold mains (e.g. rose water and harissa baked chicken); handmade breads (e.g. fennel and multi-seed); cakes (such as salted caramel and pear). We also will be holding a special herb, vegetable and fruit based cocktail party – ‘Gulptivate’ – to end the pop-up on Saturday 28th
March from 7.30pm and to celebrate our 1st birthday. Don’t miss out on 11 days of tasty and creatively prepared food made with love! Open daily from Wednesday March 18 to Sunday 29 March. 10am–6pm, Mon-Fri 9am–6pm, Sat-Sun Hoe Street Central Unit 3 Central Parade, Hoe Street Walthamstow E17 4RT bestowedkitchen@gmail.com www.bestowedkitchen.com Free entry Fly Your Food Flag Have you ever wondered about where your food comes from? In this fun and creative workshop we use art as a tool to explore that very question. OrganicLea will be hosting these workshops in community gardens across the borough to create a colourful fabric mosaic that represents our ever-changing local food system. If you’d like us to bring this workshop to your community gardening project during Cultivate, please get in touch with Elizabeth@organiclea.org.uk by March 9th. Food Growing Resources You can find all kinds of books and useful resources about gardening and food growing in the borough’s libraries. Find your nearest library, check opening times and see what else is going on at www.walthamforest.gov.uk/libraries
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The Big Compost Give Away! To celebrate the sowing season Waltham Forest Council are organising free compost to be available all around Waltham Forest during Cultivate Festival. Compost will be available to collect in a pile, just bring a shovel and bags to help yourself. Locations where compost can be found throughout the festival from 20 March: • Large car park, Church Lane, Leytonstone E11 1HE • Langthorne Park car park, Birch Grove, Leytonstone E11 4YG • South Grove Car park, South Grove, Walthamstow E17 7NX • Car Park, John Beanse Waste and Recycling Education Centre, Pimp Hall Nature Reserve, 48 Kings Road, Chingford E4 7HR
Partners Cultivate Festival is a Waltham Forest Council initiative and has been delivered together with festival partners Artillery, OrganicLea, Capital Growth and To Market. www.walthamforest.gov.uk
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