Volunteers brave rain for edible garden (From Wandsworth Guardian)

Volunteers brave rain for edible garden

7:40am Thursday 22nd March 2012 in News

Volunteers braved the rain to take part in a Big Dig event in Crystal Palace.

The Westow Park event on Saturday saw volunteers getting their hands muddy preparing soil at a new edible garden in preparation for pear and apple trees.

The Big Dig is a volunteering event organised by Capital Growth to encourage Londoners to get their hands dirty at a local community growing space.

Crystal Palace Transition Town (CPTT), with support from the Friends of Westow Park, organised the dig.

“Today is just about preparing the soil,” said Kerry Vandersten, from CPTT.

“Next Saturday we’ll be back. We’ve got some timber from the Friends of Beaulah Heights and we’re planning to make raised beds.”

Meanwhile, seeds were being swapped and given away outside Sainsburys in the Crystal Palace Triangle.

Local food writer, Rachel de Thample, said: "Gardeners – both experienced and those who have never done any gardening before – have taken thousands of free seeds today.

"We’re going to be able to follow their progress too, because people are planning to post photos of what they’re growing on our facebook page."