The Growing Spaces Project aims to increase the number of food producing public and community spaces in Cambridge. Growing Spaces can be public spaces, unused bits of land in your community, college owned spaces, school gardens, rooftops, window boxes, containers, raised beds or any other option we can think of! Imagine, if we added up all those little unused areas, how much local food could we produce, and how much would it improve the quality of our city?
The project has been active since Spring 2011, and was run by Stephanie Ferguson until Autumn 2013. It is now being revived and we are still very much looking for volunteers who can help us maintain our public spaces in the long-term and create new ones. Contact Toni if you'd like to help!
During the time that the project has been running we have been able to transform 18 spaces in Cambridge with edible landscaping and community gardens! We hope that community gardens and edible landscaping we've created can be examples for people in their own communities throughout Cambridge and beyond.
We have hundreds of photos from this project and details on the process of transformation for all of the spaces we reclaimed at our website here: http://www.cambridge.growingspaces.org, so please visit for more information! You can also join the Facebook group for more rapid updates and exchange, and join the mailing list by asking Toni.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who takes care of these spaces?
I'm thinking of volunteering with Growing Spaces - how much time would I have to invest?
What's the difference between a public space and a community space?
Are you concerned with vandalism?
Sponsors and Funding
A big thank you to Scotsdales, Ridgeons, and Cambridge WoodWorks for their in-kind donations!
Thanks also to P&G's Future Friendly Contest. In the 5th annual awards (2011) we were the area finalist for the Anglia region and won £1000 for use towards the project. Thanks so much to all those who voted for our project!
And finally, a huge thank you to Sustainable City Grants for their support of this project! We were one of the recipients for the 2012-2013 funding year with a grant of £3000.
Media
4 green projects in it to win it 19th August, 2011, Cambridge News.
Growing Spaces on BBC Radio Cambridgshire Morning Show 18th January, 2012 (no link available).
New sculpture to be unveiled in Cambridge, 19th January, 2012, Cambridge News
Cambridge News piece on our edible herb and flower garden at Browns Field Community Centre 18th April, 2012
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Here are some pictures.