This is the text on the board next to the forest garden bed:
With more extreme weather conditions, it is important to green up our living spaces. Plants take in carbon dioxide, reduce the risk of flooding, keep our environment more stable and improve our health. So it is good to create as much green space around you as you can.
This bed has a large number of drought tolerant plants which have proven themselves to be tough in a variety of conditions. Planting tough plants that are drought and flood tolerant makes gardening easier. Choosing native plants from Europe will help the insects which have migrated north to avoid the heat. Creating shady areas and windbreaks can also help maintain a more stable environment for plants, wildlife and us.
As warmer temperatures arrive earlier in the year, plants flower earlier. This can disrupt plant-insect pollinator associations, so we need to grow a wide range of plants with differing flowering times.
Diversity creates stability. It is helpful to create a range of microhabitats, plant a diverse range of plants and add habitat boosters for wildlife in the space.
With hot, dry, cold, wet and windy conditions becoming more extreme, tending the soil becomes more important. It is a good idea to add as much organic matter to the soil as you can and mulch it to keep the soil covered. This reduces evaporation and keeps it cooler in summer. It also reduces waterlogging and keeps it warmer in winter.
Transition Cambridge aims to help Cambridge make the transition to ways of life that are more resilient in the face of rising energy prices and a changing climate.