Behind our factory in Kings Cross is a strip of disused land that backs onto the railway line. We are currently in the process of turning it in to a permaculture forest garden.
“What’s permaculture?” you may be asking yourself. Well, essentially it’s a method of sustainable land management and food production based on following nature’s patterns. At the edge of a forest or woodland area, a wide variety of plants live together – it is made up of trees of various sizes, shrubs, herbs and root plants. This is a naturally occurring ecosystem that is self-maintaining, that is, it doesn’t need weeding, fertilising or watering - it just looks after itself.
The idea of a permaculture forest garden is to replicate the ecosystems that occur naturally at a woodland edge, but using plants and trees that are edible or bear edible fruit. In this way, the garden can provide a substantial amount of food without the need to employ a gardener to look after it.
Our aims in planting this garden are
· To make use of an otherwise unused and derelict piece of land
· To use the land to sequester CO2 and reduce the effects of global warming
· To educate young people about healthy eating and where food comes from
· To provide an area of land for locals and employees at Alara to enjoy
· To grow fruit trees and edible plants for people to eat
· To reduce the amount of municipal waste being sent to landfill by starting a composting scheme
· To promote links between local businesses and the local community
We are undertaking this project in partnership with a local youth charity called the Jubilee Waterside Centre who provide outdoor activities to school groups throughout London. Once it is complete, we hope that they will use the garden as an educational facility to teach children about healthy eating, where food comes from, the importance of locally grown organic produce, composting, global warming and peak oil.
Since the project started we’ve made good progress and have
- Cleared the site of rubbish
- Made the site secure
- Carried out hard landscaping by putting in terraces
- Planted over 80 trees, shrubs and herbs
- Built 2 compost bins
- Built 2 wormeries
- Made a makeshift rainwater harvester out of an old wheelie bin
- Started digging a pond that will be used as a permanent rainwater harvester
- Allowed a local bee keeper to keep a beehive in the garden
Most of this work was carried out by volunteers from the local community, so a big thank you goes to all those who have helped out either by donating plants, materials or muscle power! Without them we could not have got all this work done. We’d also like to thank the following local volunteer groups who have been instrumental in providing help, advice, and volunteers:
- Jubilee Waterside Centre
- London Community Recycling Network
- BTCV
- Camden Council
- Camley Street Natural Park
- Camden Garden Centre
- Camden Composting Network
