It’s easy being green with Transition Towns Grow Group

Transition Towns is a UK-wide community organisation that aims to encourage localised food production, sustainable energy sources, lively local economies and a sense of community. The group are engaged in food growing and a number of other creative skills’ activities in the Finsbury Park area at the moment.

The Grow N4 group meets on the fourth Sunday of every month, from 3-4.30pm at St John's Church on Gloucester Drive to plan projects and share gardening wisdom.  This month, the group have planted a new orchard on Springpark Drive, with four apple trees, four cherry trees, two grape vines and a variety of herbs and soft fruits from plums to rhubarb. Local people and children from Woodberry Down Nursery came along to help with digging and planting over two afternoons, and hopefully they’ll soon be able to enjoy the fruits of their labours.

The group have also been planting out a site on Harringay Green Lanes this year, with currant bushes, grapevines, edible ferns, lavender, rosemary, sage and decorative border plants. The group use local resources and local knowledge to develop their projects, and aim to foster a sense of community by helping everyone to muck in and work together. So far, growers in N4 have been very enthusiastic about the projects, turning out in all weathers to plant and tend.

"Hopefully generations of toddlers and their parents will be able to tend the trees and bushes as they grow, enjoying the fruit, and taking an important step to understanding their food and how easily they can grow it themselves," says grower Laura Laker.

Transition Towns is supported by the Mayor of London’s Capital Growth scheme, and has also recently set up a knitting activity group to encourage young stitchers at Parkwood primary school. In the future, the group would like to to create community allotment linked to a local estate; start a nursery for fruit trees and herbs, and run training courses in horticulture for local people.

For further information, contact Transition Finsbury Park using this contact form, or check out the event page to find out what the group are doing and where.