The Writers Bus Stopped at Incredible Edible Knowsley

As a collaboration between Liverpool Writes, Writing on the Wall, and Liverpool City Council, the Writers Bus is a project which aims to get people into writing, whilst also giving opportunities for those already interested to express themselves in a non-judging environment. One of their stopshad them visit Incredible Edible Knowsley, a location chosen by a friend of ours who is also partnered with us as a part of ArtsGroupie to create our Horti-Culture course for children.

I spoke with many of the writers who came along to host the activities, from poets, to playwrights, to children’s book authors; coming out of it with valuable insights into the resources available to those who wish to write, either professionally or as a hobby. I also got on the bus myself for a 45-minute session of writing exercises and chatting and massively enjoyed my time.

The group talked in-depth about why the bus was created and its specific purpose as an incentive/opportunity for people who enjoy writing as well as those who just thought they’d give it a go. One writer in particular told me about how the bus was able to motivate young school children, from being entirely unenthused, to looking forward to sharing their written work.

Another writer encouraged all people to not only get on the bus and flex their creative muscles, but also to look into Liverpool’s courses and projects for reading, such as the Write to Work initiative which gives unemployed people a brilliant opportunity to turn writing into a full career. She herself had been on the course, and every attendee of the course is able to write a piece of prose to be put into an anthology at the end.  She was incredibly proud of the fact that her interest in writing had turned into her becoming a published writer with work in a book that could be read by millions of people worldwide.

If You're Interested...

The Writers Bus will be stopping at:

  • Tues 25th Jan – Irish Centre, 6 Boundary Ln, Liverpool L6 5JG
  • Thurs 27th Jan- Tuebrook Market, West Derby Rd, Tuebrook, Liverpool L6 4BR
  • Fri 28th Jan- Gateacre School, Hedgefield Rd, Liverpool L25 2RW
  • Sat 29th Jan- Tuebrook Market, West Derby Rd, Tuebrook, Liverpool L6 4BR
  • Sun 30th Jan- Palm House Sefton Park, Liverpool L17 1AP

Community Action Day

If you’ve ever wanted to volunteer with us, feel like trying something new, or just want to lend us a hand in our community effort, then the 11th of February is your chance! In collaboration with Swanside and Roby councillors, Incredible Edible Knowsley is hosting a Community Action Day in which anybody can feel free to come and help us out in the allotment on a number of tasks between 10am and 3pm.

What Will it Involve?

The jobs we have planned range from more physical jobs such as the erecting and assembly of two new polytunnels, to simpler tasks like preparation of raised beds, ready for all of our Summer crops to be planted. Of course, there are other jobs and things to do in-between, and refreshments will be provided all day.

In addition, if you enjoy your time spent here or simply think it could benefit you, we will have a table set up for recruiting new volunteers, providing more of an insight into what there is to do here and what you might hope to get out of it.

If You Want to Help

You don’t need to bring anything, just show up at our allotment in Court Hey Park any time between 10am and 3pm on the 11th of February. We’re based in the part of the park that used to be the Wildflower Centre and you can enter through the big black gate.

Men’s Hive Volunteering

The Men’s Hive group has been a long time partner of Incredible Edible Knowsley. Part of Flourish and Succeed, they began volunteering here a long time ago and many have stuck with us to volunteer outside of the group. Recently, more members of the group have been coming to volunteer, and they’ve also been coming for two days per week. They will now be volunteering on Tuesdays and Fridays

« of 4 »

These pictures from the Flourish and Succeed website show the group at work as well as taking a well deserved break and relaxing. Visit the Flourish and Succeed website at https://flourishandsucceed.co.uk/ to see their article about their return to volunteering here after our Christmas break as well as what else they’ve been up to and what they’re about. Once again, a massive thanks to everything the Men’s Hive contribute on a consistent basis.

Raised Bed Preparation

It’s early in the new year, and a new year means new project growth and more of everything we did before: including raised beds. Having received more frames to use as raised beds, preparation has started to get them up and going, ready for early Summer veg.

Where do we Source our Raised Beds?

Our raised beds actually didn’t start out as raised beds at all. They are designed to hold car batteries! Though, when they are no longer needed, the simple wooden frames with metal hinges make for brilliant raised beds, and so they are generously donated to us with the help of the Merseyside Police, who transport and move the frames in their van.

A Splash of Colour

When we receive the wooden frames, they’re perfectly functional, but we like to paint them to add a little bit of our own touch. After all, it’s a bit of fun for whoever wants to paint them, and can also help us to delegate certain coloured beds to certain areas and certain vegetables.

Therapeutic Horticulture Team

This time around, it was Michael and our Therapeutic Horticulture program attendees doing the painting, and they did a great job. The raised beds are all ready to go and start their new repurposed lives.

Polypalooza: We’re Putting up TWO New Polytunnels

A polytunnel is, in effect, a lot like a greenhouse. The main difference is in the name: a polytunnel is covered with polythene as opposed to the glass panes of greenhouses. Despite their differences, both serve to protect crops from frost whilst allowing in sunlight.


What are the Plans?

We plan to have two new polytunnels erected by February, ready to plant early Summer veg such as broad beans, onions, garlic and more. We have planned the chitting and planting of potatoes in advance and anticipate the use of 250 raised beds overall by this time.

Before any growing can be done however, we need to ensure that these polytunnels are safely and rigorously built to ensure thermal integrity and optimal growing conditions. This will hopefully include the installation of a fully automated irrigation system, though we are still looking for willing technicians to help us out with this.

Anyone Can Help us Build

We’ve already achieved quite a lot with the combined help of our dedicated volunteers and staff: we’ve assembled the frame of one polytunnel and are in the process of digging a foundation for the second one. However, more help is always appreciated, and the more hands we have, the quicker we get it done, which also means we can get around to planting quicker. So anyone who enjoys hands-on work or just somebody looking for something to do can contact us and arrange to volunteer. This also applies to anyone who has any contacts in any field who could help us to install an irrigation system.

Contact us via:

Phone: 07925 529585
or
Email: info@knowsleycommunityhub.co.uk

if you're interesting in helping out!

Our Therapeutic Horticulture Attendees

Incredible Edible Knowsley provides a Therapeutic Horticulture course for anyone who wishes to get into horticulture through their local community. Our programme is hosted by Michael, a member of Incredible Edible Knowsley since the beginning and a person who gives 100% to whatever he’s tasked with. Our current horticulture attendees very much enjoy their time spent here on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so we asked them to answer some questions about their time here and their opinions on the people and their day to day experience.

1 – What is it you do here?

Here, the answers gave tasks you may expect such as gardening, filling raised beds, maintaining poly tunnels etc., but many unrelated tasks also came up such as making cups of tea, helping to tidy, stock shelves and generally help out anyone here in need of assistance. On their own time, our course members stated that they were more than happy to help out with things beyond just horticulture, expressing their commitment to the community they’ve become a part of as well as their selfless nature.

2 – Why do you come here?

The consensus on this was definitely that the social aspect of horticulture was the main contributing factors to visiting, something which Incredible Edible Knowsley would be nothing without. They found everyone here to be nice and able to have a laugh, making their time spent here feel worth it, no matter the task. However, there were some other answers that gave more personal insight, such as the fact that this course has helped people to stay away from trouble by surrounding them with good people, and giving them something to do when they may have nothing else otherwise.

3 – How does it help you?

Once again, the focus on the social aspect of horticulture and the community we’ve built here took centre stage. The ability to have a laugh was cited as a major benefit to our attendees’ happiness. It was also noted that it was just nice to have more people who are in the same boat to be able to chat with. If you have any problems, there’s absolutely no shame in talking about them here and no judgement, making it a very welcoming environment for people of all backgrounds, no matter their burdens.

4 – Did you think you would enjoy this? Has your mind changed?

There seemed to be a pattern of being apprehensive or nervous about starting, which is to be expected: starting anything new can be uncomfortable. However, it was agreed upon that any doubts or prior hesitation regarding our course disappeared and were replaced by new friendships and looking forward to the next session. There was mention of a very quick easing in to the point where, only a week or so after their first visit, attendees would find themselves sticking around even when they weren’t feeling their best due to the people around them and the friendly atmosphere.

5 – What were your first impressions of Incredible Edible Knowsley?

Aside from their initial nervousness, first impressions stressed a supportive presence amongst staff and volunteers, encouraging new members to speak openly and express themselves, both during and in-between tasks. The closeness of the community and lack of social barriers was also mentioned, praising how easy it felt to talk to people who they had never talked to before.

6 – What has been your favourite part of your time spent here?

One answer to this question involved the enjoyment of working with the public and the feeling of being useful to other people, whilst also doing something positive for themselves: even just the ability to have something different to do every day can be enough to make some peoples’ lives better. In contrast, another answer mentioned the value of the ability to chill out and have a chat, favouring the social benefits and new friendships that had come with their time here.

7 – Do you think you’ve learned anything valuable?

The answers here were definitely very personal and unique to each person, with the example of one member’s discovery of a new side to himself showing that even though horticulture can be viewed as just a hobby, the community around it and the enjoyment of having something to keep yourself occupied can do a lot for the betterment of a person’s health, both physical and mental. Another valuable thing learned was more literal: the actual gardening experience itself. Our tools and knowledge allow people with absolutely no prior knowledge of horticulture to learn new skills and do something different.

Finalities

I’d like to thank our Therapeutic Horticulture members for being so open and willing to discuss their time here without any hesitation; we appreciate the work they do and their contributions to the larger project here at Incredible Edible Knowsley. This insight into the thoughts of our members has given an idea of our strengths, which we may aim to work to in future.

Christmas Event Recap

So it’s been a couple of weeks since the Incredible Edible Knowsley Christmas Event we held on the 4th of December, and we are still as blown away as we were on the day (almost literally with the weather) at the turnout and success despite the circumstances. To see so many people still show up and enjoy themselves made it worth the setup and effort that went into it from our staff, volunteers, and the guests who came to perform on our stage.

Speaking of the performers, it was amazing to see our bandstand going to good use, with Malvern Primary School Choir putting on a brilliant performance in spite of the winter cold and some technical obstacles. All of the parents who came to see their children perform should be proud. And on top of that, we got a performance from Jack, an employee of Tarmac who have generously helped out on site, providing greater accessibility even to the bandstand on which Jack performed! It takes a lot of courage and talent to stand up there and perform and it certainly payed off with all of our guests seeming to enjoy themselves.

Also, we must all give another massive thank you to Santa for his appearance and even bringing some early presents in his sack for the children. Being used to the temperature in the Antarctic, he was able to walk around all day in that harsh weather. In fact, when I asked him, he said it was “like being on holiday in Spain” compared to the North Pole. As I’m sure the children will agree, his presence enhanced the atmosphere and experience of the day.

The people who set up shops in our poly tunnels had lots of laughs and good times, and we hope they enjoyed the experience just as much as everybody else, and the same goes for the friends of Court Hey Park who were integral in the running of the Cafe, serving delicious hot food and drinks, as well as the Men’s Hive group for their help. Everybody did a really great job of running the event and we hope to be able to learn from this one to make the next one even better!

More than anyone, I think it is vital that we thank all of our attendees, whether regulars or just nearby and deciding to stop by, it was all of you who made the event what it was. It was rewarding to see so many people show up and have a great time, some of which surprised at the fact that the event was free and happy to join the festivities. We all really hope you had a good time and wish you all a Merry Christmas from Incredible Edible Knowsley.

Jack's Performance

Event Highlights

An Interview With Santa Claus!

Unbeknownst to many, Incredible Edible Knowsley is not just a community-based project for horticultural and interpersonal growth. It is also the secondary job of Santa Claus during his 364 days of free time between Christmases. Recently, Santa was so kind as to offer us an interview about himself and his jobs in hopes of raising Christmas cheer and belief to fuel his sleigh, and so me and Aynsley, a volunteer of ours, prepared some questions that were both in the spirit of Christmas and the values of Incredible Edible Knowsley. 

 

What do you see here at Incredible Edible Knowsley that you think should be seen more elsewhere?”

I see generosity and not only what we at Incredible Edible give to the community, but what the community give back to us.

What is the most important part of Christmas?

The most important part of Christmas to me is family and the togetherness that it brings to people. Personally, I’ve met a family-like group of friends at Incredible Edible Knowsley over my time here, and so this Christmas I will value the time I spend with them, as well as with Mrs Claus and the Reindeer back home.

What do your feed your reindeer and how do you grow it?

Reindeer are quite partial to carrots, and luckily for me, I know a thing or two about how to grow carrots. You see, carrots aren’t like other plants. They aren’t started as seedlings in a pot. Instead, they’re planted directly into the ground because they don’t like being moved around so much. So when they start to grow, we take out the smaller plants to feed to the Reindeer and leave the rest for harvest so that nothing goes to waste.

Which vegetables can you grow in the North Pole and which vegetable is the hardest to grow?

Well, the North Pole is in Antarctica and there’s actually no land, only ice. Also, Antarctica receives very very little direct sunlight which is necessary for plants to grow, so it’s quite difficult to get any plants growing over there. That’s why I’m having so much fun at Incredible Edible Knowsley. However, it is possible to grow plants in the North Pole, given their requirements are met. Me and Mrs Claus have been thinking about investing in a large terrarium to add to our workshop ever since I started visiting here.

What is a healthy alternative to milk and cookies that children can grow themselves?

Well all I’ll say is, cress is quite easy to grow, and I don’t mind an egg and cress butty, so I’d definitely say cress.

Where are all the batteries for the toys?

Well I’m awfully sorry. I suppose in having to manage the factory, some things manage to fall through the cracks. I think it’s also because many of the toys we make are homemade 

After our Christmas event on the 4th, Santa was very tired, so we thank him for taking the time to answer our questions. He also told us to thank you for making an appearance and believing in him so that he can fuel his sleigh. He had a wonderful time and hopes you all do too. And the good times have yet to stop, with Christmas round the corner, Santa went back to the North Pole to help manage his factory… and maybe tell the elves to start making some batteries.

Incredible Edible Knowsley’s Christmas Festival

All of us here at Incredible Edible Knowsley are excited to be hosting a Christmas themed event on the 4th of December. We’re planning a lot of fun activities for families to enjoy, including turning our base in Court Hey Park into a Christmas Village, and we’re even expecting a visit from Santa. 

Some attractions you can look forward to include:

  • Market Stalls 
  • Christmas Choir 
  • Christmas Play 
  • Demonstrations/Workshops
  • Santa’s Grotto 
  • Free Hot Drinks and Biscuits
We hope you’ll join us for some community-based Christmas festivity and a hot drink or two, and this event is open to all, so feel free to bring anyone you think would enjoy it. 

We’re Planning a Snapshot Day

Attention all horticulturists, fundraisers and everything in-between! Incredible Edible Knowsley is planning a snapshot day in January 2022 for you to look around and see for yourself what we do here, and whether you’d like to join us.

Our project has seen staggering growth since its inception, with funding, volunteers, and help from local counsellors turning Incredible Edible Knowsley into a community hotspot where everyone is welcome. As a result, we think it’s a great time to encourage all community members to take a look at what we do here and see if it interests you. 

Whether you’re passionate about horticulture, eager to learn, looking to make new friends, or just hoping to help your local community, you can join our current volunteers who have been with us for a long time and enjoy their time spent here: contributing to the achievement of our goals.

This snapshot day will include free biscuits, tea & coffee and a light lunch, with all of our staff working hard to inform you of our many volunteering roles. So if you would like to join us, it’s the perfect opportunity.

Of course, if you are excited about volunteering, there’s no need to wait. You can always visit our volunteer page where we will have information sheets pertaining to all of the roles we need. Simply visit us whenever we’re open to learn more or ask about an induction. We hope to see you on our snapshot day, if not soon!