A Chat With the Community – Kevin

This week’s chat brought about a story from a hardworking father, new to the Incredible Edible Knowsley community but very familiar with the entirety of Knowsley and interested in volunteering; looking to bring his own knowledge of horticulture and gardening to our community project. Kevin had come to his first Community Friday with the intent of signing up to volunteer. After signing up however, he sat at our indoor kitchen for a free hot drink and biscuits, where we had a chat about fatherhood and motivations for volunteering.

Initially, we discussed his history with Court Hey Park, beginning with the old Wildflower Centre: the attraction which was previously in the location where Incredible Edible Knowsley now operates. Having frequented the park and Wildflower Centre, Kevin described how it was a brilliant place to come with his children for a nice day out, and how the transformation into what it is today is a productive change which retains the focus on plant life. Specifically, the preservation of the educational and horticultural value between the Wildflower Centre and Incredible Edible Knowsley was commended, keeping the natural, community-based feel of the allotment alive.

In addition to the maintaining of the close community atmosphere, Kevin also noted that both he and his youngest son have had a keen interest in horticulture and gardening for a long time, but had mostly only practiced planting and growing locally: successfully nurturing their own strawberry plants, grapes and conker trees amongst other things. This interest also was said to be massively beneficial to Kevin’s son, who has severe autism, allowing him to keep himself occupied, learn new things, and giving him a good way to bond with his father. Although these activities help Kevin and his son with a specific condition, he also stated that he firmly believes that anyone who wishes to start a hobby, whether to add more variety to your life, give yourself the daily social interaction you need, or just to keep you motivated, should look into gardening and horticulture as a therapeutic activity that you can do with others.

This conversation gave way to a discussion about a father/parent’s role, the importance of spending time together outdoors, and how it’s a great thing to share hobbies and interests with your kids: not only for the parents and children involved, but in cases such as these, for the community. If we were to zoom out and put these thoughts into perspective, it’s easy to see that learning about, keeping close to, and contributing to natural processes in the form of practicing horticulture can be massively beneficial to your life, even if it’s just keeping a little plant on your windowsill. That connection to nature can keep you grounded and help you in more ways than you may expect.