Something's Sprouting Up In Glossop

Bilberrys thanks to Incredible Edible Glossop

Through the wind, rain, ice and fog a voice is calling out to everyone with green thumbs.

Even though were quite a way off summer; an organic idea has sprouted up in Glossop. Incredible Edible Glossop, a rag tag group of gardening buffs, are looking for two new patches of land to convert into a feast of vegetation in the coming months. Not only this they are trying to get the council to agree to allow the I.E.G the right to cultivate roadside verges with fruit trees. Giving the community they’re five a day, free.

The Incredible Edible Glossop team had their first AGM a few months ago and are on their way to becoming Glossop’s newest constituted group. Their Idea is to clear unloved patches of land of it's empty drinks containers and cigarette packets and replace it with beautiful, productive gardens with fruit and vegetables for the community.

I try to find all about this new movement by going down and talking to their press officer Ronny Worsley about how the movement started and how hard it was to bring this idea to fruition.

Ronny tells me that it all stems from a group of green campaigners who put on a Glossop Food Fair last year. A representative from Incredible EdibleTodmorden gave a talk and it was packed out. They passed around a pad and got a mailing list then all met up in a pub one evening

Dave Thomas

At the moment there is a core of ten people who work on a patch of land that was donated to them by owner of the Curley Cornet Café, Dave Thomas. Dave is quoted as being happy that ‘‘something nice like this is being done in the community.’’ So far earlier this year they planted lots of leeks, potatoes, roses and peppermint plants in the once weed infested patch.  They intend the vegetables to be used in the Café and given away free of charge to the general public.

I attempted to contact Dave Thomas from the Curley Cornet Cafe, but he was unavailable to comment.

Incredible Edible Glossop state that they will share the food with the community and the outreach potential is amazing, they also wish to share gardening tips and discuss social issues with the general public, allowing them to use it like a public service.

The First Plot

I wondered what kind of impact this public spirited group will have to the Glossop community, will they bring Glossop together with their passion for the carrot? Ronny believes that "the sense of empowerment volunteers get from gardening will keep this idea moving." He tells me that it is very beneficial on people’s health and mood. That growing our own food will increase the community’s general sense of wellbeing.

At the moment they need more volunteers during the winter period as numbers have dwindled during the colder months, this could be due to the weather or just the stress of the Christmas period.

Ronny says that "the combination of weather and people being busy is hammering the project and that if they could extend into working with schools, local businesses, churches and young offenders they could engage a whole new range of people into feeling a connection with the soil."

The group hopes that more people will get involved over the coming weeks and they are determined to turn the town into a paradise of thick vegetation by next year.If anyone would like to get involved with Incredible Edible Glossop click here.

Also, if your abit shy and want to start your own vegetable garden at home or feel the need to cut down on expensive food costs, you can find out the basics of making your own vegetable plot here.

Local filmmaker Leah Hartshorne is producing a documentary following this group which will be released later this year . However to show the kind of work this group is aiming to create, she has made a short video of the creation of their vegetable patch next to the Curley Cornet on Henry Street To give budding volunteers and enthusiasts a taste of what is to come from Incredible Edible Glossop. You can view the video below

If you have any thoughts, questions or queries feel free to email me here 

Photograph Copyright

Bilberrys - Incredible Edible Glossop