Growing food, improving wellbeing and connecting with nature
UAA’s community allotment at St David’s Allotment (148A Eastern Avenue North, Northampton, NN2 7RT) gives people the chance to spend time outdoors, learn practical growing skills, become more active and enjoy the calm of working with other people in nature.
Since the project began, participants have included children and older people, with UAA records describing gardeners from around age 10 through to people in their 70s. The allotment is therefore both a growing project and an intergenerational community space.
Crops have included maize, tomatoes, garlic, pumpkins, squash, sukuma wiki (African kale), spinach, beans, onions, carrots, beetroot, cabbage, peas, chard and potatoes. Growing culturally familiar foods gives participants a chance to share knowledge about how the crops are grown, cooked and used at home.
UAA’s annual reporting describes the allotment as a place of calm and connection with nature. People come to plant, weed, water and harvest, but they also talk, laugh, learn from one another and spend time away from everyday pressures.
We usually go to the allotment on Thursdays, but visits depend on the weather and the allotment’s specific needs at the time, such as watering, weeding, planting or harvesting. If you would like to join the UAA allotment group, please contact Pedro on 07783189911 so we can let you know when the next visit is taking place.
Our allotment activities recorded 32 attendances during August.
