G R O W Glagow is a newly founded group which hopes to get West Enders gardening.

We chatted with Nina Wesolowski of GROW via IM to find out more about their group.

GOW : Firstly, how did G R O W Glasgow come about ?

NINA : I guess it was my interest in starting up a community garden. I went to speak to Martha Wardrop who is the Hillhead Green Councillor, she put me in touch with an architect called Hannah who had been to see her about initiating a garden sharing scheme and along with Daryl from BARTA (Bank Street Area Residents and Tradepersons Association) we decided to put our heads together and get something done.

We have been doing a lot of talking and not much action but we have just finished a grow your garden poster and we have a steering group meeting planned for next week.

GOW : What kind of people are you attracting to work with you ?

NINA : Anyone interested in gardening really but we are trying to aim it towards young people because of the huge amount of students in this area who seem to enjoy dropping litter and not caring for the green spaces.
In our as yet unfinished constitution we have written:

“G R O W has aims to encourage, promote and facilitate sustainable urban agriculture and food production through engagement with public and private green spaces within the Hillhead and Woodlands areas of Glasgow”

Plan of Action… To encourage and increase production of organic vegetables in the West EndFacilitate a garden sharing scheme. Work towards setting up community gardens which will be sustained by members of G R O W. To promote a tangile sense of community through team work and sustainable agricultural development.

GOW : It’s interesting that you mention targeting students and young people – we have capacity in our backcourt to grow vegetables, but we’ve found it difficult to get students engaged in this, for various reasons. One [reason] primarily being that they tend to be ’short-termers’ and move from flat to flat. That and having busy social lives. How do you make GROW attractive to this demographic ?

NINA : I suppose some of the things we will be doing need short term input. People can sign up and help in small doses. We are trying to promote it as a way to meet new people as well and have a direct impact on wider sustainability issues. I guess you can only really attract people who are already interested but maybe our poster designs will have a younger feel that might attract people…I dont know, being a student myself I can link it directly to the Art School and Glasgow University through promotion at the fresher’s fair.

GOW : One of the good aspects of what you hope to do, (aside from getting people interested in growing food and planting) is that there is likely to be a convergence of two different social groups – younger people and those who have gardens, who tend to be older and more settled. This tends to have a good social impact, as well as a health benefit.

Aside from this, are some of the plots you work on vacant land ?

NINA : At the moment yes, we have been doing some planting on vacant plot on Cecil Street, guerrilla gardening as such, and we have plans for a clean up on a site on Great George Street.

GOW : How do local residents react to the work you’ve done ?

NINA : To be honest we have only been approached by two locals, they were both very positive and really acknowledge the need for this kind of action.
The response we have had from group meetings at BARTA have also been very positive…
It would be really great to do a garden survey and talk to people about how they feel, I am a believer in aiming for collaborative work that responds to what people want.

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GOW : Given that the allotment spaces in Glasgow are incredibly hard to come by, this would suggest that urbanites do have an appetite for growing their own food ?

NINA : I think so…
The lists are extemely long for allotments. I have also been really encouraged by the North Kelvinside Meadow ; they have recently put up vegetable raised beds and are planting a wild flower plot.

GOW : Do you need permission to cultivate vacant lots, or is this guerrilla activity ?

NINA : There are no squatting rights so it is guerrilla activity. The site we have been working on is owned by 8 different people, all of which used to own the tenement block that was pulled down. I have tried to contact these people but the land registry only has their details from 1995!
It is extremely difficult to do anything with vacant lots legally.
In lots of ways we would like to associate grow with the legal aspects of the work we will be doing… I feel like it is a bit of a minefield otherwise.
It is a shame though.

GOW : Of course. Although, it’s hard to think of an objection to the work you do in abandoned and overgrown areas, as you’re improving them, rather than contributing to their degradation. When you talk about (legal) garden space, could it be as small as a front garden ; what type of spaces are you looking for ?

NINA : I think we will carry on trying to do stuff with abandoned spaces. I am trying to push the council into helping us to make it legal, because I do feel like it is extremely important but I’m just not sure about constituting ourselves in that way. Definitely front gardens, especially unused ones…
The big push at the moment for us is the garden sharing – there have been a few possibilities come up from “legal” spaces but nothing set in stone at the moment.

GOW : Right, because I was wondering how it would work with those who have given permission for their gardens to be used to grow veg etc. in terms of who works on the plot, access and how the food is distributed when ready. It seems easier in some ways to utilise areas that serve no purpose and are a general eyesore.

NINA : Basically people who own gardens will fill out a form with things like their preferences as to how they would like their garden to be used, whether there will be times when the gardeners can or can’t use the garden, etc. then the gardeners fill out a form stating what they want to grow etc. We will hold monthly meetings so that people can meet each other and then we will try to pair people up. We will keep copies of their details and send them follow up letters to check everything is going OK… I suppose it will be a kind of networking facility.

GOW : What’s your background with gardening ? Did your parents or grandparents grow veg/decorative plants ?

NINA : I don’t have a lot of background in gardening, my mum and gran have always been quite keen decorative gardeners. I’ve always lived in cities but I believe in the need for more green space and less trash…seems a good solution and vegetable growing is very easy!

GOW : It is ! Once the earth’s been prepared, composted and the veg is in, really the work is in keeping pests away and weeds out, until whatever you’re growing is ready to be howked out of the soil.

NINA : If you would like to see the model that we will use for the garden sharing it is on a website for transition Totnes…they have managed to set up 40 gardens with 40 gardeners and seem to be going quite well.
[Link]

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GOW : Ah yes – that was one of my questions ; whether or not you were aware of Transition Towns and peak oil.

I read an interesting Times article which mentioned them. It’s entitled “Why We Forgot to Grow Food.” There is such a massive disconnect between my generation’s understanding of food, how it’s grown and what ‘real’ fruit and veg taste like.
I was reminiscing with a friend about what was put on my plate as a child – a lot of it was from the garden. My dad grew veg and my mum baked bread. If I found greenlfly in my lettuce, it was washed under the tap and put back on the plate ! I’m not that old and I can just imagine the look on some kid’s faces if that was done to them now : EW! Bugs !!

My parents grew and baked, not because they fancied a bit of ‘The Good Life”, but because they were skint and had the know-how from their parents. Back in my mum’s day, she remembers her mum buying chickens from her neighbour on an estate in Penilee!

Anyway enough of my misty memories : how can people get involved with GROW ?

NINA : Thats a lovely misty memory! People can look at our blog, http://grow-glasgow.blogspot.com (Eventually we will have a nice spangly new website but at the moment thats what we’ve got) or email us growglasgow@yahoo.com – as well as look out for posters.

GOW : The website looks good. One last question : If people want to help, but in a hands-off way, do you take donations of, seeds, seedlings, plants, cuttings ?

NINA : Oh yeah! That would be great! I guess they would have to be put in our guerrilla garden plots at the moment but definitely the more the merrier!

We will be meeting at the Cecil Street Site on the 1st May at about 6pm to celebrate guerrilla sunflower planting day so anyone is welcome to come along and have a chat to us personally too.

GOW : Fantastic ! Where exactly is the site on Cecil Street for people who want to attend ? Is it quite obvious ?

NINA : It is quite obvious, opposite Hillhead Primary School, just off Great Western Road.

GOW : Well, I’ll put the event in our calender and hopefully some of our residents will show an interest. I’ll happily plant a sunflower or two !

NINA : Great.

GOW : Thank you Nina, for giving up your time to talk to GOW today and we wish you success. We’ll be keeping track of G R O W’s progress.

NINA : Thanks for being interested, I hope I haven’t been too vague, we are only starting out and things seem to get complicated very quickly! I hope GOW continues to thrive, I think it is a brilliant thing you guys are doing!

Nina Wesolowski interviewed by Morna Murdoch (GOW) April 21 2009

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