Incredible Edible in Brampton and Longtown

In 2021 Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Brampton & Longtown were delighted to work with residents and community organisations in the area to set up a new community gardening initiative.  They brought together many of the community organisations in the two towns.

Based on the successful “Incredible Edible” model the aim is to enhance some areas of the town whilst introducing residents to the opportunity of growing their own fruit and vegetables. 

This project has now been handed over to various community groups.

During the Covid 19 pandemic Food security became an issue for many and the local community came together to ensure that no one was left without nourishing food.   This new initiative can go some way to encouraging people to consider how they can help themselves and the wider community to have access to locally grown, readily available food.

Partners at the beginning included SHINE, Brampton Primary School, William Howard School and Open Spaces, Brampton Community Centre, Lovers Lane Community Gardens, Brampton Area Action Group, Brampton Parish Council,  Arthuret Parish Council, Riverside Housing and a number of individuals.  The group had the backing of the former Carlisle City Council Healthy City Team.

In June 2023 Brampton Community Centre took over the management of the Incredible Edible site at their venue.  Call in for a chat if you are interested in joining their volunteer team.  Rotary is no longer responsible for the Riverside Housing site at St Martins Estate.

There are two well developed sites in Longtown.  There are some raised beds on Parish Land on Burn Street that have been planted up and are looked after by a small group of community volunteers.  The second site is at the Family Action Centre that is utilised by the families and children who attend the centre.  We have provided a raised bed at Longtown Community Centre for their volunteers to plant up.  It is hoped that the implementation of the Longtown Place Plan (a Borderlands Initiative) will help develop the Incredible Edible Project in Longtown.  Further information about the project in Longtown can be obtained from Kevin Walsh – see link at the bottom of this page.

Speaking on behalf of the Brampton & Longtown Rotary Club, Wendy Aldred said “ This is an exciting development for us.  Rotarians are always looking for new ventures to support in their community and the timing seems right to start this initiative.  We hope it will inspire people to help each other and start conversations about how the community might develop. 

From the community perspective, Heather Tipler from the Lovers Lane Community Garden in Brampton said that, “the idea of the community gardens came from Incredible Edible originally, so this development extends the principle to the whole community”.

From the community perspective, Karen Johnson of Arthuret Parish Council, who took a lead in relation to the Covid19  food pantry said “We know from our work over the past months that food poverty can be a reality for many people.  The more we can learn about how our community can help each other the more resilient we can become.”

Background Information

The Incredible Edible story and ethos can be found here  https://www.incredibleedible.org.uk/

A video of Incredible Edible in action in Todmorden can be found here https://youtu.be/4du9WIbVgPk