Environment

Growing People and the Urb Farm committee are committed to a sustainable model of food production. We believe that local food should be available for local people, and that fresh, locally grown, seasonal and chemical free food is better for people and the planet. We believe it is better because it tastes better, it doesnt contain chemical residues and it doesn’t cost the earth to produce.

We aim to work in harmony with our environment: the land, the wildlife, the people, the place and the seasons.

We try not to put anything into our environment that might be harmful. We don’t use pesticides, fungicides or herbicide - not only can these contaminate the food chain and pollute the environment, but they also require a lot of petroleum to make, transport and apply. We do without them and instead rely on our insect friends and our own hard work!

We use the no-dig approach to gardening to ensure we are always feeding the soil and and protecting it from the elements.

We try to source local or recycled materials where possible and we use little or no packaging which we reuse wherever possible.

*A report by Caroline Lucas and Andy Jones entitled ‘Local Food: Benefits and Opportunities’, found that the typical UK family would emit 4.2 tonnes of carbon a year from their home, 4.4 tonnes of carbon a year from their car and a whopping 8 tonnes of carbon a year from the production, processing, packaging and distribution of the food they eat.  With statistics like this it is clear what a pivotal role food plays in switching to a more environmentally friendly lifestyle.