Forest Garden An edible ecosystem on our doorsteps - Greencuisine Trust
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Forest
Garden
An edible ecosystem
on our doorsteps
Forest gardens, by careful
design, are a way of growing
a whole range of food types
with minimum work.
They are multi-purpose
spaces that can transform
our understanding of food
systems.
Photo: Dave Richards, Director of the Reading International Solidarity Centre (RISC)
Concept & Vision Forest Gardening is a low-maintenance sustainable plant-based food production & agroforestry system mimicking woodland ecosystems, including fruit & nut trees, shrubs, herbs, vines and perennial vegetables which have yields directly useful to humans. Forest Garden design includes beneficial plant interactions and is more integrated than in conventional growing systems. Our Chelsea 2020 Forest Garden offers a vision of using small & large gardens as well as open spaces to provide intergenerational access to local food that nourishes us physically and mentally as well as supporting more climate-adaptable ecosystems. Photo: Martin Crawford, www.agroforestry.co.uk
Help seed the growth of edible
eco-systems on our doorsteps.
Our Forest Garden will:
✓ Integrate the growing of
nutrient dense plants with
practical food preparation and
storage, pioneered by
eco-nutritionist Daphne Lambert.
✓ Nudge our mindsets from food
‘consumers’ to food ‘citizens’.
✓ Provide ideas that will be easy to
replicate and share.
✓ Highlight the multiple benefits This Vision Is Important Because:
of local Forest Gardening.
✓ Act as an introduction to the ✓ Prevailing monocultures are
emerging global agroforestry vulnerable to climate change
movement. and are threatening a global
✓ Be designed by Juliet Sargeant food supply crisis.
who won Gold and the People’s ✓ Intensive agriculture
Choice at the 2016 Chelsea depletes essential minerals
Flower Show. and causes a dramatic
collapse of biodiversity –
from micro-organisms in the
soil to insects and birds.
✓ The decline of biodiversity
and food quality is a major
cause of physical and mental
ill health.
✓ There is limited public
awareness of the ecological
benefits of Forest Gardening
and alternative ways to grow
Photo: Nic Wilson, Triangle Community Garden nutrient-dense food.
Moving Forward
We have bought £1,000 worth of plants which are being
grown on under organic conditions over the next two years
for the show as it will be impossible to buy mature organic
plants. We also want to start working with students from
Oasis Community Learning from Autumn 2018.
‘Oasis Community Learning is excited at the possibility of some of its students having the
opportunity of playing such a significant role at the Chelsea Flower Show of 2020. We are
impressed at the forward planning involved, the potential legacy for our students both in terms of
art and forest gardens on campus as well as the hands-on prospect of our students understanding
the significance of nutritionally dense food.’
Joy. Madeiros, Group CEO, Oasis Charitable Trust.
Photo: Deborah Smith, Our Forest Garden ‘nursery’
Why Chelsea?
We have set our sights on the Chelsea flower show
because it is a hugely opinion-shaping event. Here’s why:
✓ Over 166,500 visitors every year
✓ Attendance by 1,000 journalists, photographers and
programme makers
✓ A combined audience of 1.9 billion
✓ An average audience of 2.11 million on BBC TV
programmes and printed press combined circulation of
263 million
✓ 112,000 followers on Facebook and over 10,000 uses a
day during the show on # RHSChelsea
The 2020 Forest Garden group have secured
the talent of Juliet Sargeant whose Modern
Slavery Garden won Gold in 2016.
The Modern Slavery Garden was declared the
people’s choice, had an 8 minute feature on
BBC Gardeners’ World, received 200 million PR
‘clicks’ and led to a hugely increased profile of
the scourge of modern slavery.
Photo: Juliet Sargeant
We want to do the same for the massive food,
wildlife and well-being benefits of forest
gardens for the individual, communities and
the environment.
Legacy
One or two significant donations will allow us to focus
on our planned legacy of the Chelsea 2020 Forest
Garden which includes:
✓ Broader understanding that Forest Gardening is not gardening IN a
forest but LIKE a forest.
✓ Greater public awareness of the vital role Forest Gardens can play in
our communities.
✓ Raising the profile of the potential of urban gardening for town
planners.
✓ On-going support for individuals, communities and organisations
growing a Forest Garden.
✓ Online resource to enable anyone with a patch of land to grow a
Forest Garden.
✓ On-going engagement with energy & water efficient methods of
growing & eating.
✓ An educational home for the garden after Chelsea where it will
become integrated in the community.
✓ Teaching programmes on the benefits of growing & preparing
nutrient dense food.
Endorsements
‘Forest Gardens are one of the solutions for regenerating climate friendly farming practices
that are rich in biodiversity. I endorse this Forest Garden project which offers practical
solutions to food poverty in rural and urban areas.’
Professor Michel Pimbert, Director CAWR Coventry University (UK).
‘Food production and its quality will become as significant as sea level rise and this
enterprising project will open eyes to the potential of forest gardens that I hope leaders of
many institutions, including higher education, will note.’
Sir Anthony Seldon, Vice Chancellor, Buckingham University.
‘This excellent project has the potential to raise significantly the profile of forest gardens,
which can sustainably supply highly nutritious food whilst benefiting the environment.
Martin Crawford, Director of the Agroforestry Research Trust.
‘The Chelsea 2020 Forest Garden will appeal to a wide audience. One of the team, Daphne
Lambert, is a natural teacher and will use this platform to spread the word about good soil,
rich biodiversity & nutrient dense foods. I am very excited to think of the world famous
Chelsea hosting such ideas.’
Alys Fowler, Urban Gardener, Author and Journalist.
Local food in household & community gardens plays a vital role in ensuring food supplies
among millions in the world's poorest countries. The Chelsea 2020 Forest Garden has
potential to influence ideas & practice globally wIth a positive impact on livelihoods’.
Professor Tony Binns, Ron Lister Geography Prof., University of Otago, NZ.
President of the Commonwealth Geographical Bureau, 2008-2016.
‘A Forest Garden for Chelsea 2020 is a wonderful idea and raising such awareness is so
important to us all – it is a very exciting project and I wish you huge success with it.’
Dame Judi Dench
‘Community forest gardens, backed by knowledge of how to store and get the most nutrition
from their produce, offer a significant contribution to the fight against obesity and the
pressure on food banks and I wish this enterprising project all the success it deserves.’
Peter Kindersley, Founder of the Sheepdrove Trust.
‘In marketing as in horticulture ‘Waiting for the right moment’ is one of the most important
factors determining success. This project could not be more timely, coming at a moment
when so many people are starting to question the quality of their food and how it is
produced. The potential for a ‘butterfly effect’ to arise from this idea is immense’.
Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman, Ogilvy.
'
We need £200k
Can you support us?
If you are interested in making a donation and discussing
the project with the team and designer Juliet Sargeant,
please contact the team leader Dr John Parry
jmparry@btinternet.com 01273 471223
Another significant way of helping us would be to give this
beautiful piece of sculpture representing our Forest Garden
a new home, kindly donated by Nafisi Studio.
2020 Chelsea Forest Garden Group
Dr John Parry MBE, Sharifin Gardiner, Daphne Lambert,
Margaret J Tyzack More, Abdollah Nafisi, Kate Pincott, Deborah Smith & Tony Whitbread
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