Podcast: MyClubmoor - what Incredible Edible means to us

Daniel Ryder

Hello and welcome to our first ever Incredible Edible Clubmoor podcast. Thanks for joining us. I’m Daniel Ryder, creative projects officer at MyClubmoor and a founding member of our Incredible Edible team. Today, we will be talking to some of our members of the project, giving you an insight into what we are about, what we have achieved, and what we plan for our future. In a nutshell, we turn disused green spaces into propaganda gardens, creating growing space for local residents to gain access to free fruit and vegetables, putting local food and growing in the heart of community and learning. By doing this, we want to rebuild a greater sense of purpose in our communities. So now I’d like to bring Paul Rotherham, another of our founding members of the team, into the conversation. 

Paul Rotherham

My name’s Paul Rotherham. I’m a local resident. I’m a board member of MyClubmoor which I’ve been a board member of since the beginning. I’m also on the Grandison Road allotments committee there. I was the chairman. And so, I’m really active within the community. 

Daniel Ryder

Can you explain to me how the process of Incredible Edible works? 

Paul Rotherham

It’s basically a scheme that we’re trying to get involved with the local community of growing vegetables and herbs for the local community to use, but also getting them involved in the growing system of them. We link in with a local allotment – Grandison Road allotments’ plot 18 – where, that’s where we start from seed, going into the small plants, and then we bring them on to bring up to the hub, and they go out into the community. 

Daniel Ryder

So, how can people get involved on different levels with this project? 

Paul Rotherham

They can be involved, first and foremost, the connection will be through Facebook. Through the hub itself, of coming in and seeing what we’re doing. Actually seeing the produce grow makes them intrigued of what it’s about. We can give them all the information that’s required, and no one is excluded from it. You can just come up, come aboard to community get-together. As I said before, Facebook is just a lead in. Any time they can come to the hub and ask questions about it. But the main contact will be if we’re doing giveaways. We normally do the giving away like sunflowers or vegetables or whatever. So you can slowly encourage them say, ​“Would you like to get involved?” And you can take the produce, explain the whole system, what it’s about. 

Daniel Ryder

What type of things have the community said to yous? 

Paul Rotherham

When we first engaged with the community, the things that they actually said to us was, ​“we feel that this place is going to get vandalised. The local youths will trash it, and it will just become another pie in the sky project”. They also said ​“all this produce will get stolen, and they’ll just come along and they’ll wreck it”. And I said, ​“Well, you can’t steal something that’s already yours”. So that was the thing, a bit of negativity. But as it’s gone on and it’s progressed, they now are engaging with it. And they realise that it’s a worthwhile project, a good project to follow. And now they want to get involved in it. Or they can just come along and have some of the days. We tend to do the together days where we’re doing the weeding or the watering, or the actual replanting. We’ll do them on a set day, and it’s then when the local residents will come and speak to us. 

Daniel Ryder

So by the local residents getting involved in this kind of project, what does that do for them? 

Paul Rotherham

For them, being actually involved in it, is the connection with it, is mental health, wellbeing, and the actual thing of ownership of their own project. So, it’s not just sort of, it’s someone else’s. It’s theirs. So, they get self-ownership. And if they’ve got that ownership, they feel they’re responsible for it. It then becomes where they will protect it as well and use it. So, it’s a matter of encouraging them to for ownership. So, it’s to make them realise it’s theirs, it’s not ours, it’s theirs. 

Daniel Ryder

I’d like to bring into the conversation Karen Muldoon and Alma Shaw, two of our Incredible Edible volunteers. 

Alma Shaw

My name’s Alma. I’m part of the MyClubmoor board, and also Incredible Edible and a local resident. 

Daniel Ryder

Thank you. And Karen, could you just introduce yourself? 

Karen Muldoon

Hi. My name is Karen. I am the office administrator at MyClubmoor where I’ve also chosen to volunteer on Incredible Edible. 

Daniel Ryder

Alma, how did you get involved in Incredible Edible? 

Alma Shaw

Originally, I was part of the MyClubmoor board, and then we were talking about Incredible Edible at one of the meetings. And because I do a garden club at a local primary school, I was volunteered to join Incredible Edible. 

Daniel Ryder

And Karen, how did you get involved? 

Karen Muldoon

Well, as I say, I’m the admin at MyClubmoor, but I saw it as an opportunity to learn about learning how to grow veg and planting and all that, because I’ve not got any green fingers at all. So, I just thought I’ll volunteer on this as well. 

Daniel Ryder

So, what have you learned so far through being a part of the project? 

Karen Muldoon

I’ve basically learned how to weed, because I could never distinguish what was a weed and what wasn’t. So, I’ve been taught how to weed. I’ve now been taught how to start growing from seed, and then separating them, and putting them in their own plants. So, I’ve had a couple of successes there with lettuce and tomatoes. So, a lot of enjoyment and learning things, and people are imparting their knowledge onto me. 

Daniel Ryder

And Alma, what have you got out of the project or learnt anything new so far? 

Alma Shaw

As you know I run the garden club a local school. So, a lot of things I did know about, but I’ve learned about leeks. And I’ve also learned about, more about the people who are on the Clubmoor board and that are part of Incredible Edible. They’re a smashing gang of people. So, it’s nice to be part of. It’s helped me a lot during COVID-19, because it’s got me out the house, and, I mean, into a safe environment as well, because we’re outside and weeding. And it’s been able to have that communication with people. So, for mental health, that’s been really good. And I think, you know, it proves that gardening can be used into that extent. So yeah, I’ve got a lot out of that. Rather than just sitting at home and wandering around my own garden and talking to a few neighbours, I’ve been able to get out and meet more people. 

Daniel Ryder

What type of practical things have you done through the project since volunteering? So, for other people, what would the job of a volunteer be like? 

Karen Muldoon

Well, a job as a volunteer is basically, you’re not just helping by giving your time and making a difference in your local community. You’re also learning a new skill. And also being involved in giveaway days, where the stuff that we’ve actually grown in the planters outside of MyClubmoor, we’ve been able to give away to the locals, like the lettuce. We also done a sunflower to fit in with the NHS, so it’s quite rewarding as well. 

Daniel Ryder

I’m being joined now by Brian Mutton. We’re here at plot 18. Now I’m with Brian. So Brian, would you like to introduce yourself? 

Brian

Yeah, I’m Brian, and I’m a board member of MyClubmoor. For two years, I think now. I’m also the secretary of Grandison allotments, which is an allotment site in Walton, Liverpool. 

Daniel Ryder

So Brian, tell us about what your involvement with the Incredible Edible project is, and your involvement on the plot 18 Grandison allotments. 

Brian

Well, Incredible Edible we started with MyClubmoor. And it was to create edible green spaces around Liverpool, and then reach them out into the community. And we started with the hub on Maiden Lane – putting planters out and putting vegetables in there, like cabbages and lettuce and cauliflowers, beans, peas and stuff like that. And asking the community, ​“these are yours, when they’re ready, just take them”. And what they did, they started to come on a daily basis. When they were ready, they were taking the lettuce. We were getting great feedback on how great it tastes. And we’re putting signs up saying, this is ready and that’s ready. And they were coming every day, and we put signs up, educating them about the herbs that were in the beds. And it was just great that the community got involved in it, because that’s what we wanted. And we’re now starting to go out and put planters out into the further community and Clubmoor. 

And my involvement in Grandison allotments started when I lost a few people in my life, and I just needed a bit of help with wellbeing to control my thoughts a little bit better. And growing and planting and just being around nature, you know, just takes me to a different place, calm, quiet place. I just want people to experience what I’ve experienced. If they’ve got the same kind of issues with depression, anxiety, even loss, things like that. I want them to experience what it’s like to be in a community that comes together for the simple reason of growing. But it’s not the only thing that grows is the plants. It’s the friendships that grow. The community gets bigger. And everyone there on this allotment and in MyClubmoor is laughing and it’s a joyous experience. I want to spread that as far as I can. Why wouldn’t I? So that’s what I’m involved in, and that’s why I want it to be bigger than it is. 

Daniel Ryder

How do you see, sort of, say, someone in the community who’s had no experience with gardening and growing – what sorts of teaching schemes or things could you see that we could put together as MyClubmoor or Incredible Edible to get people involved in the project? 

Brian

Well, I see getting people involved is not just like, you know, turn up here’s a plot of land, do what you want. We want to provide guidance. But 2021 is going to be our launch year for a horticultural course that we’re going to run from MyClubmoor with Incredible Edible and joining Grandison allotments. Because we’ve got facilities for polytunnels, for growing seedlings and starting things off. So, the course would include basically seed to compost, the whole journey. And that’s what we want to do as a course. And we want to run it from 2021. 

Daniel Ryder

Is there anything else you’d like to add to anyone who’s going to listen to this podcast? Anything to spark an interest in them, to get them to come and come down to one of the volunteer days, or anything like that? 

Brian

I would just say, even if you haven’t planted anything, or you might have a house plant, you know, even with a house plant, you take responsibility for it. It’s not just putting it on a shelf. It’s knowing when to water, when to feed it, when to give it a better light, and stuff like that. But like that on a grander scale, you know, when you’re actually growing something that you’re going to eat. I can’t explain, or can’t express, what it’s like to eat your own courgettes. Have a plate full – except for the meat – have a whole plate full of your own produce, and you’re sitting there eating it with your family, saying, ​“I grew this”. You know, you get people running around holding a courgette saying, ​“I got a courgette!” People look at them thinking they’re crazy. You know, it’s a big achievement. It really is. Because it’s not as easy as just putting the seed in the ground. It’s what you do to keep it going. And it’s the same in life with people. You’ve got to look after each other to get the best out of each other. And it’s the same with planting. I see growing the same way I see looking after my family. And I just want to be able to share that with everybody, and I hope they can come and give it a go. 

Daniel Ryder

I’d now like to introduce Karen Mower from Incredible Edible Knowsley. 

Karen Mower

I’m Karen Mower, the CEO and director of Incredible Edible Knowsley. We set up as Knowsley community hub in April, 2018. And then we liked the name Incredible Edible. Contacted the Incredible Edible network to see if we could use the name, which they supported us, and we become Incredible Edible Knowsley in November 2018. 

Daniel Ryder

So as Brian Mutton mentioned earlier, we are aiming towards developing a course in our community, in partnership with MyClubmoor and Incredible Edible. How does that work for yourself here at Incredible Edible Knowsley? 

Karen Mower

We are working with Myerscough college, and we’re doing horticulture courses. These courses are accredited. So they’ll start off at a level one award – now that is only three hours a week. And once they’ve done three weeks, they’ve got a qualification then, which gives somebody some confidence. And then they can go on to level two. So, the stages are level one award, certificate, diploma, level two award, certificate diploma. And it’s up to a person how far they want to take that. 

Daniel Ryder

That’s great. So besides gaining a qualification, what else can people gain from doing these courses? 

Karen Mower

Yeah, so where the courses will take people is it gains them confidence, makes them feel a lot better about themselves. It means that it gives people qualifications to maybe go and get a job, gives them confidence, showing that person can believe in themselves then and know that they can achieve. 

Daniel Ryder

So finally, if anyone is doing growing projects in their areas, what advice would you give them? 

Karen Mower

Believe. The advice I would give people if they’re looking to start up a community project is believe and have faith. Contact your local councils. Contact your local councillors. Tell them what you want to do. For me, what worked with us, and feedback that I got is, when I contacted people, they said that I was quite passionate about what I wanted to do. And about what I wanted to do that benefited the community. I never actually asked anyone for money, and I was told that’s what made me stand out from different people, because I didn’t actually ask for money. 

Daniel Ryder

Thanks, Karen. That’s a lovely point to begin to wrap things up. Firstly, I’d like to thank everyone who I’ve interviewed and has been part of this podcast. For anyone interested in joining our Incredible Edible team, as Paul mentioned earlier, you can find us on Facebook under Incredible Edible Clubmoor. For any further information, you can contact us directly through any of MyClubmoor social media streams. Or come in and visit us at our community hub on 56 Maiden Lane. If you enjoyed this podcast, please let us know by leaving a comment on the social media platform you have listened to it from. Thanks again, and hope to hear from you soon.