A partnership between Hadlow Community Allotment and Hadlow Primary School to help children understand the environment, where their food comes from, and the importance of sustainability, has received a grant from Kent Community Foundation.
Hadlow Community Allotment was established in partnership with Hadlow Primary School in 2019. An area in the school’s playing field was transformed into an allotment with forty growing beds, a polytunnel, compost bins, and a shed with a rainwater capture system. The area also includes seven beds for the school to enhance learning and encourage a sense of love and care for the environment.
In March 2022, Kent Community Foundation awarded them a grant of £3,200 for, new netting and crop hoops to provide protection from pests and birds for the organic plants, and two full height walk in crop cages to improve accessibility for children and volunteers with decreased mobility.
Alison Williamson, Hadlow Community Allotment, said, “This space is very valuable as it allows our school children to learn about the environment, where their food comes from and the importance of sustainability for the future of our planet as well as giving members of the community access to an allotment outside school hours. This funding from Kent Community Foundation will benefit so many children and members of the wider community and we are very grateful for their support.”
Rebecca Hooper, Hadlow Primary School Allotment Co-ordinator, said, “This project is very important for the school. The pupils have already focused on healthy eating by harvesting crops from the allotment and cooking them in the school kitchen and we have plans to expand how we use the allotment within different parts of the curriculum including DT projects, poetry, art, and mathematics.”
Josephine McCartney, Chief Executive, Kent Community Foundation, said, “We funded this Hadlow Community Allotment project as it fitted perfectly within our Environmental Strategy and is the type of initiative that our new Amity Allotment Fund will finance. It is fantastic to see the school and the wider community working together to establish a community allotment that both supports the school curriculum and provides a valuable outdoor space for the wider community.”
To find out more about the Amity Allotment Fund visit www.kentcf.org.uk/funding/amityallotmentfund
About Hadlow Community Allotment
Hadlow Community Allotment was established in partnership with Hadlow Primary School in 2019. An area in the school’s playing field was transformed into an allotment with forty growing beds, a polytunnel, compost bins, and a shed with a rainwater capture system. The area also includes seven beds for the school to enhance learning and encourage a sense of love and care for the environment. In July 2021 the RHS inspected Hadlow Community Allotment as part of the ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ scheme and they received an ‘Outstanding’ award.
About the Amity Allotment Fund
The Amity Allotment Fund will distribute grants of up to £7,500 to cover start-up costs for new allotments or ongoing expenses for more established sites. Applications for funding will be considered for legal, or insurance costs, site purchase or rent costs, as well as the purchase of seeds, plants, tools, sheds, benches, fencing, water tanks, or communal tools.
www.kentcf.org.uk/funding/amityallotmentfund
About Kent Community Foundation
Grant-maker Kent Community Foundation has been finding, funding, and supporting some of the smallest voluntary organisations in the county for twenty years. In this time, it has distributed over £50 million to support thousands of small charities and deserving causes where a modest sum of money can make a significant impact.
They are part of a UK wide accredited network of forty-seven Community Foundations who are committed to improving the lives of local people and communities, particularly the most vulnerable, isolated, and disadvantaged by matching those who want to help, with those who need the help.
Responsible for more than eighty philanthropic funds, Kent Community Foundation is unrivalled in its knowledge of local causes and assists individuals, families, and businesses, who want to help, to establish and administer their own charitable funds.
