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Gardening comes with heaps of benefits. It pushes you to spend time in the great outdoors, it’s great for your mental wellbeing, it makes even the ugliest of places look pretty and you get loads of tasty fruit and vegetables at the end of it. What’s not to love?
Right now, there’s a national campaign to bring the joys of gardening to more people around the UK by giving folks the ‘right to grow’ in neglected urban spaces free of charge. And it looks like Hull is well on its way to becoming the first UK city to do just that.
The city’s councillors unanimously passed the ‘right to grow’ motion and are now poised to bring it in front of a scrutiny committee. The idea is that community groups, charities and small groups of neighbours will be able to grow fruit and veg on suitable unused council land.
Council members say that it would help bring communities together, reduce antisocial behaviour and make places look better. If approved, a map of land suitable for ‘community cultivation’ or ‘environmental enhancement’ will be made for those who want to grow fresh produce.
Councillor Mark Ieronimo said: ‘We’re blessed with green areas in Hull and spaces that are no longer used like old car parks. Quality food should be affordable, it shouldn’t be something exclusive only to those who have the money to pay for it.’
Another local councillor Gill Kennett, who tabled the motion, told the Guardian: ‘It will benefit Hull in many ways. We are a deprived city and we do need cheap food. In terms of mental health benefits, growing food gives people something to do, it gives them confidence, it ticks so many boxes.’
Time Out and the environment
Interested in other stuff happening around the UK that’s helping to protect and make the most of our green spaces and local produce? Check out our guide to London’s most sustainable restaurants or read about the time we met the experts racing to rewild our capital city. We’ve also looked into whether it’s time we stopped going foraging and if it’s time to quit wild swimming.
Did you see that huge parts of Somerset will soon become a ‘super’ nature reserve?
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