Where are The Little Tree Community Gardens?
The first pilot site for The Little Tree Community Gardens Project is located on Friar Gate in the city centre of Derby. Work is proposed to start on the gardens towards the end of 2010. From here we endeavour to launch further community gardens throughout the U.K.
What kinds of plants are grown at The Little Tree Community Gardens?
At The Little Tree Community Gardens we grow any plant that has a current or historical use, whether for culinary, medical, construction, herbal or any other use. We are happy to grow any plants that you may like to grow as long as they are legal and have a use. The majority of our gardens are planted with fruiting plants, vegetables and herbs. However we also grow and teach about many other plants such as spices, tobacco, cotton and a number of culinary gourmet mushrooms.
What is there to do at The Little Tree Community Gardens?
There is always a lot to do at The Little Tree Community Gardens. You may wish to simply come down and do a little light weeding and watering, you might fancy getting fit by doing some digging or landscaping, you might want to learn about specific techniques such as pruning, transplanting or processing plants for use. Whatever level of expertise, whatever physical fitness, there is always plenty to be getting on with. In addition to this we hold regular events and workshops for all the family to get involved in. The Little Tree Community Gardens project also requires a team of dedicated volunteer Garden Coordinators and Charity Trustees, if you’d like to come on board please contact us or learn more about getting involved on our “Get Involved” page.
Am I still welcome if I don’t want to get involved in the creation and care of the gardens?
Absolutely, if you’d like to visit the gardens just to relax, have a look around or to learn about what we do you’re more than welcome to spend as much time in the gardens as you wish. The gardens are here for the whole of the community and we hope that everyone can enjoy them no matter what their interest is.
How am I rewarded for my contributions?
If you decide to get stuck in and help out around the gardens you will be rewarded with stamps on your reward card. Every time you’ve collected 5 stamps you will be entitled to take a basket and pick your own fresh produce to take home with you.
How is produce shared fairly?
In the gardens a task planning board is provided that states exactly which jobs need doing and how many reward stamps will be given for the completion of each task. You can simply choose a task and once completed collect your stamps. The amount of reward stamps for each task is not set but changes depending on how much produce is available to share out, this means that during periods of the year when there are gluts of produce the rewards may be higher. A separate board is also displayed that states exactly what produce is ready to be harvested, it also states if there are any limitations on the amount of a certain produce that can be picked by any one visitor. This prevents any one visitor from taking home the whole of any one harvest while leaving others with none.
Can the whole family help out at The Little Tree Community Gardens?
Yes, you can bring the whole family and even friends down to help out around the gardens, they can each have their own reward card or they may collect stamps on your card if they don’t feel they’ll be visiting enough to warrant having their own.
Can I be rewarded for contributing in other ways than with my time?
Yes, as well as for helping out around the gardens you may also receive reward stamps for bringing kitchen waste for composting, and for contributing plants and other materials to the gardens. If you would like to contribute financially to The Little Tree Community Gardens project please take a look at our sponsor’s page. Unfortunately you cannot receive reward stamps for financial contributions.
How are The Little Tree Community Gardens funded?
The Little Tree Community Gardens project is funded by The Little Tree Company and other local businesses that would like to give something back to the community. In addition to this at some times of the year there are huge gluts of produce that cannot possibly be used by our visitors. This produce is sometimes sold to the public in order to generate further revenue for the project. If you’re interested in sponsoring a garden within The Little Tree Community Gardens please contact us or learn more on our sponsor’s page.
Is The Little Tree Community Gardens project a registered charity?
Yes, The Little Tree Community Gardens Project is registered as a seperate charitable organisation to The Little Tree Company Ltd. In order to gain registered charity status we need to generate an income of over £5000 per annum. As soon as we have reached this stage a registered charity number will be applied for.
