Get Up and Grow!

Get up and Grow started in early 2009 and in June 09 won an award for Best Community Based Activity! The awards were organised by The Gloucestershire Assembly and took place in Cheltenham.

Get up and Grow's success is essentially founded on the mass support from volunteers - huge thanks are extended to all of these individuals and businesses for their support.

The Project:

Strand 1 (sharing)

Vision 21 secured two spaces, one in Cheltenham (Hayden Road, near Springbank) and one in Tewkesbury (Coombe Hill) to share with people who wanted to grow food (5/6 families on each site), both sites are supported with regular 'supporter sessions'.

Strand 2 (free training for all)

During spring/early summer Vision 21 also ran free weekend and evening workshops on how to grow vegetables for all.  Successful training sessions carried out were:

Grow Your Own …. At Home! - Saturday 10th April, 11am at (visit a local garden - meet at Hayden Road Allotments)

What To Grow - Monday 12th April, 7.30pm  at the Vision 21 office, 30 St George's Place, Cheltenham

Healthy Soil For Healthy Plants - Tuesday 20th April, 7.30pm at Vision 21 office, 30 St George's Place, Cheltenham

Looking After The Crop - Thursday 29th April, 6.30 pm at Hayden Road Allotments

Pests, Diseases And Weeds - Saturday 8th May, 11am at Hayden Road Allotments

Grow Your Own .... Without The Hard Work! Saturday 15th May, 11am at Charlton Drive, Charlton Kings

Strand 3 (Grow to Work)

Click here for details (this project ended November 2009 and was funded by the South West Foundation)

Strand 4 (free consultations in your own garden)

Vision 21 can now reoffer free consultations and assistance to get you growing in your own garden. Contact Vision 21 for more details. (first come, first serve and numbers limited)

Strand 5 (swapping)

If you would like to swap fruit and vegetables please let Vision 21 know. We can inform our contacts/display on our notice boards etc.  

Vision 21 is on the look out for more land so if you own land and would like to see
it used for community vegetable growing please contact us to discuss.

To donate tools or time to help with the project, contact: 01242 224321 or email office@vision21.org.uk

Support - So much support has been provided to Get up and Grow by local businesses, individual volunteers and councils too.  B&Q has donated a massive £150 worth of goods (through their One Planet Living Fund) and Gloucestershire Organic Gardening Group donated £50, Vision 21 is extremely grateful for both of these donations. Other support recently has come from Geotechnical Engineering Ltd, Chemtest, Tewkesbury and Cheltenham Borough Council, Falcon Systems, AVM, Elliot and Sons Transport and The Gourmet Mushroom Company. 

Of course special thanks goes again to The Swan, Coombe Hill for providing the project with our Tewkesbury plot.  Their support and interest in this project has been fantastic.