OUTDOOR COOKING: Every year I hope to add something different. Last year, despite the weather, we had a lovely garden zone. The celebration of the event was the bread baking competition which displayed some phenomenal talent. Just the sheer look of the display was enough to hold people there in great anticipation of the results. We hope to do the same this year but even bigger. I am pushing for an outdoor oven bake as one of the entry categories since natural build ovens are ever getting more popular nowadays in people's gardens. Cob building is a fun activity that has become vogue amongst environmentalists and practitioners of outdoor cooking the world over. Britain itself has a tradition of building in this manner. We hope to build a cob oven on the day and fire it up. For those who want to get a little sticky bring your wellies.Phillip King will be returning after 2 years to show you his work on solar cooking - using sustainably-sourced materials to construct a DIY reflector oven. These sorts of ovens have been pioneered in Africa and the Mediterranean. There will be workshops on the day. We are going to require a small team of people (click to volunteer)
URBAN GARDENING: Last year, in collaboration with South London Permaculture, Peter Turski and PassionFlower built a facade of a house with a garden in front. The walkway along the back allowed for top viewing of the sedum roof that spanned either side of the door. That display will make a return, again much more enlarged and with many more plants. I have asked that Peter supply a greater selection of edibles, and hopefully with SLP's help, greater variety. Attached to this facade will be a garden showing modern concepts of design that utilise appropriate technology and alternative planting schemes. For instance, we could create a mini food forest, set up a grey water treatment system, collect rain water, set up an array of solar cells, even a wind turbine. By making use of the verticality of space it is possible to multiply your food produce substantially as well as increase wildlife habitats, which do a far better job at maintaining pests than artificial chemicals. Building heat and light traps will allow for longer ripening, or using water as a thermal mass could provide the extra warmth needed to keep that late frost off.Whilst I may be on the ball this year I cannot guarantee everything I want to do, but in order to make the area more funky and practical we are looking to create ongoing garden space, by guerilla gardening certain parts of the zone. Volunteers should get in touch with myself or the UGF direct. Also Lydsay Wayman from WRAP will run a short composting workshop, so keep a lookout on the schedule. We also like to display people's wares from their allotments and organisations like Food Up Front will be hosting a competition and receiving membership. See below for categories.
TALKS & WALKS: There will also be the opportunity to hear political views surrounding food issues and land access and we will have a speaker's corner for that. Rebeka Bloom from HemPower will be freely exercising her thoughts and selling her products, and we hope to have Atif from Zaytoun down again giving a talk on the Palestinian crisis and the first Fairtrade organicially certified olive oil. But no visit to the park would be complete without taking a trip to the fantastic greenhouse. Pencilled in also is a boot fair and a freecycle Give and Take marquee. On sale and on display will be a variety of plants, and books from Permanent Publications who have kindly donated towards the grand raffle.
Finally, we are particularly looking for contributions on the theme of food and garden from the art world, whether you see yourself as a photographer, painter or poet. The coordinator would very much like to see your work and can be contacted direct here. On top of this anyone who would like to exhibit their project should contact the website direct. Priority of viewing will be given to those who actively engage in working towards a greener London. All contributors and volunteers will be rewarded with a meal voucher to use at the Green Goddess cafe.
FOOD PREPARATION: Also on the agenda will be wild food walks, bees, and some good old home cooking to carry the day through. With confirmation Transition Town Brixton are setting up an outdoor kitchen for those who want to try their hand at food preparation. The theme is family and heritage value, so if there are any persons out there who have a desire to be heard on a podium then give Sarah a shout on Sarah Cannon and she will schedule you into the Cookers and Eaters kitchen area. Kitchen Buddy & Theresa Webb will be down giving us an example of compassionate food preparation. With luck there may be some real chocalate on the go. Things to look forward to include an invisible food walk lead by Ceri Buck to include foraging around Brockwell Park for elderberries for jam & tea-making herbs. These in turn will be brought back to the food & garden area where we will be preparing jam fruit from elderberry and apples on a rocket stove, with mini jam-jar samplers for people to take away, and herb tea. Elsewhere, there will be kids activities including butter-making and elderberry ink doodling. See the Kids zone for more information on the craft table. The day will end with a free food sitting for 50 people with entertainment including impromtu music and storytelling.Oh! And don't forget the farmeers market.
Volunteers will be free to engage in some hands-on practical gardening with maybe a few unusual workshops to whet the appetite. Don't be surprised to find anything from home-brewing to herbal medicine. Our own marquee will still be open giving talks and visuals, and we hope to get some top presenters in. Consider our marquee and gardens to be a real communal area. Anybody who wants to contribute workshops or a stall must fill in an application form For volunteering please contact SLP on volunteering. One last point, there will be a few competitions and games happening, not least the Annual bread baking competition.
With its own marquee in the wings it will highlight one of the most exciting developments in the UGF. This is the annual Brockwell Bake in which professionals and amateurs alike will be able to enter into nine categories of baking. With demonstrations on bread folding and flour blending, judges from local restarants and professional bakers will give inspection to every entry. But in the garden section FUF are holding another event with prizes going to the winner of the grow your own vegetable.
Judges will be awarding for the following categories. These are,
the biggest, the most rudest, the sexiest, and the the most beautiful.
So remember, our demonstration plots and our demonstration recipes should be inspiration for you to go home and make a real change in the world, especially if you want to get those CO2 blues out of the way.
BROCKWELL PARK COMMUNITY GREENHOUSES: contact us for any of the above events, but you could almost be sure that I will be giving talks on Pc involving wild food walks, forest gardening, guided tours and gardening workshops,
all in collaboration with the fantastic greenhouse site.