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We have now received a £5,000 cheque for grant funding from Grassroots...........£3,750 for Oakleigh track and £1,250 for Lower Penns Toilet. Thats a fine early Christmas present for the Society. Letters have gone out to plot holders of Lower Penns to inform of the finance found for their toilet and to ask for suggestions of where to site their new attraction.
We have been commissioned to build and display an allotment garden on Paignton Green for the duration of Paignton Regatta Week, starting on the 8th August 2009. Fermoys, Tuckers Seeds and Payne Life have supported us as sponsors to help with much needed finance and items for the success of the display. We are going to have pigeons that will be set free every evening and then be returned the following day, as pigeons now and always play a large part of allotment life. Baby chickens and rabbits will be on our display garden to give the children much interest. A shed, compost heap and water butts are to be housed to show the public the necessity of recycling and water conservation.
Folk in the St. Michaels area of Paignton may have been bemused as to the construction of a new building that has been appearing on the Derrell Road allotment site recently. Though the construction has at times resembled an ark and more recently a Tyrolean chalet, we can confirm it is actually the Society's first composting toilet.
The PHG&AS received a donation for the project from the Torbay Carnival committee who were quite intrigued to receive a request for a composting toilet. The search for a suitable site for the building then began, with PHG&AS Hon. President, Colin ‘Pops’ Stephenson kindly donating a section of his plot for the project.
It is hoped the composting toilet will be completed in May and be opened by BBC radio and television celebrity, Judi Spiers.
Need a composting toilet on your site? The PHG&AS committee will be sourcing funding for composting toilets on our other sites, but first needs to know if land is available for the building and whether a work party is available for constructing the project. If the answer is ‘yes’ to both these questions, then let the committee know and plans will be put in motion.
There is the need to construct a communal building for the allotment folk to give them a place to sit awhile away from the cold winter's air, drink a warm mug of tea and catch up on the allotment gossip of the day.
More information will be made available when plans and funding are in place.
Paignton Home Garden & Allotment Society are eager to give equal opportunities to all as we have felt for some time that disabled gardeners have had a raw deal when it comes to having adequate access to allotments with poorly designed plots.
We, as the Society are in a privileged position to give disabled and those that are unable to manage a conventional allotment plot, due to there mobility, a chance to experience the joy, freedom and support of our community.
We have set aside a plot on Oakleigh, St Michaels Road allotments for the purpose of the disabled gardener. Measuring 45 feet square, this plot will house its own composting toilet as we have learnt that this is an essential amenity for those working on allotments and many miles away from relief. The area will have easy car turning access with growing areas as raised beds with paved walkways for easy wheelchair access. A shed will be supplied housing purpose made tools making life that little bit easier for those tending the raised beds.
This all comes at a cost_..PHG&AS are able to apply to charitable trusts and organisations for much needed grant funding to worthy causes such as this. We, as a non profit making community, are able to gain from numerous funding sources such as The Big Lottery Fund. We are in the process of completing our first application form, hoping for a thumb's up to the funding required for this worthy cause.
We will keep you posted on the outcome and progress of this project
Community composting is where a community gets together to make compost. It is a very rewarding activity and it makes use of valuable resources that are so often regarded as ‘waste’ or ‘rubbish’. It diverts garden debris and kitchen waste out of the waste stream - and so out of the landfills — and creates a useful, natural product for the garden which cuts down on the necessity for peat and so helps to conserve our natural bogland areas.
You, your garden and the environment will benefit from a natural soil conditioner that means all round improvement in your gardens and plants. Everything you need to make your garden healthy already lies in your home and garden waiting to be exploited. Most garden debris and wastes can be recycled back into the soil - a far better alternative to consigning them to ever increasing landfills or bonfires. This recycled organic material can be used to provide plant food and improve the structure and health of the soil - an excellent (and free) substitute for peat and peat based composts.
One of the best ways to carry out the recycling process is to make a compost heap - a subject surrounded by mystique with everybody having their own rules for success. In fact, making a compost heap is easy.
Another good reason for making your own organic conditioner is the peace of mind of knowing that you are not contributing to further exploitation of finite resources such as our wild bogs.
There are plenty of alternatives to peat compost available if you are prepared to look and pay for them. It does not mean that the alternatives must always be a second best to peat; most may be as good, or even better. But the best and easiest alternative by far is the creation of your own compost.
About one half of your rubbish is likely to be kitchen and garden waste. Most of this organic material can be recycled and put to good use in your garden.
People are increasingly thinking about their local environment and how much waste they produce. Community composting is a way of putting words into action.
At the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 world governments committed themselves to using the world's limited resources fairly and wisely. This was called Local Agenda 21. They realised that for this to become a reality they had to get things working at a local level. Local Agenda 21 is about local people setting the agenda for action to improve their immediate environment.
We, at Paignton Home Garden & Allotment Society feel the need to start such a scheme to help the environment and to help the local community in recycling there green waste.