We are very excited to be hosting these awards again this year. This is a call out for nominations – you can nominate someone else’s garden or your own growing space.
There are ten categories, designed to showcase all the amazing work that has been going on this year to green up our borough, bring people together and improve our wellbeing. This is an opportunity to shout out about people who might otherwise go unnoticed. We are looking for projects that inspire others to get involved and become food activists! You can enter more than one category but please enter a separate application for each category. You will need a good photograph to illustrate your entry; we plan to visit some gardens but we will be relying on the photos and the descriptions you offer for the shortlist.
Winning gardens will each receive £100.
1.Best Community garden in a school, nursery or educational establishment. We are looking for a garden that is used widely by the whole school for education, play and practical experiences such as digging, harvesting, cooking, and selling food.
2.Best community garden on a housing estate – flowers We are looking for a garden that brings people together and looks beautiful, for the enjoyment of residents on the estate.
3.The Ivor Picardo Award for best community garden on a housing estate growing vegetables. Our friend Ivor Picardo passed away last year but we remember him as being passionate about urban food growing and the sense of community that this creates. We would like his award to be won by a garden that is growing a serious amount of food, and encouraging people to eat it.
4.Best community garden in a park These are some of our most open gardens, visible to passers by. We would like to see a lot of involvement and something that inspires conversation about food and growing.
5. Best community garden anywhere else (eg a faith site, a hospital or medical centre or business) These gardens can often be critical places of refuge and healing.
6.Against the odds A garden that is in an unusual place such as in a very public space, or a small space, or it might be run by a group of people who have fought hardship of some kind
7.Best Community gardener We think there are many unsung heroes leading community gardens and doing a lot of behind the scenes work to make the garden work. What do you think makes a great community gardener?
8.Small is beautiful: best balcony windowbox or tiny garden space, even a doorstep or windowsill. Not everyone has access to a community garden or a space of any meaningful size, but urban gardening is often about using the tiniest spaces to grow some herbs or flowers.
9.Innovation award We know that to grow in an urban environment we often have to innovate. We would like this prize to be a demonstration of embracing innovation such as using technology, introducing aquaponics, growing something that is difficult to grow, or bringing a new product to market.
10.Garden in bloom We want to recognise private gardens but we are particularly interested in front or openly visible gardens that cheer up the neighbourhood and benefit others. This is a chance for you to nominate yourself or a neighbour whose garden you appreciate.