| October 15, 2011 | ||
| 10:00 am | to | 4:00 pm |
Saturday 15th October 10 am – 4 pm
Indoors and out at Lansdown Road School, Stockwood Lane, BS14 8SJ
The Edible Cities project has joined forces with another new group, Local Food for Hengrove and Stockwood (link), to put on a food focused festival for folks near and far:
Bristol Apple Press Collective making juice from local orchard apples / Go on a foraging walk with wild foods expert Andy Hamilton / Children; make pollinating insect tree decorations from wood, pine cones and seedheads and make marvellous muffins with Bridget the award-winning local school cook / Learn about the plans for the Edible Cities initiative to cherish old and plant new fruit trees across the city /hear from Bridget on why every child has a right to healthy school meals / Lovely live music from the aptly named Baker Boys to the esteemed Stockwood Concert Band / Bring your camera and go on a FREE wild food photography walk / Plus: The Community Farm, Soil Association, produce from local growers, Seed & plant swap
Lunch? Pie Minister Pies will be there, of course! Mmm mmm mm.
88% of Bristolians don’t know where Stockwood is. OK we made that up but it is a little-known area of the city – yet it contains some of Bristol’s best kept secrets & hidden green riches. Nestled between Whitchurch, Queen Charlton and Hanham it is surrounded by Stockwood Open Space, an expanse of old farmland. Now a Nature Reserve with a blend of old meadows, thick hedges and bullace groves, forgotten orchards (recently brought back into use by local groups) the Brislington Brook and some almost ancient woodland, Ilsyngrove, home to yellow archangel and the rare Bath asparagus as well as Whitethroats, Kestrels and Sparrowhawks.
Cyclists! If you haven’t discovered the Whitchurch Railway Path it’s one of the best ways to “escape” the city. Part of National Cycle Route 3, you can make a day of it and explore some delicious Somerset countryside and villages, maybe even head down to Chew or back to the Bristol-Bath railway path – a lovely autumn ride.
An unqualified, if moderate success…
Stockwood is about as far from Sustainable and Transition as you can be; car and supermarket-dependant, disengaged and socially fragmented, the area has an above average elderely population and more than its fair share of anti-social behaviour hotspots – not to mention fly-tipping and general litter problem!
Nevertheless people came, albeit in small numbers, they sampled the luscious fresh apple juice from Rowan’s cider press, made from apples collected in our open spaces.
Sarah’s raw food goodies (really outstanding, ad available at the Juice bar, in St. Nick’s Market), were a hit with kids and adults, and her demonstration was nly sightly marred by the temperamental food blender.
Ariaf Hussain’s excellent Chapatties, Tarka Dahl and chocolate-dipped fruit, held our visitors spellbound – and the food tasting afterwards woke-up their taste buds to something well above and beyond everyday experience.
Piminister’s champion pies were the only food on sale, besides the cakes and pies of the FoSOS management committee crew, made with fruit sourced almost exclusively from our local open space and its community orchard.
For this area that was quite a result, especially given the stiff competition from the Wales-France rugby semi-final, which meant that people trickled in mid-morning.
Andy Hamilton lead a number of mini-tours of the school’s green backyard, a little under an acre, between immediate gardens and adjacent land.
Most of all, we were able to network, to talk to people about the importance of food resilience, disseminate literature about health benefits of growing your own and generally prepare the ground for more events.
Our Neighbourhood Partnership’s Environment Sub-group will be pursuing the Edible Cities agenda, with planters of vegetables and herbs, as well as additions of fruit and nut trees to complement our already well-endowed open spaces.
Thank you to all who came from outside the area, stall-holders and visitors alike, their contribution helped to lift a grey day and turn it into a brilliant, sunny event!
Special thanks to organisers Kerry Vosper and Pete Goodwin, to the Council Sustainability Team, for help and support in organising the event, and the Hengrove and Stockwood Neighbourhood Partnership, for funding it.