Update from OrganicLea Consortium

Wolves Lane Horticultural Centre – formerly run by Haringey council – is under new management. The site is now being run by a consortium of community food projects, enterprises and educators:

• OrganicLea, who are providing support from experience of running a community enterprise in food growing and training at Hawkwood Nursery, Waltham Forest organiclea.org.uk
• London Grown, an urban food growers co-operative, who are growing organic natural foods and developing education programmes at Wolves Lane and their larger site nearby at Pasteur Gardens.
• Crop Drop, Haringey-based veg box scheme, who will use the site to expand their distribution and provide an outlet for produce grown on site cropdrop.co.uk
• Dee Woods, BBC Cook of the Year and London Slow Food ambassador 2016, who runs food literacy programmes and is a volunteer cook at the Granville Community Kitchen
• Shared Assets, a ‘think and do tank’ which is researching and promoting good models of public land management sharedassets.org.uk

Haringey Council have been running the site since 2009 but Government cuts to their budgets led to a reduction in funding. As a result it was agreed that a third party would be best placed to utilise the site and maintain it as a community asset. Our vision for the site is a thriving centre for food growing, healthy food skills education and a space for groups and social enterprises to run activities that benefit the community.

You’ll be able to visit again, run activities, volunteer, buy plants, fruit and vegetables and attend workshops, training and events. There will be a brief period of transition before we can make the site accessible to the community.

We want to work with groups and individuals to develop the vision for the centre so we will be inviting the local community to be part of a series of conversations in the coming months.

[Take a look at the Friends Community Use – Proposals for a list of ideas!]

Want to get involved in gardening and natural food growing? If you’re interested in gardening and food growing please contact London Grown who’ll be running volunteer sessions. You can contact us by email: londongrown@gmail.com

Like eating local fruit and veg? Crop Drop will be making local, organic produce available to the Wolves Lane area so if you’re interested in signing up for a weekly bag contact veg@cropdrop.co.uk

If you’re interested in volunteering with Crop Drop to help with packing the veg bags, see our website for more details http://www.cropdrop.co.uk/get-involved

Want to learn how to cook, eat better and understand more about food? If you’re interested in learning healthy food skills and sharing your cultural expertise about food. Contact Dee by email urbansustainablefood@gmail.com.