Our volunteers visit Utrecht with Brighton & Hove Food Partnership

Hilary and Jo-seph recently enjoyed an inspiring trip to Utrecht in the Netherlands, joining the Brighton & Hove Food Partnership to explore some of the city’s fantastic edible landscapes, community gardens and neighbourhood-led food projects. The visit was a great opportunity to see how communities in Utrecht are bringing people together through food, growing and gardening, while creating greener and more welcoming neighbourhoods.

The trip builds on the work of the Edible Brighton & Hove project, including the fantastic Hollingdean Park Community Orchard and Forest Garden. It was a chance to share experiences, discover new ideas and see how projects in different communities are helping people connect with nature and locally grown food. Hilary and Joseph returned with plenty of inspiration to share and perhaps a few ideas that could take root back home!

For the full story, visit the Brighton & Hove Food Partnership https://bhfood.org.uk/blog/learning-from-europe-bringing-food-sharing-ideas-back-to-brighton/

Jo-seph and Hilary say about their trip

“One of our main reflections was the idea of an ‘Edible Neighbourhood’. Seeing the project in Utrecht inspired us to think about whether Growing Hollingdean could develop a similar identity and approach within our own community.”

“One practical idea we would like to try is introducing a short warm-up activity at the start of volunteer sessions. We enjoyed the dancing activity at the market and felt it created a positive and welcoming atmosphere.”

“We were impressed by the range of citizen engagement tools and interactive activities used to involve local people. The games and engagement methods encouraged participation and helped residents feel connected to local projects and decision-making. Another key reflection was the importance of building stronger volunteer networks and community connections, particularly with young people and people from diverse backgrounds. The visit prompted us to think about how we can broaden participation and strengthen community ownership of local food-growing projects.”

See Rijnvliet Edible Neighbourhood’s beautiful website https://landezine.com/rijnvliet-edible-neighborhood-by-felixx/

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And a huge thank you to all our wonderful Growing Hollingdean volunteers who helped make this possible!

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