We’re working with a local landscape contractor to help us prepare the site for the raised beds and to build the skeleton of the communal shelter (to ensure the basis of the structure is safe!). Andy, Darren and Jude started on site today and, in just a morning, the visual impact is huge! In an ideal world, we’d have enough person-power to manually clear this area, but the area is so huge we’ve just had to get a bit of powered help. Before they started, though, we did a serious bit of froglet-herding and moved creatures to safety.

Day One (above)

Day Two (above)

Day Four (above)

End of week one (above)

During week two, the gazebo structure was finished off and recycled aggregate laid over the land around it. The recycled aggregate is essentially crushed builders rubble, so we had to sift it a bit to get rid of a few things we don’t want on site but, on balance, we felt better using a waste product than bringing in specially-quarried rock chips.

We’re really pleased with the gazebo structure – we have plans (over time, and as we find or acquire materials) to build walls into it, to give us all a bit more shelter. The hardcore forms a solid, free-draining base which is where our raised beds will stand, and people who want to be part of an urban food-growing community will be able to just rent one or two of those before (or instead of) committing to a full plot.