We want to introduce a community composting scheme to our urban garden to enable recycling and composting. Using 'hotbins' and kitchen waste from local households, alongside our garden waste, we could produce our own nutrient rich compost to use on our organic food growing programme and reduce costs on our social and therapeutic horticulture groups and community gardening groups. A 'duck/aquaponics' system would allow us to recycle water and grow a vertical food garden which would self sustain our small poultry flock, boost our community produce supply, and provide an opportunity for us to promote and demonstrate water recycling and conservation. In addition, a weatherproof, secure and accessible community produce/plant stand would allow us to get more local organic produce to the community, helping promote both low food mileage and wildlife friendly permaculture, whilst enabling us to demonstrate and promote the benefits of ecological sustainability in our urban community.

What we'll deliver:

• A community compost scheme which encourages eco awareness and promotes sustainable household waste management
• An vertical aquaponic garden which demonstrates sustainable horticulture in a small urban space
• An accessible community produce stall to promote low food mileage and organic growing methods

Why it's a great idea:

Our project aims to improve our own ecological, and economical sustainability. increase our productivity and improve accessibility to much needed urban greenspace. Maximising our space by including vertical growing areas will increase the fresh produce we can supply to the community , cutting our outgoing costs by producing our own compost and chicken food will help us reduce ongoing expenses for community groups and events. Recycling rain water for aquaponics systems using solar pumps will reduce our water consumption (and associated metered water costs) while allowing us to demonstrate these methods to the community. We hope that community composting scheme will allow more people to get involved and contribute to other garden projects. Improving and expanding upon the permaculture areas we have already established will enable us to expand our reach and impact within the further local community, allow more people to benefit and impact on local environment and carbon footprints.

Steps to get it done:

• Order AeroHotbin and create composting area with volunteers
• Order equipment and build vertical eco-aquaponic system and pond with voluunteers
• Order timber to build a weatherproof produce stand for crops and plants ble
• Build and kit out stall, make signage etc with craft groups and volunteers
• Open the new areas to the community and advertise the community compost and produce schemes

Our project will help the environment by promoting and demonstrating permaculture, sustainability and by reducing local food waste/carbon footprints and will be wildlife friendly, encouraging pollinators. It will allow us to provide more locally grown organic produce and have that easily available to the wider community and visitors to the garden It will promote activity and leisure, and support arts, culture and heritage as it will enable us to sustain the regular gardening clubs, music and arts and crafts groups, wellbeing sessions and events we run for the community, as well as benefitting the other charity groups and school groups that use our space for their events. It will increase volunteering, jobs and education by allowing more scope for extra volunteers to be involved in the growing/harvesting, maintenance and supply of produce to the community, and by giving us a way to demonstrate and teach permaculture and eco conscious horticulture techniques to the community.