This September, Northern Roots launched the first phase of what will become the UK's largest urban farm and eco-park, transforming 160 acres of underused land in Oldham into a visitor destination, community resource and living testbed for tackling some of the country's biggest social and environmental challenges.
Anna Da Silva, chief executive of Northern Roots, outlines how the project is transforming an abandoned post-industrial site into a community-centric green asset delivering ecological, health, educational, and economic benefits.
She talks about the transformation of the land, the goals they have for it, and explains how many years of "banging the drum" for green prescribing has led to the project:
"I was the programme director at RHS Garden Bridgewater in the set-up phase of that project. So I very much pioneered the RHS's initial work on being social prescribing, gardening for well-being on that site as well."
Vegetables for the cafe are grown "200 yards away" by celebrated local chef, Mary-Ellen McTague, with an offering designed and priced to cater for all comers.
Da Silva explains how the project overcame initial challenges including vandalism by liaising with community organisations and encouraging people to feel ownership of the project and "help create" Northern Roots.
And, pending funds being raised, she outlines her hopes and plans for the project in coming years including creating various biking and sports areas and a habitat bank which she hopes will leverage biodiversity net gain funding.
"Critically, what we want it to be is a living, vibrant place where all sorts of different people come and come together and can ...grow their lives and help us grow. And I would hope, something that other places are coming to visit and seeing 'how could we have a thing like this in our place?'".
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