From little seeds…
Our story started nearly a decade ago when we discovered a dilapidated plant nursery next to an allotment site off Cricket Road in Oxford. It had been disused for 10 years and was overgrown with brambles. But there was something magical about the place and with a cabin, poly-tunnels, an orchard and growing areas, we saw there was huge potential to unlock.
A group a parents, community members and educators formed a Cooperative and set about transforming it into a beautiful educational space for families to be outside and connect with nature.
Our vision
We offer child and community education from our site, for early-years foundation stage children and up, with a focus on Forest School, food-growing, outdoor play, and self-directed learning.
The space is also a welcoming local resource, a place where local families can spend time with their children, meet other parents and build social networks. We offer community activities and events.
Following the closure of many children’s centres, the lack of wild spaces for outdoor play in the city, the climate crisis and the escalating costs of childcare and fresh fruit and vegetables, we know our project is what families are looking for.
Fertile ground for growth
We secured a peppercorn lease on the site from the City Council and have held over 40 volunteer work-parties since March 2018, with 1,243 volunteer hours given, to cut through the bramble jungle and clear the rubbish.
Luckily, we’ve attracted a committed band of volunteers who have been willing get their hands dirty! We’ve built an amazing community and have welcomed families to our site through our successful summer Forest School pilot and enchanting seasonal events. Our Growing Group has been cultivating tomatoes, cucumbers, salads and more in the renovated polytunnels. Already, we’ve achieved so much on the site.
Cultivating our site
We are continuing to make more improvements to the site including replacing the cabin with a yurt, recovering our polytunnels, building a compost toilet, reconnecting our water and energy and creating beautiful play and growing spaces. The renovation work has been an educational opportunity in itself, with numerous community work-parties and workshops enabling families to build skills over the last couple of years.