Community Growing Projects

Get out in the fresh air, grow delicious food and meet new people through one of Cambridge’s community growing projects. Find a local project to get involved with below.

cofarm

CoFarm is Cambridge City’s first community farm. CoFarm’s purpose is to bring people together to grow and share delicious, nutritious food and help build stronger, healthier ecosystems and communities.

CROPSHARE

Cambridge CropShare is a community-supported agriculture (CSA) scheme in Cambridge, based at Willow Farm in Lode.

Growing spaces

Growing Spaces, run by Transition Cambridge, aims to reclaim unloved and underused public spaces around the city and transform them into edible landscapes.

‘GROW YOUR OWN’ SESSIONS

Sessions run on select Saturday mornings during the growing season and are flexible to suit participants. Growing sessions will be listed on Transition’s upcoming events page and if you are interested in taking part or you are an experienced grower who is willing to share your knowledge do get in touch.

how to apply for an allotment

There are two ways to apply for an allotment in Cambridge.

You can either apply through the Cambridge City Council to their allotment sites or you can apply for a plot at a site that is run by an allotment society. Visit here to find your local allotment and apply.

Empty Common community garden

The community allotments at the far end of Empty Common Allotments on Brooklands Avenue often host open sessions where volunteers can come and help with the gardening. This project is run by Transition Cambridge. You can find out more from their webpage, blog or by contacting Charlotte on 07752 143 683 or email.

Cambridge Cyrenians’ Allotment Project

The Cambridge Cyrenians Allotment Project works with local homeless people and runs on a therapeutic horticulture model across six full-sized allotment plots in the city. It provides specific horticulture training, supported work experience and a safe social environment for some of the most disadvantaged people in the city.

It runs every Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 10am – 1pm. Find out more from their website, or contact Ruth on 07948 013091 or by email.

Darwin Nurseries

Based in Newmarket Road, Darwin Nurseries is a horticulture project and farm shop offering adults with disabilities supported work experience in horticulture, retail and animal care.

Visit their Facebook page or contact their service manager Mark Hall for more information.

Trumpington Community Orchard

TCOP was founded in 2007, with help from Cambridge City Council, BBC Breathing Places and the Co-Operative Bank. They are a not-for-profit organisation, run entirely by volunteers.

Their project aims to improve biodiversity and habitat for wildlife and plants, maintaining a  community green space  in which to grow local food, preserve heritage apple varieties and help combat climate change.

Take a look at their website for more information and how to get involved.

Midsummer Common Community Orchard

Midsummer Common Community Orchard is run by members of Friends of Midsummer Common on a voluntary basis. It’s a beautiful space with over 50 trees, seating areas, and other plantings.

Take a look at their website for more information on volunteering or to get in touch with them.

URBAN FOOD GROWING

Do you want to get the most out of your garden? Sustain has created a guide with top tips on how you can improve the yield of your growing site. 

 Find out more and to download their guide, visit their website. 

Setting up a community garden

Starting a community growing project is a big undertaking, but one that is exciting and worthwhile! Charlotte Synge, who runs the Empty Common Community Garden, has some useful guidelines on setting up your own community growing space. Take a look here, on her website Verdant Earth.

romsey community garden

Garden Days usually take place in the afternoon on either a Saturday or a Sunday, and volunteers drop in and out whenever they like. Most of the garden activity occurs during the Summer, but it is still a nice place to still in winter time.

Cambridge Central Mosque Islamic Garden

The Islamic garden is open to everyone and provides a quiet transition from the city to the prayer space. Yew hedges enclose dense beds of naturalistic perennials and damask roses, giving the overall effect of an informal, carpet-like pattern of colour, scent and texture within a strong geometry.

There is also the Community Garden on Mill Road outside the Mosque boundary, open to the public, which has been planted with fastigiate birch trees, shrubs and flowers.

Find out more about volunteering here on the Good to Grow map.

Community Allotment (Part of Burnside and Vinery Allotments

A double allotment for community groups to share. It is currently used by young offenders, women who have been homeless and at risk of homelessness and women in need. Find out more about volunteering here on the Good to Grow map.