Are you a gardening good Samaritan?
This article made me think of the work we have done on food and landscapes with the inspirational Pam Warhurst – origniator of Incredible Edible Todmorden
It demonstrates how from the inner city to urban fringe and beyond people are taking an increasingly powerful and even small scale domestic interest in things which speak to the rural food agenda. It goes on to say
“Sometimes the simplest things can brighten your rainy commute to work. To wit: as I was making my way to the Guardian’s offices this morning, I noticed that each of the small trees growing along York Way had been adorned with a small laminated public notice, presumably put there by Islington council. It said:
“In this time of drought, there is a real risk that some of our trees will suffer greatly if they do not receive enough water. When water is scarce, residents can water Islington’s trees using water that usually goes to waste. Grey water from washing up, bathing, car washing and rain water are all appropriate. The soap content (No bleach please!) does not matter to the tree and this way incurs zero cost to you for helping the tree. Healthy trees are essential in the water cycle.”
I know the current deputy leader at Islington Richard Greening and bearing in mind his previous enthusiasm for things rural (strange but true) I wouldn’t be surprised is he has had.