In this month’s blog Mary Clear, co-founder of Incredible Edible reflects on the impact Incredible Edible has made on the former mill town of Todmorden and how the Covid emergency has showcased the power of community and kindness.
Never under-estimate the power and the reach of activated, motivated citizens to sort out a town!
What a day to do a blog! I’ve just done a Zoom with our town councillors, I didn’t hold back, why bother now!? I felt they listened and I felt they cared.
Over the years our project has not felt the love from our Town Council. The public realm has been seen forever as belonging to power not people. Covid has changed all that.
Our team is out picking up litter, planting and fixing stuff while the absence of other workers continues.
During these dark days we have fed thousands of people through our food distribution project and built little libraries to distribute free books.
Our urban growing group is able to respond to the crisis with an energy not found in other places.
“People laughed at our “thing” about public benches, not laughing now are they?”
We love our streets and green spaces as that is where lives are lived out. We love to install benches and beautiful things. We live in an area of back to back homes with little private space, nowhere to sit safe outside.
People laughed at our “thing” about public benches, not laughing now are they!?
We like words in the landscape, we are fuelled on kindness, now more than ever our favourite word is needed by all.
Never under-estimate the power and the reach of activated, motivated citizens to sort out a town!
The public realm shouldn’t need reclaiming, but it does!
We haven’t got Banksy on our side, just ordinary Joes who see the sense and feel the joy of altering the town to suit the needs of its people.
It’s a sign of the times! No one is going to do the fixing needed for a very long time, so we just crack on.
It might not be very legal to plant up the cop shop with veg but the jails are full, so it will never matter!
Don’t think big society, think small, let’s take back the streets one plot at a time.
Many, many years ago, during the Upper Calder Valley Renaissance process, JTP encouraged us to follow our dreams, we did and we grew and grew. We don’t have offices, staff or a desire for a kingdom. We own our streets.
You the great and the good, architects and urbanistas, can help all of us be the change we want to see.
For more information on the Upper Calder Valley Renaissance process please visit the JTP website here.