celebrating our community
Comedian John Bishop joined more than 100 local members of the space2grow community last week for a celebratory Big Lunch in partnership with Eden Project Communities.
The Big Lunch has been running since 2009 and is an initiative from the Eden Project as part of the Month of Community. The idea is that by coming together with our neighbours and communities - even if for just one lunch a year - we can build stronger, happier and more supportive places to live.
Before lunch, John toured the garden with Lindsey Brummitt from the Eden Project and space2grow founder Lou James, chatting with representatives of the many different groups who meet in the acre. First up was a visit to the talking shed to meet members of the parenting team.
Next, John dropped in to see the Farnham Men in Sheds, a space2grow collaboration with Farnham Maltings. The tour continued with children from St Andrew's Infant and Potter's Gate Primary School and their teachers.
John also met secondary school pupils from Farnham Heath End School, who showed him their recycled bottle greenhouse, and joined in with some pond dipping with students from Weydon School.
And finally, an introduction to some of our trustees and garden volunteers.
After the tour, John sat down with volunteers, children, parents, funders and supporters for a delicious lunch provided by Farnham Community Farm, with samosas from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Women's Association.
space2grow founder Lou James said, "Having John Bishop here was a real privilege and having the Eden Project here was a real privilege because it's an acknowledgement for everybody, for our community, that what they've been doing over the past five years really counts. I think it really made a difference to him and it made a difference to us."
say hello
After lunch, John introduced our guests to his wonderful Say Hello initiative, which encourages people to make new connections, to look up and get talking more, instead of being stuck in their phones!
To commemorate the Big Lunch, the Eden Project has gifted a beautiful new bench to the space2grow garden. It's a perfect spot for visitors to the garden, young and old, to sit and make new connections or simply catch up for a chat.
thank you
A huge thank you to all our wonderful guests who continue to support the activities on the acre and who made this such a special, joyful day.
Thank you to everyone who worked so hard in the run up to Wednesday to ensure the garden looked its best and everything went smoothly. And to those who helped the big clear up afterwards!
A big thank you to Farnham Community Farm and Ahmadiyya Muslim Women's Association for the delicious lunch.
And finally, thank you to Eden Project Communities, who generously supported our Big Lunch in so many ways and even gave out chocolate and wildflower seeds to our guests as a parting gift.
in the news
Thank you to the Farnham Herald for covering the Big Lunch. Click here to view the article.
reflections from the acre ...
The reflections this week come from John Bishop, pictured here at The Big Lunch with our very own John Negus, trustee of space2grow, on the new John Bishop Say Hello bench.
"This is what the Month of Community is all about isn't it. It's just local people, getting together and just sharing. Sharing space with each other, sharing time with each other and all these amazing things come from it.
"Each aspect of the garden, it's got a different role. Local schools are all involved and they're involved with the octogenarians who are growing some of the vegetables over there as well as pond dipping. And then you've got the Men in Sheds, which is just what it says, just blokes in a shed sharing time, who are getting that sense of community and getting somewhere to belong. It feels like somewhere to belong for everybody.
"This has been wonderful. It's far exceeded what I was expecting. I think if you could just keep this sense of pride in being able to connect with each other, it will be able to run for generations."
If you would like to share what the acre means to you, please email info@space2grow.space - we love hearing everyone's reflections.
