Dave McCormick on Incredible Edible Barnet seed swap

A man standing behind a table with containers full of cakes, tea pots and cakes — A full table at the seed swap – (Credit – Incredible Edible Barnet)

A Barnet community group has come together to celebrate the start of a gardening year.

Incredible Edible Barnet ran its annual seed swap at St John’s United Reformed Church in Somerset Road on Sunday, 1st March.

This year around 80 people, from Barnet and beyond, came along to swap seeds, plants, pots, and tools; share growing tips and have a catch up.

Families played ‘seed swap snakes and ladders’ and visited the garden, lots of people talked about the different types of seeds available to take home, and some talked about the bigger sustainability issues we need to address.

One conversation was about the ‘Dig for Victory’ effort in the Second World War that encouraged people to turn gardens and public spaces into places to grow food to counter food shortages caused by German blockades of imports, and how today we may again need a national effort to address the challenges of food security and affordability.

As the recent National Security Assessment highlights “the UK relies on imports for a proportion of both food and fertiliser and cannot currently produce enough food to feed its population based on current diets”.

The seed swap and community gardening are examples of locally based activities that help us shift from a linear economy based on a ‘make, use and waste’ approach, to a circular economy that enables us to live sustainably, within planetary boundaries.

Other circular economy examples people mentioned included community run repair cafes, work on food waste reduction and on encouraging people to make changes to diets by eating more beans.

The great turn out served as a reminder that across the country there are community gardeners playing their part to support biodiversity in our green spaces, growing wonderful food and inspiring others to get their hands dirty.

If you are not yet a gardener, why not have a go at growing some of your own food (even if it is just a few salad leaves on your windowsill) or find a local community garden and get involved.

Maybe it is time for another ‘Dig for Victory’ style campaign that gets people growing food to save money and save the planet. And, of course, gets people together for a cuppa and a cake!

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else. £84 annual supporters get a print copy by post and a digital copy of each month's before anyone else.