Growing Local is ICA’s food and environment project. Its key aims are to:
- Help make affordable, healthy and nutritious food more accessible.
- Encourage engagement with and support for local wildlife and the environment.
- Increase understanding around the links between food (including its production), the natural world and climate change.
To achieve these aims, Growing Local provides opportunities for people, of all ages, to participate in a wide range of activities, from cooking and growing classes to nature themed workshops and community-based environment events.
Through these activities, the aspiration is to increase participant’s skills, knowledge and confidence, helping them to live more affordably and sustainably, feel more connected to their community and more empowered to contribute positively towards the protection of Portland’s natural environment.
Growing Local is also working in partnership to deliver the following projects:
- Slow Memory And A Flourishing Future – An ongoing collaboration with EDEN Portland and Nottingham Trent University, looking at the links between memory and environmental guardianship.
- Growing Local with Atlantic Academy – A new project that will see us work with the Academy and its students to deliver a wildlife garden and a range of growing, cooking and environment enrichment activities.
The project work with a local experts and enthusiasts to help shape and deliver all of the activities above.
A little bit of history…
Growing Local grew out of ICA’s Portland Pride project, which was set up in 2012 to promote Portland and its local crafts and food offer. Here are just a few of Portland Pride’s achievements:
- The Portland Pride shop and mobile market offer…
- Supported over 30 producers supported to expand or kick-start their own businesses through the Portland Pride shop (2012-2014)
- Attended over 60 events, selling locally produced food and crafts, through our mobile market (2013-2017).
- The Portland Pride Growing Local pilot (2016-17)…
- Delivered 125 cookery sessions (beginners, advanced and specialist)
- Ran 104 horticultural ‘grow your own’ sessions (beginners, advanced, specialist and family).
And finally…
We would like to extend a massive thank you to the talented team at Red Stone, whose generosity, creativity and talent brought the Portland Pride brand to life.
