Vegetables and wildflowers for St John's

As a direct result of the pandemic, with an increasing appreciation of our reliance on the natural environment, Project F.A.I.T.H. (Food Available In The House) was initiated in October to help develop and cultivate a deeper connection between the church community and their food. This project involved three communities working as one: St John’s, The Filipino Chaplaincy and The Persian Anglican Community of London. The project’s primary goal is to encourage and support this development through a hands-on approach, offering a local space for interested parties to hone their horticultural curiosity.

To reach this goal a spot was allocated onsite for some raised planters to be erected, filled with the appropriate growing medium and sown with various seeds. This was diligently assembled by members of the three communities, and now four vegetable beds stand on the church’s north side. The seeds sown were selected for the autumn/winter season, as the project started at the end of October, and have germinated with varying success.

Entering the spring/summer of 2021, it will be necessary to create a growing plan for the beds to obtain the highest yielding vegetables within the contained area. A wider variety of vegetable seeds will be purchased, as well as an increased supply of recycled containers to allow for greater participation and success. We hope to allocate days for different groups to allow community involvement. Hopefully bees will be introduced in the course of 2021.

Adjacent to Project F.A.I.T.H. on the west side of the grounds, space has been made available to create a wildflower meadow. The aim here is to encourage a greater biodiversity in the area by sowing and cultivating native flower species. Seeds were sourced from the highly regarded company, Emorsgate, which specialises in native wildflower seeds, and the space was prepared by members of the Church working together with Community Payback/Probation Service. Seeds were subsequently sown at the opening of the projects by the members of the three communities. The project was formally opened by the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of RBKC together with the new Consul General of the Philippines.

For the success of the wildflower meadow, it will be important to allow another sowing in the Spring to complete the arc, as well as filling the gaps of failed or eaten seeds. In would be greatly beneficial if a seed collecting initiative was created. This would increase the interaction between members of the community and nature, allow for taxonomic skills to be developed, as well as providing a supply of seeds for further use.
Hopefully, these two projects will continue to receive interest and support, and truly develop into something meaningful and beneficial for the local community in the year 2021 and onwards.