local residents, community growers, and partners came together in Denbigh to celebrate the launch of Our Garden, Our Future, a Wales-based initiative exploring how communities can play a stronger role in caring for land, growing food, restoring nature and shaping the places they call home.
14th September
The evening kicked off with a Tour of IE Denbigh sites, starting at Myddleton Avenue, where a five year lease from Denbighshire County Borough Council has allowed the creation of a thriving community growing space with lots of amazing examples of ingenious creativity where strawberries grow out of a tower of plastic bottles, and thoughtful solutions for water collection and self-watering beds were in evidence. The story around how it began was told by Nikki Renshaw of Denbighshire County Council, who has been a major player in helping IE Denbigh achieve this with Kerry Humphries. They shared how the site began and how local people have shaped it into a space that allows people to grow food, offers a place for children to play & learn and gives a reflective space for others in the community.
The second stop was at the Community Allotments, in the middle of Denbigh town. The allotment site has been gifted to the group by Denbighshire County Council and two packages of resources have been successfully gained from Keep Wales Tidy, which has given the group a pond, several large raised beds and a polytunnel. Grace Mulhearn told us how the site is really popular with families to engage in nature together.
Many community groups already care for and grow on small areas of public land, but these arrangements are often informal and can be withdrawn with little warning. ‘Our Garden, Our Future‘ will advocate for communities to secure a lasting right to grow and a new, intergenerational principle of stewardship of land.
Across Wales, communities care deeply about the places they live. They carry knowledge, memory and connection. But too often they are asked to respond to decisions rather than help shape them.
This project is exploring a different approach, one rooted in local action, shared responsibility and our past, present and our future. It aims to help build a stronger relationship between communities, land and place over time.
The campaign is a joint project between Incredible Edible and Rights Community Action, funded by Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
eating together, imagining together
The tour then made its way to Capel Mawr, where attendees engaged in reflective discussion about the growing spaces and their impact on community life. The group explored themes of accessibility, participation, and the value of shared outdoor environments.
Refreshments were provided by Margi from Siop Y Ty Gwyrdd, who prepared soup using produce grown on local allotments, demonstrating the practical outcomes of community food growing.
Naomi Luhde‑Thompson of Rights Community Action delivered a concise overview of the Our Garden, Our Future project, outlining its aims, strategic direction and the need to embrace the community stewardship of public land.
Incredible Edible founder Pam Warhurst spoke about the transformative potential of Incredible Edible’s Right to Grow projects. Her presentation emphasised how community-led growing initiatives can reshape public land use, strengthen local connections, and foster a sense of wellbeing and belonging
The launch event successfully showcased the vision and practical impact that Our Garden, Our Future can bring, where Local Authority partnership can yield to community will and need, allowing long-term land access.
It’s Amazing to see determined and talented growers come together to celebrate their achievements, with an intention of creating more community garden spaces.
For more information about the project visit https://www.ourgardenourfuture.org/
