Art Gene’s Isle of Walney Community Growing Space is a 1.2-acre creative community green space adjacent to Barrow-in-Furness. Much more than just an allotment, the design of the site, interventions and actions on it are about growing organic food, habitats, new ideas and healthy people – all simultaneously and sustainably within the community.
Re-wilding Barrow is an art and ecology led long-term project running closely in connection with the Isle of Walney Community Growing Space. Re-wilding Barrow will work with volunteers, communities, schools and Walney Community Growing Space members to grow and propagate local wildflower species to later plant back out into undesignated urban sites around Barrow Borough, creating and extending wildlife habitats and making the urban core better for people and for nature. The growing and planting will be facilitated through a series of arts, horticulture, ecology-based, expert-led workshops, events, walks and talks and creative activities for all age ranges and abilities, helping to form pride of place, education and raising awareness of our local natural assets; the local, rare Walney Geranium, coastal edibles and more.
The Trust was delighted to fund a commercial sized polytunnel which has now been installed in the Community Growing Space. The polytunnel will be used as an education base for workshops, activities and events to facilitate the Re-wilding Barrow project and to be used to propagate a large quantity and variety of wildflower species with communities for their field and beyond.
Read more about Art Gene’s Community Growing Space