What should a community do with its unused land?
Plant
food, of course. With energy and humor, Pam Warhurst tells at the
TEDSalon the story of how she and a growing team of volunteers came
together to turn plots of unused land into communal vegetable gardens,
and to change the narrative of food in their community.
Pam Warhurst cofounded Incredible Edible, an initiative in Todmorden, England dedicated to growing food locally by planting on unused land throughout the community.
More about Pam Warhurst:
Pam Warhurst is the Chair of the Board of the Forestry Commission, which advises on and implements forestry policy in Great Britain. She also cofounded Incredible Edible Todmorden, a local food partnership that encourages community engagement through local growing. Incredible Edible started small, with the planting of a few community herb gardens in Todmorden, and today has spin-offs in the U.S. and Japan. The community has started projects like Every Egg Matters, which educates people on keeping chickens and encourages them to sell eggs to neighbors, and uses a 'Chicken Map' to connect consumers and farmers. Incredible Edible Todmorden empowers ordinary people to take control of their communities through active civic engagement.
"I wondered if it was possible to take a town like Todmorden and focus on local food to re-engage people with the planet we live on, create the sort of shifts in behaviour we need to live within the resources we have, stop us thinking like disempowered victims and to start taking responsibility for our own futures." Pam Warhurst
“There's so many people that don't really recognize a vegetable unless it's in a bit of plastic with an instruction packet on the top.” Pam Warhurst
“Can you find a unifying language that cuts across age and income and culture? … Yes, and the language would appear to be food.” Pam Warhurst
