- Volunteers / Volunteer & Community Engagement / University supported projects / Incredible Edible Manchester
Incredible Edible Manchester
Incredible Edible Manchester is an exciting initiative that gives local communities the opportunity to grow their own sustainable fruit and vegetables, whilst improving biodiversity in the area at the same time.
The scheme has been set up by Manchester City Council and The University of Manchester along with community groups and residents from across Manchester.
Incredible Edible Manchester offers volunteering opportunities for you as students looking to learn more about sustainable urban food production and offers you an accessible hands-on approach. As well as clearing, digging and planting across our sites around central and South Manchester, you will have the opportunity to meet and work alongside people within the local community.
Many of our incredible edible plots are where many of you as students live and are close to University Halls of Residence.
We want lots of you involved in this project as there is lots of potential to get stuck in throughout the academic year (and beyond) in a wide range of exciting roles.
The aim of Incredible Edible Manchester is that it will:
- Enable fruit and vegetables to grow for all the local community to use (in a time when many people are experiencing food poverty).
- Encourage the community to use fresh produce in their diets, encouraging more healthy living.
- Bring you as students together with long-term residents to develop this initiative and in partnership, help create a more sustainable community for everyone.
All the tools, bulbs, plants and seeds for Incredible Edible Manchester are provided by Manchester City Council as part of the Clean City programme, which aims to help Manchester residents improve their local surroundings.
What is Incredible Edible?
Incredible Edible began in the small market town of Todmorden in West Yorkshire in 2007.
It was started by Pam Warhurst (an alumna of The University of Manchester) and Mary Clear, who both had the aim of enriching the community around them through food.
Starting with small herb gardens and community plots, the Incredible Edible Todmorden has since founded a food knowledge hub and fishery at the local high school, as well as a market garden for young people to grow and sell their own produce. It has also backed successful campaigns such as encouraging the keeping of free range chickens and bees.
It has also supported local businesses and worked with the local council and the police to enrich the town and pursue its sustainability.
Incredible Edible now has almost 50 groups across the UK and hundreds worldwide with the movement stretching from Canada to New Zealand.
