THANET-based charity Windmill Community Garden Margate received funding of £4,642.00 from Kent Community Foundation in December 2023 for their community compost scheme. This August, Kent Community Foundation visited the initiative to see how the funding has been used.
Now in its twentieth year, Windmill Community Garden Margate comprises of two one-acre sites (a community garden and a market garden) that were transformed from derelict wasteland allotments after local families requested ‘somewhere safe to grow food with their children’. Their vision is to improve the physical and mental health, well-being, and community cohesion of their visitors through educational and environmental activities, as well as offering access to locally grown, chemical-free food.
A volunteer with Windmill Community Garden Margate said:
“Community composting is needed to preserve soil structure, which is rapidly depleted through conventional growing techniques. Making compost locally recycles nutrients from food waste, improves soil fertility, diverts tonnes of food waste from landfills, reduces methane emissions and mitigates global warming.”
The Windmill Community Garden Margate uses a food waste Ridan Composter which makes food growing more successful as mulching reduces the time spent watering and feeding produce with plant feeds. Their composting project funding application, asked for financial support towards running costs, adding additional composting bays, contributing to staffing costs and providing learning support materials for accessible learning.
Phoebe Pemberton, Team Leader, Windmill Community Garden Margate said:
“Our community garden is a truly magical place, featuring a community growing space, accessible pathway, forest garden, poly tunnel, kitchen, wildlife habitats and much more. Our market garden is a chemical-free food growing space that includes no-dig beds, an apiary, vegetable, herb, and edible flower beds which supply a weekly vegetable bag scheme, our market stall, and local restaurants all year round. We were delighted to show Kent Community Foundation around the Garden and explain that we have already produced 3000 litres of compost to mulch our plants.”
Hannah Hayfield, Communications Manager, Kent Community Foundation said:
“It was a pleasure to visit Windmill Community Garden Margate and learn how our funding had supported their community composting service. This project has diverted food waste from landfills, reduced time watering and feeding plants and has helped to deliver a programme which shares the best practices and benefits of community composting.”
Kent Community Foundation awarded the funding for this project from funds that are ring-fenced to support environmental projects. They also have money set aside to support projects which benefit children, young people & families, vulnerable adults, the elderly & isolated and employability, skills & enterprise.
To contact Kent Community Foundation about funding for charities and community groups call 01303 814500, email admin@kentcf.org.uk or visit: www.kentcf.org.uk/funding.
