The Association doesn’t only grow vegetables. The Association is committed to working with the community to promote healthy living and growing your own food. Find out more about our links with Comper Foundation Forest School and Woodcraft (https://woodcraft.org.uk/)

Lucy Ginsburg, Forest School leader writes:

You may have seen groups of young children running up the hill at the allotments.  They are on their way to Forest School, which is located at the top of the allotments in the last three plots.  Small groups of children aged 4 and 5 come from Comper Foundation Stage School and East Oxford Primary School once a week throughout the year to the Forest School site.  They experience all weathers – wind, rain, frost, snow, sun and cloud.  They engage in a wide range of activities including playing hide and seek, climbing trees, making dens, exploring, cutting wood, playing with mud and clay, fire making and cooking.  They also love looking at the different plots and finding out about growing vegetables, fruit, flowers and froglets. Mostly they have fun and experience the outdoors in a way they might not be able to in their home environment. Thank you for letting us have this wonderful place in the allotments. 

We start the year stronger as a community, and, finally, with a working bank account with, as mandated by the AGM, the Coop. Now we have finally a place for our money that is separate from the Bartlemas Association, our Association can invest in improvements. The first of which, the shed, was demolished by two members – Andy Wilson and Tim Wiseman – who by doing this saved the Association about £3000 it was going to cost to have it done by the Council. We owe them a great deal of thanks for their community spirit (and also painkillers for strained backs!). We are about to order a container to replace it. Preliminary work cleared a couple of trees on the boundary with the road. The first working party will remove the debris and tidy the area. We expect delivery in late March or early April.

The committee is proposing two Association goals to raise further funding for over the next year or two: communal polytunnels and a composting toilet. More on this in the next few months but do let the committee know what you think. If you have any further thoughts on goals that meet our Association Aims (here: https://barrackslaneallotments.org/our-constitution/#_Toc403227867) then please do suggest them either in person to committee members or via email.

The committee also agreed to enter the Oxford and District  Federation of Allotment Associations  (O&DFAA) competition for the Alderman Knight Award for the Best Kept Allotment Site and to nominate members in the categories of best newcomers and best plots – fancy a challenge and want to enter. Please get in touch (and we might also be contacting you!).

Spring your Seeds on us!

Sunday 13th March 11am-3pm
Bring & Buy table- seeds, seedlings, tools etc!
Drinks and homemade cakes!
Face painting for the children!

Enjoy a drink and some home-made cake and chat with new and existing
plot-holders at the beginning of the allotmenteering year!
We would also welcome any donations of spare seeds or small equipment – flower pots, seedlings, small tools etc

This is a social and fund-raising event with all proceeds going towards
our goals of a poly-tunnel and on-site composting WC so please pop by for a while to socialise and support Barracks Lane Allotments