National Allotment Week takes place this year between Monday, August 12 and Sunday, August 18 so it’s a great time to celebrate all things allotments.
Allotments provide wonderful community spaces where people can grow plants and flowers, establish important biodiverse green corridors in urban areas and, most importantly, produce lovely food to eat!
I’ve had my current allotment on Badger Way for about 18 months now, and have grown pumpkins, lettuce. tomatoes, blackcurrants, redcurrants and strawberries.
As well as making sure the family has its five a day, having an allotment helps me connect with the local community and with nature.
Along with the fitness benefits of working the land, having an allotment also has enormous mental health and wellbeing benefits.
Loneliness and isolation can have devastating impacts on your health. The World Health Organization estimate that one in four older people experience social isolation and between five and 15 percent of young people experience loneliness - and the health impact is likened to smoking, obesity and physical inactivity.
So, what better way to combat this by getting an allotment of your own and joining in the fun.
It’s not only humans who benefit. This year, the National Allotment Society has chosen biodiversity as the theme for this year’s National Allotment Week. Biodiversity basically means encouraging a variety of wildlife and nature in a particular area.
This is important because it helps nature to flourish and helps our environment to become more resilient – which means that allotments aren’t just spaces for growing fruits and vegetables; they become sanctuaries for wildlife and pollinators.
Hatfield benefits from several allotments across the parish. Hatfield Town Council oversees the Green Lanes Allotment and works closely with the fantastic Green Lanes Allotment Association.
With that said, a big thank you goes to everyone who contributed to a fantastic open day on Saturday, August 10, where the community came together to celebrate their achievements this year and awards were given out by Deputy Mayor Mick Wise, to Gillian Jones for Best Plot and Laura Bender Ozkan Sac for Most Improved Plot.
If anybody is interested in cultivating their own little plot of land, further details can be found on the Hatfield Town Council website - there may be a waiting list at the moment, but it’s a bit shorter than elsewhere!
Explore Hatfield
Not too far away from the Green Lane Allotment site is the De Havilland Grange. This is a wonderful open green space located alongside Hatfield Avenue, leading into a lovely, wooded area heading north and meeting Great Braitch Lane.
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