Through the ‘Inspired to Grow’ initiative, our mission is to inspire young people to be curious about where food comes from; understand the importance of soil, nature and biodiversity for food growing and to feel empowered to grow a diverse array of heritage and colourful fruit and vegetable plants.

Over the next year, we will be running a series of workshops and sessions which will take young people on a journey that includes growing a range of different fruit and vegetables, including the ingredients for pizza and soup; harvesting from food waste, container growing and cultivating a weird and wonderful range of edible fungi from lion’s mane to pink oyster.

We’ll also be testing soil types, learning about compost and considering environmental factors around food production. “We’re hoping to inspire other young people to think more about what they’re eating, and for all of us to become more involved with the whole process of getting our food from the farm to the table, something I’m really passionate about.” Says Tyler Connolly, one of the key driving forces behind Inspired to Grow. We have a fabulous repurposed polytunnel and a well-stocked orchard which we are looking to cultivate further through this project.

Primarily the project is aimed at supporting youngsters in families from the local area who are facing challenging times for one reason or another; whether its mental health struggles, financial hardship, or loneliness. “We want to get young people positively inspired in growing, cooking, sharing and learning about food and at the same time raising awareness of food waste and the environment, the importance of diversity in our diets while having fun engaging with nature, outdoors. All that will, we hope, be good for our own health and our planet’s, ” says Project Manager Emily Reddy.  Based at Road Farm, our unique setting provides the perfect environment to demonstrate food production with on-farm examples of food and livestock production as well as hands-on vegetable growing through the Inspired to Grow project.

The sessions, which are  free of charge, will usually run on the second Thursday of the month from August ’23 to July ’24.

View the Overall Inspired To Grow course schedule for 2024 here.

To make a referral or to find out more about Inspired to Grow, please contact Emily by emailing office.rfcountrways@gmail.com.