Growing the unexpected

As part of our October #SpotlightGarden feature, for this in-person training in North London, Paulette will take us on a tour of the inspiring growing spaces run by Black Rootz at Wolves Lane Centre and the diversity of food the team is growing - including ginger, turmeric and okra to name just a few. Paulette will start us off with a quiz to see what participants can identify and then invite us to taste some of the produce growing.

We’ll look at which crops the project has had success growing and why experimenting is key. We’ll explore the countless connections different people and cultures have to different plants and food, as well as their various applications and nutritional benefits.

To wrap up, Paulette will also give a brief intro to sprouting - another growing passion of hers that is great where growing space is limited.

Trainer bio:

Paulette Henry is of Jamaican heritage with a deep spiritual connection to the land. She fell in love with the land from an early age, while helping her father grow food. This led to her first community food growing project - transforming disused land to an urban garden sanctuary.  Paulette went on to complete a number of horticulture training courses, she trained in herbal medicine and bee keeping and became a master gardener.

Since 2019, Paulette has been working with Black Rootz, a Black growers’ collective, and the Ubele Initiative on the development of the first Black-led organic growing social enterprise. The enterprise is promoting food security and sovereignty, providing training programmes which engage young people, and supporting the next generation of growers from Black communities.

Course details:

This is an in-person training session and will take place at Wolves Lane Centre, Wolves Lane, Wood Green N22 5JD.

Everyone who attends the session is welcome to stay on for a delicious vegan lunch at the community cafe at the centre - not to be missed! Please note, the price of lunch is not included in the price of this training session.

If you cannot afford the session but would still like to attend, please contact capitalgrowth@sustainweb.org to see how we can help and ensure you can still access our programme.