Rooted in Resilience: Growing a Climate-Conscious Community Garden in Eastbourne

Tucked away on Gorringe Road, a quiet Eastbourne allotment is blooming into something extraordinary.

Thanks to support from the Blue Heart Community Fund, Rooted Community Food has launched a Climate Resilient Garden project — transforming their Kitchen Plot into a living hub of sustainable gardening, creativity, and community care.

This isn’t your average vegetable patch. With techniques like Hugelkultur, keyhole gardening, vertical growing, and Olla pot irrigation, Rooted is experimenting with solutions that help gardens thrive during both drought and downpours.

Everything is recycled, shared, and grown with purpose — from pallet collar planters to a prototype polytunnel rain catcher. Even the beds have names (“The Tomb” is their Hugelkultur centrepiece in progress).

What makes it special isn’t just the growing methods — it’s the people. Weekly sessions bring together experienced growers and first-timers alike, united by a shared vision for a greener, more resilient Eastbourne.

And this August, they’re inviting the wider community to join the celebration.

✨ Climate Resilient Garden Gathering
📍 Gorringe Road Allotment Site, Eastbourne
📅 Sunday 24 August | 10AM–1PM (arrive before 12)
🎟️ Free entry | RSVP: sally@rooted.food

Expect seedy art, garden challenges, iced tea, and storytelling in the sun. It’s a joyful look at how community and climate care can grow side by side.