Outside Lives Ltd has launched a Community Plant and Seed Swap initiative that is now up and running in five sites, and across 3 counties, in the Mold and Wrexham areas. ly over the summer months with the idea being that plants and seeds can be bought for a small donation, or another plant / seed type can be left in their place. Plant swap tables are nothing new, however, the last 12-months of lockdowns have seen an important rise in gardening, both on a domes - tic and community scale. This was something Outside Lives were keen to maximise as part of their specialist interest ‘DIG IN’ group – an active group of almost 300 individuals with a passion for gardening and growing food. All donations raised from the plant and seed swap tables are collec- ted in customised ceramic pigs, provided by Spavens in Mold as part of the initiative. These wonderful, individually painted items are decorated and glazed, making a great keepsake and also a lovely activity for children to get in - T he initiative, which was launched on Facebook in April af- ter the success of a similar scheme run the previous year, saw FIVE plant table and star- ter packs made available to members of the community to encourage growing at home and the value of community gardening. Those wanting to take part simply had to agree to operate the tables local- volved. All monies raised from the Plant & Seed Swaps will be split between nominated cha- rities and Outside Lives, the latter enabling future growing activities to be delivered wit - hin the community moving forward. A love of gardening, reignited! Outside Lives are huge ad- vocates for the link between gardening and being outdoors and the positive impact this has on mental and physical wellbeing. There is such a strong connection there and it is a major focus for us across the projects we run for and SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITY PLANT & SEED SWAP Please make a small donation. Suggested: small pots £1, large pots £2, seeds 50p outsidelivesltd.org Please take only what you need & leave plants in their place if you can. Made possible thanks to: 51 News&Views 240 | July-August 2021 50 Community Plant & Seed Swap by Outside Lives ENVIRONMENT ENVIRONMENT 52 with the local community – both face to face and online. The events of the last 12-mon - ths have seen a rise in the numbers of people taking to growing at home, be that food or plants. A love of garde- ning has been reignited with people across the UK and that was something we were also keen to foster. Our DIG IN Group was original- ly started to do just this, sup - porting people who were both novice and more advanced gardeners to share the pro- gress on the gardens and allot- ments and to give advice and help where people were pe- rhaps a little newer or needed support. It’s become a won- derful platform for community growing, and had times been different, we would have typi - cally held lots of events on site in our community garden – but with the pandemic, we have had to do things differently – as we all have. We first ran the Plant Swap last summer on a small, local scale, but we would really like to see these become a permanent fixture, for them to be passed around communities moving forward to further encourage people to get involved in sha- ring their love for gardening and growing food. We really want to keep this wonderful sense of community going! A community project for all ages The level of support we have received so far has been won- derful – and it’s been fantastic to see children getting involved too. This can be a great way of introducing the next genera- tion to the joys of growing your own vegetables and connec- ting with nature at the same time. There’s some craft, a bit of maths and a little science in - volved so it’s thoroughly edu- cational too! That’s one of the reasons we were so pleased to provide a table to Gwer- nymynydd School... it’s going to be brilliant to see what they take away from this at the end of the summer! The Community Plant & Seed Swap initiative has been made possible thanks to funding provided by The Soil Association - Food for Life and is connected to a longer-term commitment to delivering community focused, healthy living initiatives that help navigate challenges arising from the Covid-19 pandemic. Are you a keen gardener / grower? You can join the Outside Lives ‘Dig In’ group by searching Outside Lives Dig In on Facebook! News&Views 240 | July-August 2021