New educational market garden in Peterborough hoping to inspire the next generation to grow their own food

A new ‘educational market garden’ has opened in Peterborough, which hopes teach the next generation how to grow their own food.

Project Abundance previously had an eco-friendly market garden in Facet but organisers have now joined efforts to become a larger team with The Green Backyard.

Volunteers moved across to the green space in Oundle Road to work on a new market garden.

Project Abundance and the Green Backyard hope to run educational workshops for schools, as well as opening the site to the general public to “build a community of people who can benefit” from the garden.

"The eco-friendly market garden will teach and demonstrate concepts of sustainable living,” Lewis Vernum, 33, founder of Project Abundance, said.

"Everyone’s got to eat and with prices going up it seems more important than ever to teach people how to grow their own food and give them access to a place to be able to do it.

“The more people we can inspire and educate the better.”

Vernum started Project Abundance, which is volunteer-run, when he embarked on a three-year mission to create an eco-village in Bulgaria.

The market garden gives visitors the opportunity to pick their own veg, as well as offering veg boxes, which The Green Backyard delivered directly to homes during the pandemic.

"It brings together a lot of like-minded people who are looking find tranquility amongst the urban jungle,” Vernum said.

The site, with free public access, will offer school and corporate workshops and use the site to host events such as festivals and fairs.