Archbishop's visit to Camberwell Farmers' Garden
Friday 30th September 2011
In the late September heat wave, Archbishop Rowan Williams spent time on Friday afternoon picking tomatoes and beans with the children of St. John the Divine Primary School in Lambeth. The Archbishop was visiting the Camberwell Farmers' Garden project on a housing estate in south London.Dr Williams heard from the Gardening Club members about the joint community work undertaken to reclaim derelict communal areas as green space for growing vegetables and flowers. He also met students from the nearby St. Michael & All Angels Church of England Academy, who had planted fruit trees to create an orchard in the new community garden.
The Camberwell Farmers' Garden was initiated by a group of Christians who wanted to make a difference, and the project is supported by A Rocha, an international Christian organization which engages in scientific research, environmental education and community-based conservation projects. As the international community prepares for the next conference on climate change in Durban, the Archbishop affirmed the need for small environmental initiatives such as this to be replicated worldwide.
"This project has involved local school children, local community groups, residents associations, people of all ages and backgrounds, in bringing back to this community a sense of ownership of the place where they live. It’s one of a number of projects that’s making a small difference, but without which big differences don’t happen.
We need to do what people in this local community here in London have been doing. To take responsibility, to realise that it’s not impossible, it’s not some huge mountain to climb - that in our own environment we can actually make a real, noticeable difference."
