Our Permaculture “Planting Up” Project was established by a few passionate people from Westbury Arts Centre and Transition Town Milton Keynes (TTMK) to create a community garden on the Westbury site, using the principles of permaculture to improve our outdoor space so that it better serves our local community and the natural environment. 

 

The mission is to create a sustainable, low-maintenance, accessible and inviting garden that people of all ages and sectors of Milton Keynes can use and enjoy to better connect us to the natural world and each other. 

 

Permaculture is all about the “no-dig” gardening methods so that the soil is disturbed as little as possible in order to encourage good organic growing of healthy produce that we can eat and learn about, whilst also creating a biodiverse habitat for the wildlife in the garden to complement our existing natural spaces. 

 

In it’s simplest form, the Permaculture project connects with the Transition Movement by teaching us how we can grow our own food; which can not only save you money, keep you fit and give you a healthier lifestyle, but that also allows you to know exactly what you are eating and how to produce it in an environmentally-friendly way. 

Our focus on permaculture also means that we will be recycling, reusing materials, and keeping to local resources; saving money, protecting the environment and helping to reduce our carbon footprint.

The long-term goal is to make a thriving community garden at Westbury Arts Centre that provides a safe, welcoming and educational place for people to enjoy being outside together, “muck in” with some organic “no-dig” gardening methods and that provides the residents of Milton Keynes with a place to reconnect with art and nature.