Getting beyond your first growing season

Your group is likely to be really busy outside at your sites in spring, summer and autumn, however it’s important to keep that motivation going during the winter season.

• Think about activities your group can get involved with over the winter to help keep everyone interested and involved. It’s the perfect time to have planning sessions, arrange talks or to start recruiting and inducting new volunteers. Or just to meet up for a social get together! Whatsapp is also a great tool for your group to feel connected without the need to step outside on a cold winter’s evening.
• Think about how you’re going to start up again after the winter, especially if you’re a new group. You might want to arrange a social gathering before starting outside with growing activities, just to remind your group members about the connections they have with each other and the passion everyone has to use the power of food to create your kind, confident and connected community.
• Remember there are things you can grow over winter and even if it’s a small amount in comparison to what you usually grow, it tells a great story about food growing and how it can be a 12 month activity – see the Extending the growing season fact sheet for more information.

• Winter is the ideal time to meet with businesses and other local organisations to talk about how they can be involved. Incredible Edible isn’t just about growing, so this is a great time to start building those relationships and talking to business about buying local – see the Working with local business section for more information and inspiration.
• You might also use this time to plan some activities with schools or local uniformed groups for once the weather improves and the days get longer – starting those conversations in the winter could prove productive just as your growing sites start to flourish again. Have a look at the Communicating in the real world section for more information.
• If you’re going to hibernate, tell social media and keep posting the occasional thing so people know you are still about but just resting! See the Onlince Communications section for more information about using social media to support your group’s activities.