Four Years at Sussex Roots

All pictures are taken from the Sussex Roots facebook group (link at bottom) and so may not be my own.

Sussex Roots is a society at the University of Sussex; we have always attempted to act as a co-operative as much as Student Union society limits will let us. Basically, it is an allotment for all to get involved in, learn about DIY gardening for the purpose of food, learn about interacting with the environment, experiment with sustainability and socialise outside of an academic space.

The original allotment site- we grew almost everything in raised beds outside.

I first heard of Roots from a group of my neighbours from East Slope, the now condemned student halls at Sussex, that were about to head out to the site. It suddenly dawned on me that this would be the first time I could make decisions and be more active in growing food. Before, when working on family member's plots, I was merely clueless labour; now, I was part of a team, all of us clueless, welcoming to more clueless members to be collectively clueless. Eventually, through experimentation, research, and common sense, we grew food.

Our second site, and home for two years. We finally got a polytunnel.

As to be expected, because we were first a University society and second using space owned by the university, when we were told we had to move we could protest little. We were moved once, from our site behind Brighthelm on the east slope further up the hill, and then a second time after it was revealed that our first small move wouldn't save us from the imminent demolition of East Slope and construction of a new halls of residence. 

One of the first things we did at the second site was dig a pond, which fast became a healthy habitat.

Growing food meant experimenting with processing. 

As well as jam, I have made chutney and pesto with produce from the allotment.

A logo for Sussex Roots designed by Oly Darke.

My favourite photograph I took at the second site- although not a whole lot, this wheelbarrow of produce felt like a huge achievement.

The most recent relocation flung us across campus to the west slope, where we were given a slightly smaller site with densely chalky soil and a slope. We were supplied with a levelled off area, some new raised beds to make up for the loss of the old ones, and a new polytunnel. Around this time, a member of the grounds team, Jaci, came to our aid and has helped us nurture an abundance of food into fruition, along with a vast knowledge for all sorts of reuses for items or uses for other plants for insect attracting.

Starting on the new site.

This year has seen Sussex Roots become more productive than ever; we have loads of flourishing plants, with tomatoes, squashes, melons, artichokes, sweetcorn, chillies, courgettes, pumpkins, beans, aubergines, and apples coming into fruition, while we have already had harvests of potatoes, radish, spinach, kale, garden peas, strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, black & red currants, and cabbage. We also have Swiss chard and herbs such as fennel, a few varieties of mint, lemon balm, rosemary and thyme while the flowers and other plants are too numerous to mention, all with their uses.

A poster for the Students Union- I don't think i'll ever live that quote down.

As well as an abundance of produce, we have been generally more active this academic year, even despite the half of a year that was lost to being between sites. We have made connections with other like-minded green and sustainable societies under the umbrella group 'Sussex in Transition,' and embarked on a trip to London to look at a number of sites, including the Nomadic Community Gardens near Brick Lane.

A picture from our first society trip to a number of gardening projects in London. 

This is at the Nomadic Gardens.

The start of using the polytunnel effectively. These plants are now a thriving jungle.

Through my involvement in Sussex Roots, I can safely say that I will always strive to grow as much food as possible in as sustainable a way as possible; Roots has helped shape where I want to go with my life, what areas I am truly interested in, not to mention the wealth of practical ideas being conceived across the world day after day. The bottom line is, once you're stuck in, you're stuck in; don't be shy about these things, get your hands dirty, listen to others, don't hold your ideas in, and you will get to not just see an end result, but smell it, cook it, and eat it.

Using the site for social activity has been great. This is our new fire pit at the new site.

To find out more, check out these links:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/sussexroots/

https://www.sussexstudent.com/organisation/roots/