Incredible Edible Leamington Spa is part of a global network of Incredible Edible gardens originally begun in Todmorden in 2008. The SPARKS - Incredible Edible project, facilitated by a host of wonderful individuals, currently maintains community gardens in Leamington, Warwick, and Kenilworth and is supporting further activity in, Napton, Bishop's Itchington, at a community orchard on Harbury Lane and as far away as Warrington and Amsterdam and has ambitious plans for expanding the project further.
Derrick Knight, who is a local XR rebel and a team of volunteers meet members of the community and identify suitable spaces in which they can develop community gardens aiming to: grow food and resilient communities, raise awareness of issues of food sustainability, improve knowledge of nutrition and healthy eating, provide food for people living locally and give mental health support through social subscribing partnerships.
With the climate emergency, Brexit and the pandemic there is an ever-increasing awareness of the importance of giving greater consideration to the food that we eat, to where it comes from, to the environmental impacts of its production and transportation, to food waste and making sure everyone has enough to eat.
Incredible Edible Leamington Spa gardens are located on Regent Grove opposite the police station and on Windmill Road and Christine Ledger Square. There is also a garden in Kenilworth, ‘Grounds for Hope’ at Kenilworth Methodist Church. The Warwick garden is at a private property but volunteers are welcome with an additional larger garden emerging soon in Hampton Magna and more potential sites through a garden share concept have also been identified.
Volunteers meet in the week and/or at the weekend for planning and gardening and no experience is necessary – tools, gloves and support are provided. If you would like more information about volunteering, either planning and organising or gardening, please contact
For more information about Incredible Edible – Leamington Spa please visit the Facebook group or telephone / text 07812 795537.
For more information on the background of Incredible Edible nationally please watch Our story – Incredible Edible, the TED talk by Incredible Edible Todmorden founder, Pam Warhurst.
The SPARKS – Incredible Edible project is part of the 10-year sustainable living exploration begun by Derrick in 2010 without a budget and aiming to explore how to live sustainably without significant funds. The local Incredible Edible project evolved from a conversation with Ali, Jools and a few other folks in Warwick about the Transition experience in Leamington. Some were keen to carryout guerrilla gardening in the town gardens but a more formal approach to the Council presented plots of land in 2014 and an opportunity to start to seize back the commons.
The research phase of SPARKS straw bale building, water harvesting, food growing and renewable energy is now complete and is moving more actively into sharing the knowledge learned, enabling lower carbon lifestyles and delivering community renewable energy projects.