Growing Together on the Allotment

Adam Pilkington, Harley Del Rio and Ian Parkin working on the allotment

First year BA (Hons) Graphic Arts & Design students were involved in a green-fingered live brief this month. The project was organised through Laura Murphy, responsible for the Stockport Olympic Legacy fund, at Stockport Council and saw students working with the Growing Together Project, based at the White Hill Allotment in Reddish.

The Growing Together Project is run in partnership with Stockport-based charity SPARC (Stockport Progress & Recovery Centre) and Pennine Care’s Recovery & Inclusion team. Once a week the Growing Together Project participants take part in the general maintenance of the allotment, which in turn aids their recovery from mental health challenges. The project also encourages a sense of community and social engagement.

 

White Hill Allotment, Reddish

The project was an opportunity for students to literally get their hands dirty as they grappled with a design challenge. The brief was to design a series of posters that will be used to promote the Growing Together Project. It was also a great opportunity to potentially have their work used commercially, in the real world, for a real client. At the briefing and ideas development stage, students worked on the allotment for an afternoon, digging and planting – truly hands on design research! They then returned several weeks later to pitch their work to the Growing Together project team.

All fingers are crossed now for the winning idea. Well done to all students who took part.