Bardon Grange Project
The Bardon Grange project is a community food growing project that helps students, staff, and other members of the local community grow organic food, and gives people access to some communal growing space. Our main site is an old walled garden at Bardon Grange (within the grounds of Oxley halls of residence) in North West Leeds that is owned by Leeds University, where people can come along to learn, practice and enjoy growing good food with other people from the local community. The project was established in January 2009 and is one of Leeds University Union's community projects.
We grow lots of organic fruit and veg in the garden, support and teach people how to grow their own, and also sell lots of plants and some produce to help fund the project, and to encourage people to grow and eat locally produced food. We have weekly gardening sessions and monthly work days at the site (usually on the last Sunday of the month), and also a programme of workshops and events to help people learn more about sustainable food production, gain new skills, and enjoy the good life! See below for more information on what we've got coming up.
May news and garden tips
Coming soon!
Get involved in Growing
We are always happy to welcome new volunteers along to the garden; you don't need to know anything about growing food - just as long as you don't mind getting your hands dirty!
We have Wednesday afternoon/evening gardening sessions and a weekend work day once a month on the last Sunday of the month (except August and December) - have a look below for more info on what's on or check the LUU calendar on the What's On page of the LUU website.
Volunteer Opportunities
As well as volunteering in the garden at Bardon Grange, we often have other volunteer opportunities available, such as volunteering with office work or helping with kids gardening sessions...
None currently available! If you are interested in hearing when we next have opportunities available, please email Lizzie at bardongrangeproject@luu.leeds.ac.uk
Membership Scheme
The project also has a membership scheme (£5 for 12 months) for people who want to help in the garden and get a share of the produce, take part in courses, buy plants or compost from us, or simply support the project. Benefits include a free sack of Bardon Grange compost (about 50 litres worth), free pots and module trays and the chance to meet other members and share skills and ideas.
For more information download the Bardon Grange Membership Form (pdf).
Compost and woodchip
We have lots of compost and woodchip at Bardon Grange, produced by the university Grounds and Gardens team from green waste around campus, so very local and sustainably produced! If you would like any compost and woodchip for yourself or your organisation, we'd be very happy for you to take some off our hands in return for a donation to the project. Any income that we receive goes into us helping sustain and develop the Bardon Grange Project.
Please be aware that the compost and woodchip is only available for pick-up by prior arrangement - please contact us with the following details at least a week in advance of when you ideally would like to collect some, so that we've got enough time to sort it out:
Name (of individual and organisation, if applicable)
Phone number
Email address
Day/time you would like to pick up (based on what it says below)
Please note that you need to provide your own bags/sacks, and also bring along your own spade or shovel. The best times for picking up is either first thing in the morning or mid-afternoon on weekdays, Wednesday late afternoon or early evening, or on one of our weekend workdays (which are on the last Sunday of the month).
Donations can be made by cash or cheque (made payable to Leeds University Union) and should be made within one week of collection. Alternatively, we can invoice you for larger amounts.
For more information, please contact Lizzie, at bardongrangeproject@luu.leeds.ac.uk or on 0113 3801328.
Sessions with children/schools
We also run simple food growing sessions with local children. If you are a teacher or are interested in organising a children's session, have a look at our leaflet about schools sessions (pdf). If you are a student interested in volunteering on our schools sessions, please contact the project coordinator.
NUS & Homebase - 'Fresher Freshers'
NUS has teamed up with Homebase to run the Fresher Freshers scheme to help support student food growing projects to provide fresh, healthy, environmentally-friendly produce. We are working with NUS to help us develop our plans and ensure long-term sustainability for the Bardon Grange Project.
As a member of Fresher Freshers, we have and will continue to recieve some free gardening materials, tools and seeds from Homebase, including a shed which is a massive bonus for us. So a big thank you to Homebase for the freebies!
More Information.
To find out more, email Lizzie, the project coordinator, at bardongrangeproject@luu.leeds.ac.uk or check out our Facebook group.
Here are some directions (pdf) to Bardon Grange, and our postcode is LS16 5PA, in case you're not sure where to find us!