It’s been a busy few weeks for the Eynsham Allotments Association, as the team have started making changes and improvements to their site to make the area more accessible and enhance the facilities.
At the end of January – as part of their ‘Call of Nature’ development project – the group oversaw the installation of an accessible, fully-compostable toilet on the site. The toilet is wheelchair-accessible, with a fold-down baby-changing table and a small horticultural library inside for looking up pruning techniques while using the facilities.
With 130 plot holders and their families spending many hours at the site, having a toilet available when the ‘call of nature’ strikes is hugely welcome. As one plot owner explained, “it’s so annoying when you’ve just got going on the plot to find you ‘need to go’ and the nearest toilet is a long, long way away! Now we can all spend much longer here in comfort knowing that, in time, we can also use the fully composted material to grow better veg! It’s just a win- win situation.”
The installation of the toilet is just one part of their on-going project, ‘Call of Nature’, which has been funded so far by the Allotments Association crowdfunding campaign [Supporting Eynsham allotments - Eynsham Parish Council News. Oxfordshire (14 Oct 2024)] – and boosted by money from the West Oxfordshire District Council [District Council invests in Eynsham - Eynsham Parish Council News. Oxfordshire (26 Nov 2024)] as part of their funding platform, WestHive.
The activity will continue at the site as resources allow. There are plans to create an accessible path connecting the toilet to nearby plots while a woodland area has been opened up ready for planting new trees. This will take place over the coming weekends and the allotmenteers would welcome any volunteers keen to help them plant 40 bareroot flowering and fruiting trees, 250 hedging plants and 7 varieties of fruit trees.
There are also plans for creating bug and bee hotels and nest boxes – and other woodworking projects – as well as a ‘Clearing Classroom’ to serve as a social and communal space in the woodland for groups to make use of. Once again, volunteers would be most welcome to lend a hand.
Anyone interested in helping the team complete these exciting projects can email the Allotments Association chairman, Peter Taylor, via eynshamallotments@gmail.com for dates and times.