The ground work begins
07.03.2026
On a misty Saturday morning in early March members of the community came together to prepare the ground for the Drove Road Community Garden. The misty South Downs hills provided an atmospheric backdrop to our activity as we picked litter, pulled out large flints and extracted deep-rooted nettles from the ground,
The over-winter ground cover planted by farmer Stuart, has worked wonders for the soil. It’s added nutrients over the colder months and prevented the top soil washing away – the soil looks much richer for it.
During our excavations we also spotted gems amongst the weeds. Yarrow has appeared and thanks to Ellie, we learnt this was once used as an antiinflammatory. We also found Mullen which was traditionally used in herbal medicine for coughs and colds as well as its fluffy leaves being used as loo paper! We have the beginnings of a medicinal bed for our community garden.
As members of the team picked up the new wheelbarrows and tools and used them across the site, there was a growing feeling of excitement about the potential of the place. Neighbours across Woodingdean met for the first time, brought together by an interest in the community garden; passers by paused their morning dog walks or jogging to see what was happening and asked how to get involved; and, there’s now a patch of land ready for a few early beds and seeds.
If you’d like to get involved in the garden please contact us at drcg-cic.liason@outlook.com