The Street Community Garden
The Street Community Garden is a thriving, award-winning, wildlife-friendly sustainable space. Volunteers come together to grow food, connect with nature, and strengthen community ties.
We’ve created a productive garden including a three-bay composting system, wood-chip bays and flooring, rainwater harvesting, habitat hedge planting, bird-boxes, a nature pond, and dead hedge, which attracts and protects wildlife. Two donated greenhouses provide under-cover space to cultivate crops not suited to our coastal climate.
All these factors help to recycle resources, build healthy soil, and support local wildlife. The produce harvested from the garden is donated to Scarborough Community Fridge reducing food miles and ensuring fresh, nutritious food reaches those who need it most.
Agro-Ecological Community Food Growing
In all of our community projects, we work in harmony with nature. We focus on building rich, living soil, supporting biodiversity, and using eco-friendly practices that respect the environment. This means no synthetic chemicals - just natural methods like crop rotation, composting, and companion planting, all while fostering vibrant, resilient community spaces.
Why Don’t We Call it ‘Organic’?
The term ‘organic’ is legally regulated here in the UK, and applying it requires certification that can be costly and complex, especially for a community project. While our agro-ecological methods share many of the same values as organic farming, we’re focused on making sustainable food growing accessible to everyone in our community, without the need for formal organic certification.
Why It Matters
When you get involved in our projects, you’re participating in a movement towards sustainability and ecological stewardship. Every seed we plant together is a step towards a healthier environment and a stronger community. The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust also featured The Street Community Garden as one of their case studies.
The National Lottery
With funding from The National Lottery and with CaVCA’s permission, we commissioned a beautiful mosaic created by community members over 18 months with free workshops, guided by local artist and mosaic designer Gaby Naptali.
GROW SCARBOROUGH Coastal Seed Hubs
Share, Grow, Donate
In partnership with North Yorkshire Council
“Seeds are foundational to building a resilient and self-sustaining community. A community that grows and shares food locally, using seeds that are produced in and adapted to the local area, can buffer itself against many challenges outside of its control. For me the ability to grow your own food is one of the fundamental human skills: it’s a cornerstone of civilisation.” Darren Mancrief
What Are The Seed Hubs?
The Seed Hubs help provide the local area with sustainable, low environmental impact food security. Our aim is to help people grow their own food, herbs and flowers.
2023: The Seed Hub starts almost accidentally as a grassroots ‘spark’, when two seed swaps at The Street showed a massive community appetite for saving and sharing seeds. Darren Mancrief and Catherine Howell from Northern Seed Sovereignty UK began a year long seed production training programme, and conversations were held with Scarborough Public Library to find a permanent home for seeds.
2024: In May the official launch of Scarborough Seed Hub takes place, featured on local tv stations. In autumn 2024, the first community-saved seeds are donated, and a fledgling local seed-growing network is established.
2025: Project evolves into Scarborough Coastal Seed Hub Network launching in Filey in July and Whitby (September). Also in 2025, the heritage seed, John’s Scarborough Landrace Broad Bean, is rescued from extinction by our project. The hub also becomes the exclusive distributor for the limited edition Cinder Track Seed Mix.
The seed hub’s packets are displayed in the Science Museum London. The Seed Hubs are part of GROW Scarborough’s Growing Projects and allow you to choose free seeds to grow at home. You can also donate your own seeds, too!
The Cinder Track Project:
In 2025, Scarborough Seed Hub was selected to distribute the Old Friends Cinder Track seed mix, a specially curated blend of native wildflowers developed in collaboration with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and Wild Eye. The mix played a key role in restoring habitats along Scarborough’s historic Cinder Track, supporting pollinators and other wildlife. The Cinder Track follows the former Scarborough to Whitby railway line route and is perfect for walkers, runners and cyclists.
Get Involved:
Whether you’re a seasoned grower or planting your first seeds, our Seed Hubs are open to everyone. Drop by to pick up seeds, share your own, or get involved in seed saving, helping to grow a more sustainable future, one seed at a time. GROW Scarborough seed libraries are sustained by donations only, so you could save your own open-pollinated seeds to donate, which helps us to create a collection of locally adapted seeds for everyone to enjoy.
Community Orchards
GROW Scarborough’s Community Orchard Initiatives represent our belief in the trees can bring people together, enhance biodiversity, and support a more sustainable future.
These orchards transform public spaces into thriving, productive landscapes, made possible by strong partnerships and local support. The trees we have planted will ‘bear fruit’ for future generations, supporting both local people and wildlife while providing fresh produce for local residents in a sustainable way.
Where We’ve Planted
We’ve supported the creation of mini-orchards at two sites in Valley Gardens and extend the Weaponness Valley community orchard. We’ve supported local food-growing projects at Gallows Close Kitchen Garden, the Community Shop in Eastfield, and Bell Close Community Centre in Seamer.
We’ve funded larger community orchards at Wheatcroft Village Green and on former wasteland at Dunn Grove, Eastfield. Each site is carefully chosen to deliver long-term benefits for both people and wildlife, creating green spaces, supporting biodiversity while providing food and social hub benefits. We use a variety of species, including: Apple, Pear, Plum, Damson, Greengage, and Cherry.
Growing Through Collaboration
We work alongside the Scarborough Parks and Gardens team, whose expertise and ongoing commitment helps bring these spaces to life. We’re also grateful for funding from councillors’ locality budgets and the support of partners working to tackle health inequalities across the borough.
Beyond the Planting
Our orchard projects create free, long-term access to locally grown fruit for everyone. Once established, each orchard is cared for by a dedicated local group, helping it to thrive and serve the community for years to come. These groups include Friends of Valley Gardens, Weaponness Valley Community Group, Wheatcroft Community Association, and a range of community gardening projects.
Get Involved
Together, we’re growing a healthier, more sustainable, and food-secure Scarborough. We’ve hosted numerous free workshops including Planter Making, Growing Your Own Food, and Introduction to Seed Saving - with more planned in the future!