Hi John,

There are almost 175,000 applications on the UK’s allotment waiting list - with some people waiting 15 years. [1] But did you know that we have the legal right to them?

That’s why two weeks ago artists and volunteers, led by Dr. JC Niala, took a living artwork to the government to give those people a voice. Then using the same artwork, they reclaimed land from Tesco and the industrial food system to demonstrate how land can be transformed for community food growing.

Watch the inspiring story of The Waiting List now.

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Watch 'The Waiting List' now: [link removed]
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Most of us are forced into the industrial food system. We go to supermarkets where food comes from thousands of miles away, from destroyed forests and which is fuelling the climate crisis and human rights abuses. [2] This is leaving a bad taste.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Right now, there is an almost 175,000 strong waiting list for allotments across Great Britain. Allotments can feed four people each, which means they could potentially feed almost 700,000 people - that’s more than the population of Bristol or Edinburgh. If granted, these allotments could provide huge benefits, in a cost of living and climate crisis, where people are looking to empower themselves and grow planet friendly food for their communities. They would improve people’s mental health and wellbeing by creating a sense of purpose and increasing opportunities to connect with others as well as spend time in nature.

And we have legal rights to them. Everyone has the legal right to request an allotment and councils are legally obliged to provide a sufficient number. Under the 1908 Allotment Act, if six people from different households apply for an allotment together, their council has a legal obligation to find them a space.

That’s why Greenpeace is proudly collaborating with Dr. JC Niala, Julia Utreras, and Sam Skinner, a collective of artists from Oxford. These artists are combining art, research and activism to also reclaim land from Tesco and the industrial food system and turn it into a beacon of hope for people across the country.

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Watch 'The Waiting List' now: [link removed]
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This project is different from our usual campaigning work. It’s about collaboration, art, and the power of community - and as a supporter who’s engaged with our work, we hope that it inspires you and fills you with hope.

Allotment waiting lists demonstrate a huge desire from people to be part of the solution to our broken food system but without access to land, the many benefits of community food growing to people, nature and the climate are being stifled. We’ll continue to urge the government to enable people to exercise their rights to allotments as part of the solution to food insecurity, the cost of living crisis and the climate and nature emergency.

Thank you for everything,
Anthony and the Forests team.

P.S. The artwork taken to the government and then used to reclaim land from Tesco is a living artwork. It’s made from seed paper and embedded with ash from the Amazon, as a reminder of the destruction the industrial food system is causing. It is also embedded with brown mustard, white clover, sunflowers, red fescue, and rye grass seeds, and specifically chosen to help heal the soil and make it suitable to grow food.

Please visit The Waiting List’s site to find out more about the artists, the artwork, and to find out how many people are waiting for an allotment in your area: [link removed]

Notes:
[1] Waiting list for allotments in England almost doubles in 12 years: [link removed]
[2] Reimagining the food system is vital to saving our planet: [link removed]
[3] Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908: [link removed]



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