Small Actions with a Big Impact
PG Paper was built on a foundation of sustainability and nearly 18 years into our journey, we work with international mills and end-users, equally committed to creating and using sustainable packaging and paper solutions to help the global climate crisis. The upcoming UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) will focus on what governments and international bodies can do to tackle climate change but what can we do at both a local and personal level to help our local communities and environment?
As this week is National Allotment Week in the UK, we thought we’d take a look at how allotments and the growing trend for community gardens helps us to better understand and connect with our natural environments.
Dating back to the 18th century there are over 300,000 allotments in the UK, yielding about 215,000 tons of fresh produce every year. In the UK allotments gained huge popularity after the first world war when land was made available to all citizens.
During the past year, we have all realized the enormous physical and mental health benefits of spending time outside and allotments allow us to not only spend time connecting with nature but to reap the benefits of growing our own fruit and vegetables. Waiting lists for allotments can stretch across years and so across the world, communities are increasingly coming together to create community gardens projects to help connect and feed local communities.
Allotments and community gardens provide us with the space to grow healthy, organically grown fruit, vegetables, and herbs. More than that, they give us access to outdoor space, provide a gathering place for us to meet new neighbors and interact with people from all backgrounds and ages, as well as an opportunity to learn new skills.
There are a few budding food growers amongst the international PG Team, including our Head of Research, Govinda Khasria whose family grow limes and turmeric in their garden in India, Charles Peter grows chilies with his daughter in the UK and Rami Atallah shared just one day’s harvest from his family’s garden in Lebanon.
Our LATAM Sales Executive, Paula Vilar, has an amazing story to tell about her family’s ongoing support of their local community during the pandemic.
“We own little farms both in Panama and Spain where we grow fruit, vegetables and we raise chickens for free-range eggs. During the pandemic many of our neighbors’ were struggling to get access to food. In an effort to help, my family began to makeup and donate fruit and veg bags to low-income families. The bags contained carrots, potatoes, limes, peppers, onions, herbs, and salads.
“We felt very lucky to be in a position to be able to help our neighbors and community throughout the last year and a half, bringing us all closer together, giving us a sense of purpose during such challenging times, and seeing the positive impact our actions have had. Hopefully, the worst of the pandemic is now behind us but we look forward to continuing to grow our own fruit and vegetable, enjoying all the physical, mental, and community benefits that brings.”
Do you grow your own fruit and vegetables, have an allotment or contribute to a community garden project? If so, we’d love to hear from you and share your photos and stories across our network. Email us at [email protected].
