Keep it Green, Keep it Local

farmers market

We are beginning to realise that we need to make changes to our lifestyle to help protect our planet.

It’s not easy for working families to know where to start but there are community groups springing up all over the globe who are here to help point us in the right direction. Sustainable Brampton and Sustainable Carlisle are two volunteer groups in our region with ambitious plans to aid our environment.

They run a number of initiatives that aim to make it easier for all of us to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Some ideas are extremely ambitious, like producing green energy, but there are other smaller initiatives like free stalls, conversation cafes, waste action groups, community gardens and farmers markets.

They might seem small in the scheme of things but both groups believe the change to a greener future must start now and every step in the right direction is significant.

The Brampton and Carlisle farmers’ markets are important in minimising the carbon footprint of our food. The markets give local producers the chance to bring their goods into our towns and cities and they are the easiest way for the public to meet them face-to-face.

Knowing where your food comes from is only common sense in an age where produce is flown in from the other side of the world and farming practices are increasingly like factories.

According to Heather Tipler, in order to keep up standards, the market places strict criteria on stall holders: “Both markets follow national guidelines set for farmers’ markets. Traders must live within a 50 mile radius and grow, or produce their own goods. If they make pies, bread or cakes, they should source as much as they can locally.”

Buying local ensures your food is reared, or made, with care in our region.

A wander around the market produces a dazzling array of fresh goods from around 23 stalls. There is hot food, meat, fish, vegetables, cakes, jams, handicrafts, sauces, cheese and pies (and includes the winner of the World’s best Scotch Pie from The Little Bakery).

“We also have a Give and Take stall, a wonderful initiative that stops things going into rubbish bins” explains Heather. “It’s a recycling stall where you can take away small household items and it’s all free. Anything you don’t need you just drop off at the stall for other people to use. Neither organisation have a base so the Give and Take stall is an opportunity to talk with people, which is important when you’re a community organisation.”

Both Sustainable Brampton and Carlisle run community gardens. The Brampton garden is in a field near the town centre and unlike an allotment where people have their own personal patch of ground, everyone shares the work and the produce. If there is surplus it will be sold on the farmers’ market. Membership is 10 pounds a year and that entitles people to their share of organic fruit and vegetables as well as the physical and mental benefits that come from gardening and getting your hands dirty.

At the Lovers’ Lane Community Garden in Brampton they sometimes run projects. One of these was an after school project called Dig for Dinner which ran once a week over a few weeks. The children learnt how to grow vegetables (digging, sowing seeds, transplanting, harvesting and composting) and also how to cook delicious simple recipes using the fresh produce with the help of a chef.

“It was great” explained Heather “The kids were happy to try things they might not normally taste at home like broad beans and garlic. They came along with parents or grandparents and we know some of these families have started growing their own vegetables at home as a result of the project.”

The farmers’ markets take place on the first Saturday of every month in Carlisle. It’s located on the pedestrian area in front of the town hall from 9.30am until 4pm. Brampton host the market on the last Saturday of every month from 9am until 1.30pm.