Alers Road Leisure Gardens Association

Dear Bexley Allotment community,

 

My name is Veronika Filipek, and I am currently pursuing a master’s degree in Social Innovation in Cambridge.

 

I'm looking to interview people (mixed gender and age to diversify as much as I can within my research sample group) for my master's dissertation with a title: The Role of Gardening in Building Climate Resilience: Insights from Allotment Holders in Southern England

 

The interview is about allotment experiences - topics such as community building, gardening routines, eating habits, planting, and related topics; and how allotments (can) help build climate resilient communities. Nothing personal or sensitive will be asked, and no personal information (not even names) will be used in my dissertation - it will refer to participants as Interviewee 1, Interviewee 2, etc.

 

I strictly have to follow the Cam University’s ethical guidelines on data protection.

 

I would appreciate anyone willing to share their experience with allotment gardening - it would help me a lot with my data collection.

 

My supervisor is Dr Michelle Darlington, in case you needed to double check with her.

 

The interview will take place for approximately 30 min, and I can travel or preferably conduct it online via Zoom/Teams/Whatsapp  - within the next two weeks, it would be online. I will be in London and Cambridge in person for approximately 2 weeks from 8 April for offline interviews and can travel anywhere, if that’s preferred. I have already interviewed many members from the Pakenham Close Allotments in Cambridge, but I need to differentiate locations within my sample group, and I am hoping to reach some allotment holders in London as well. Also, I should have my data collected ideally by the end of March/ mid-April very latest.

 

Would you please share this message with your members? I would be very grateful.

 

Many thanks in advance 🙏

 

My contact details: vf291@cam.ac.uk or WhatsApp +44 75089 38837 

 

Kind wishes,

Veronika

 

Example questions (three out of six):

1.     Has growing your own food changed the way you think about food, seasons, or nature? If so, how?

 

2.     What does having an allotment mean to you personally?

 

3.     Do you think activities like gardening or allotments can play any role in responding to environmental challenges such as climate change?