Biruk Sahle, Head of Sustainable Growing at Natural World Products with Sandra Reilly and Wayne Hylands, Bushcraft Facilitators at the Kinnego Bushcraft Centre and Sharon McMaster, Community Outreach Manager, NWP.
A group of 35 hardy community gardeners gathered at the Kinnego Bushcraft Centre in Lurgan recently for a Community Roots event to celebrate the second anniversary of the Natural World Products ‘No-Dig’ Garden.
Developed by Natural World Products in partnership with the Kinnego Bushcraft Centre, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon (ABC) Borough Council and the local community, the space which was originally a patch of unused grass full of perennial weeds, is now a very productive food garden which is planted up all year round.
Sharon McMaster, Community Growing and Outreach Manager with Natural World Products explains the background to the ‘no-dig’ garden:
“Natural World Products processes the brown bin and green waste from the ABC council area. Thanks to the recycling efforts of ABC residents, 22,300 tonnes of brown bin waste is collected from across the borough and composted each year.
“As part of our ongoing community outreach we aim to showcase to the public how our peat-free compost made from this waste can be used as a valuable resource to grow food at home or in your local community.
“Working together with the council’s team at the Bushcraft Centre and local participants, we were able to create a ‘no-dig’ garden space from scratch, using only cardboard, our peat-free New Leaf compost and woodchips. The garden now grows food and is a thriving space used for educational workshops.”
Biruk Sahle and community gardeners planting garlic in the Natural World Products ‘No-Dig’ Garden
Sharon added: “Our Community Roots event brought together people who were involved in the garden and those who wanted to find out more about it. We had a presentation, then enjoyed harvesting beetroot and planting up our over-wintering garlic. It was a sunny, frosty morning and we warmed up with some homemade soups and baked goods, all made using fresh produce from our recent harvests. It was a lovely way to celebrate our work and wrap up the current growing season.”
Sandra Reilly, one of the Bushcraft Facilitators at the Kinnego Bushcraft Centre, says that despite some initial scepticism, she and her colleagues are now committed to expanding the garden using the ‘no-dig’ principles they learned from the project:
“Although we had used ‘no-dig’ principles before, we lacked in-depth knowledge about them. Sharon and Biruk from Natural World Products shared their expertise, which enhanced our skills and attracted like-minded participants, creating valuable opportunities for collaboration and skill-sharing.
“The garden has also welcomed local schools during International Compost Awareness Week and hosts a harvesting event during the council’s annual Love Parks Week in August.”
Wayne Hylands, who is also a Bushcraft Facilitator at the Kinnego Bushcraft Centre, added: “We discovered that ‘no-dig’ methods require patience but outperform traditional approaches to gardening. We hope to continue collaborating with Sharon and Biruk, ensuring the garden thrives under ‘no-dig’ principles and attracts more people interested in sustainable food growing.”
There will be horticultural workshops running throughout 2026 at The Natural World Products ‘No-Dig’ Garden. Details of these events will be released on their website at www.naturalworldproducts.com/our-community
For further information on New Leaf Compost, visit www.newleafcompost.com/
To discover what you can compost in your brown bin, visit www.armaghbanbridgecraigavon.gov.uk/resident/put-brown-binkerbside-caddy/
Find out more about the Kinnego Bushcraft Centre at https://getactiveabc.com/facility/kinnego-bushcraft-centre/
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