Grow your own soup with the TCV green gym

This October, UKHarvest visited The Conservation of Volunteers Green Gym in White Beam Woods, Durrington. The Green Gym is a fun and free outdoor event, where group members take part in practical activities such as planting trees, sowing meadows and establishing wildlife ponds.

The emphasis is very much on health and fitness – volunteers warm up and cool down in preparation for a range of light to vigorous activities to suit all abilities. Therefore, when we at UKHarvest heard of Green Gym, we knew we’d love to host one of our NourishEd Express sessions to support the groups health and fitness goals! We love to promote a healthy lifestyle through nutritious meals, while simultaneously tackling food waste.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, we were unable to access the electricity needed to host a cookery session in a nearby hall – so instead we set up a pitch in the sunny orchard and demonstrated how to prepare a minestrone soup, using vegetables that the group had been growing in their Green Gym.

Throughout the sessions Roger discussed the best way to prepare the vegetables safely, while Claudia spoke about how we might reduce food waste and the health benefits of eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables.

Although we couldn’t cook and eat as a group, the participants were sent away with their own box of ingredients, a recipe card and cook-a-long video to complete from the comfort of their own home.

We are looking forward to returning to the Green Gym once we are able to prepare our meal together and sit and eat and as a group!