Local environmental hub, the Earth Repair Shop, are championing community and climate with their Wild and Edible Ilfracombe initiative, working with local partners to deliver edible food planters in easily accessible public locations.
Staff and volunteers at the Earth Repair Shop (ERS) on Church Street have enlisted the help of a wide cross section of the local community, joining forces with Ilfracombe in Bloom, Community Resources CIC, Sure Start, Delta, The Salvation Army, Ilfracombe First Brownies, Ilfracombe First Breavers, Body Aware Pilates, and Ilfracombe Holiday Park, along with individual volunteers, to get the planters installed around the town.

Thanks to funding from the AONB Sustainable Development Fund, the ERS team has been able to commission and purchase a selection of planters that are now in place on Church Street; both ends of Fore Street; outside Delta on the corner of Marlborough Road and Church Street; outside the Salvation Army building on Torrs Park; and by the entrance to Ilfracombe Holiday Park on Marlborough Road. These will be filled with edible fruit, veg, herbs, and flowers over the coming weeks, and cared for by local volunteers.

The idea is to produce local, seasonal food that is available to and cared for by the local community. Passers-by, whether locals or visitors to the town, are invited to ‘take what they need’, harvesting a sprig of rosemary for their roasties, a handful of nasturtiums to garnish a salad, or a couple of cherry tomatoes to snack on as they go about their day.
Netti Pearson, ERS Director and founding member, explains some of the environmental and community benefits the project aims to achieve:
“Growing food is vital for our communities and planet. Eating food that is grown locally and seasonally reduces travel miles, unnecessary plastic packaging, and energy for storage. It also helps us to connect to nature and understand where our food comes from, which is one of the reasons we have made sure that we have involved local children and young people in the planting process as much as possible. They will continue to be involved in the care and upkeep of the plants, learning valuable skills along the way.”

Tia Psihogios, ERS Campaigns and Premises Manager, expands on the importance of local community:
“The ‘local’ element is something we have focused on throughout the process, and we have supported local businesses by sourcing our half-oak barrel planters from an independent supplier in Bideford, Stephen King, and our peat-free compost and gardening tools from Pedlars on Ilfracombe High Street. Our plants have either been grown from seed in our shop window, using seeds from our ongoing Seed Swap, or kindly donated by staff, volunteers, and supporters of the Shop.”
For more information and updates on the planters and other environmental projects, or if you would like to get involved as a volunteer, please visit the Earth Repair Shop website www.earthrepairshop.org or drop them an email on info@earthrepairshop.org.
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About The Earth Repair Shop
www.earthrepairshop.org
The Earth Repair Shop is a volunteer-led community hub providing information, advice
and tangible support to help the residents of Ilfracombe to lower their carbon emissions,
reduce waste, save on household energy costs, and prepare for the impacts of the
changing climate on our coastal way of life.
Established in 2019, with the support of local businesses including TDK and funding from the National Lottery Community Fund, The Earth Repair Shop runs awareness campaigns and community activities to directly address plastic pollution and biodiversity loss and also operates a depository for hard-to-recycle waste such as Tetra Paks.
Central to the ethos of the hub is the aim to deepen our community’s connection to the
natural world.
Contact: info@earthrepairshop.org
Social media pages: Facebook and Instagram
The Earth Repair Shop is a not-for-profit project of Greener Ilfracombe Ltd, 13 Pembroke Lodge, Marlborough Road, Ilfracombe EX34 8JL
Company Number: 04316394