Annual General Meeting 2025 and talk on "The Future of Community Food Growing in Reading" by Dave Richards

The 2025 AGM was held on Sunday 23rd Feb from 4:40pm at RISC, 35-39 London Street, Reading RG1 4PS. We started with the RFGN seed swap and refreshments. The meeting continued at 5pm with the AGM.

Our treasurer Lindsey Brown stood down, after many years of service, and Michael Bright, Karen Blakeman and Beth Scott were returned for another year. The committee would like to thank Lindsey for all her help. We would welcome new members so please consider joining us. If you would like to join, please contact secretary@readingfoodgrowingnetwork.org.uk

There was then a short presentation by Pandora about the Reading HongKongers research into growing Hong Kong vegetables in Reading. This was followed by a talk by Dave Richards on The Future of Community Food Growing in Reading.

Dave RichardsIn this talk Dave reflected on over 40 years involvement in community food growing, and prospects for its future in Reading. The talk was followed by a lively Q&A session.

Dave has been involved in community growing projects since the late 70s - initially with city farms in Bristol and at Reading International Solidarity Centre (RISC) since 1989. For the past 20 years he has enjoyed watching the RISC forest garden mature into an oasis of edible calm in the town centre, creating a demonstration hub for sustainable urban design and an example of what is possible on just 30cm of substrate.

Dave designs school and community gardens and trains teachers in how to maximise the educational value of the outdoor classroom across the whole curriculum but especially as a tool for raising awareness of global issues. As he moves towards retirement Dave is working with developers and Reading Borough Council to create a legacy of a greener, more abundant Reading.

Thank you to everyone for donations towards the cost of the event, and for refreshments.