AWARD FOR FLOURISHING COMMUNITY ALLOTMENT
A dedicated community leader whose passion inspires a large team of volunteers to grow fruit and veg at an Eastbourne allotment has won a prestigious national award, specifically the RHS Award.
Sally Ross, of Rooted Community Food, has won the Royal Horticultural Society’s Carew Pole Community Award.
She co-ordinates 30 volunteers on the Gorringe Road allotment who grow food to supply community fridges and homeless charities. The project started in November 2022 and volunteers include people from all walks of life and of all ages.
There is a growing plot and a separate plot with an outdoor kitchen and a large shelter for cook-ups and creative sessions.
The award submission by Rooted volunteers Liz Magraw, Caoimhe McDonne and Liz Purkis stated:
“Sally has demonstrated outstanding qualities in developing a welcoming and inclusive community at Rooted.
Volunteers come from all walks of life, including different nationalities and languages, refugees, people with disabilities and medical conditions, and those seeking a safe haven.
The team have become confident growers, learning through successes and failures, and expanding their knowledge and range of crops, including melons this year.
Sally’s leadership has even inspired some volunteers to apply for their own allotments.”
Rooted also gathers excess produce from other allotment growers via a ‘Crop Drop’ which it delivers to good causes.
Last year, the project, which benefits from National Lottery funding, grew and collected 2 tonnes of produce; this year, it is aiming to encourage residents to grow through their Rooted Legends programme using their online Harvest Hub.
The RHS Carew Pole Community Award is awarded for an outstanding contribution to a community gardening programme which brings value to the wider community.
“I really want to dedicate this award to the volunteers. I am so proud and honoured that they have put so much work into this application and that their great work is being recognised. We have made so much progress in such a short time and we have created such a sense of community that everyone benefits from.”
Sally Ross | March 2025
