Stuti and Kristyna are regular volunteers for the Myatts Fields Park Greenhouse project. They relish learning how vegetables grow, and the chance to socialise with characterful people from all walks of life, which enhances their connection to the area. When not gardening, Stuti works as a researcher for a health think-tank and Kristyna works as a campaigner for an older people's charity.
Kristyna:
"So what drew me to the park first? When I moved to the area, it was during Covid and Lockdowns, so I just came for walks like almost every day to the park at lunchtime. And then I saw a little sign in the notice board about drop in sessions in the greenhouse. "Come to the depot at this time, Sundays and Thursdays" but I couldn't find the depot and I almost gave up. And then I thought, oh, actually this looks like it could be a greenhouse. So I went inside and I was just welcomed so warmly by Rajia and Fabrice. They put me to work straight away. I think I put my first task was to move seedlings of beetroots outside and I'd done like this whole bed. And when I left and I was going to bed that night and I couldn't stop thinking about how the beetroots are doing. It was so weird. I was like, really, worried about them. [laughter] 'Oh it's quite cold today, you know?' Such a nice change from the usual thoughts I would have at night, worrying about something."
Stutti:
"When you do things that are around you locally, then you feel more connected to your life here. One thing I've really noticed about the greenhouse is how friendly every one is. I would not have seen or spoken to these people if I hadn't come here to volunteer because they are a lot older than I am, different ethnicities. I don't know where I would've bumped into this set of people otherwise. You don't have to chat if you don't want to. If you just wanna be quiet, that's fine. It's a very 'You do you' ethos here. I have enjoyed - not necessarily being part of every conversation - but just listening to what people are saying about politics."
There's some great characters. Fabrice knows everything. He knows so much about food and its history and the cultural origins of certain sorts of dishes. He learns different languages from the different people who go and then communicates with them in their language."
Kristyna:
"I love the bird song here. I was a few years ago. I was quite ill and all I could do was go on quite short walks and sit on a bench. Like, I couldn't eat very many things. I couldn't drink alcohol. I was like quite limited in what I could do. And bird song was quite a therapeutic thing. So I always kind of listen out for them.
Sometimes I can hear like a little call and response between the birds. It reminds me of my granny in Czech Republic, she used to listen to birds all the time and she would sort of like play along with them. She'd like whistle at them and they'd respond."
