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36-40 Edge St
Manchester
M4 1HN
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0161 465 6954
We want to build a healthier city where everyone can grow their own food.
Somewhere that’s full of beans.
The kind of city you want to live in.
Growing food in cities makes a lot of sense – gardens, allotments, patios, rooftops and window-ledges
all have the potential to provide us with an abundance of free and nutritious food. Plus food grown in
urban environments can help reduce food transportation, create jobs, and strengthen communities. We
all have food in common – we eat it, crave it, and dream about it. So let’s celebrate and grow it.
Sow the City is an award winning social enterprise based in Manchester. Established in 2009 with a few
packets of seeds and some compost, we’re now the leading specialist food-growing company in the city.
We really believe in:
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Encouraging people in urban areas to grow and eat nutritious food.
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Involving local people in our projects to develop stronger, more cohesive communities.
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Running practical horticultural and environmental training courses that provide skills and
knowledge for life, learning and employment.
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Quality greenspace that is attractive and productive and that contributes to the long term future
of the planet.
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Using sustainable materials to minimise the environmental impact of our projects.
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Teaching organic practices and permaculture and promoting the use of plant species that
encourage wildlife.
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Researching and testing innovative technology and techniques that can be used for urban
agriculture.
About us
Our Vision
Our People
Sow the City is a small but hardworking team of three supported by a wider team of trusted specialists
and contractors who bring expert advice and support for specific projects when required.
Jon Ross
Born and raised in Manchester, Jon knows a lot about the soil in this part of the country. Having
graduated with a masters in environmental management, he began his career at WSP Environmental
doing contaminated land and corporate social responsibility work. He then worked for Transport for
Greater Manchester delivering projects including the Rochdale Bus Station Hydroelectric Power
Scheme, the Greater Manchester Climate Change Strategy, and he was lead person for biodiversity for
the transport authority.
Jon founded Sow the City with just a few bags of compost in 2009. Since then he has steered the social
enterprise into an award winning organisation. Jon is passionate about the potential for urban
agriculture to improve his home town and loves to grow his own veg when he’s not helping other people
do the same.
Kieron McGlasson
Having grown up in the Lake District under the guidance of his Dad, a landscape gardener, Kieron has
always thought it normal to grow your own food. After moving to Manchester for university, Kieron spent
nine years in the regeneration sector at BDP delivering high profile projects. These often centred on the
community engagement and sustainability elements of a city plan or neighbourhood strategy. Kieron
then worked for two years in the social enterprise sector helping to build healthier communities in
Salford.
Joining Sow the City in early 2014 has allowed Kieron to combine his roots, experience and personal
interests with a career across the public, private and social enterprise sectors. His work combines his
passions for food growing, his environmental conscience and his work in community development to
create a happier and healthier city.
Emily Corner
Emily was born in Salford and has lived in Manchester for the past four years. After studying Geography
at The University of Edinburgh, she moved back to the Manchester area and began working and
volunteering for The Groundwork Trust in Oldham and The Conservation Volunteers in Manchester
focusing on practical conservation, countryside access and environmental education. She then took up
a role with Newground and Together Housing facilitating community gardening across Burnley and
Blackburn. Emily began working for Sow the City in early 2018 and was able to bring along experience
in community food growing, outreach and engagement as well as practical knowledge of habitat
management and Forest Schools.
Please click here to find out how you can volunteer or work for Sow the City.
We are proud of the work we do and the communities we work with. We have even won some awards!
Spirit of Manchester Business Citizenship Award 2017
Northern Enterprise 2016 Health and Wellbeing Category Award Winners.
Silver Show Garden award at Dig the City 2015 for our Growing Manchester “Tales from the
Plot" installation.
Shortlisted in the Manchester Evening News Environment Awards 2014 Environment and Health
Project category.
Highly commended in the Social Enterprise North West Awards 2013 Environmental Excellence
category.
Please click here to download our Sow the City brochure.
Awards
Copyright Sow the City 2017
Sow the City is a Company Limited by Guarantee
registered in England company no. 6872177