We are looking for volunteers to complete an allotment diary next year – making a short record of their activities each time they visit their plot.

The information we are recording forms part of a project investigating the sustainability of allotment gardening. We are looking at the sorts of inputs people use, from fertilisers and pesticides, to the use of petrol tools. We are also identifying where recycling is taking place on allotment plots – for example when people reuse rainwater after collecting it in a water butt, or bring their kitchen food waste to compost on the plot.

Have a look at this example page to see what sort of thing we are asking people to record:

If you are interested in taking part in this project, please email Miriam at mcdobson1@shef.ac.uk to receive your free year-long allotment diary.

All participants will be able to keep their diaries after the project is complete – so you can look back in future years to see how the seasons compare! Please also email Miriam if you have any questions about the project.

If you have a notice board on your allotment site we would be very grateful if you were able to put up the above poster. Email Miriam if you’d like a her to email you a PDF to print at home, or we can put a waterproof paper poster in the post to you to. Last of all, please tell all your friends about this project!