GREEN OASIS HEATS UP

ENGINEERS and community innovators got together at a pop – up event on an urban farm to talk inclusive, sustainable food production and environmental responsibility. 

Loughborough In Bloom community participation group chair Mike Jones attended the African Oasis in Shelthorpe village to showcase its progress along with members of the UK Congelese Engineers’ Network Association (CENA). 

“As one of our 35 It’s Your Neighbourhood groups I want to support them. The projects are rated from a score of one upwards and this year the African Oasis received a level four which is quite an achievement with level five being the highest possible. It was quite hard for the African Oasis taking on the disused land at the beginning and starting from scratch,” said Mr Jones. 

“Another group run by Mark Horsfield at Glebe House built the aquaponic system prototype to be used here in the troughs but they had to dismantle it because they’ve moved their workshop from Great Central Road to the Bull in the Hollow industrial units and are now in the process of putting it back together.”  

Engineer Kasai of CENA said you can see from looking around how far the group has come this year.  

“We are implementing a heat production system generating thermal heat from the compost heaps and channelling it through to the polytunnels to maintain growing temperatures throughout winter.” 

“We are also applying to install solar panels on the shed roofs to improve lighting and increase photosynthesis and the council transports water here on trucks,” said Kasai. 

He said as graduates and engineering specialists CENA encourages science, technology and engineering (STEM) students, with an emphasis on gender equality, to question the status quo and create change.  

“We meet regularly across the country to encourage Black and multi – ethnic minorities (BAME) student to achieve their potential through our projects in line with the United Nation goals of quality education, clean water and sanitation, gender equality, sustainable cities and climate action,” he said.  

Project manager Barbara Attridge said the Urban Farm at the African Oasis was pleased to receive funding of £1200 from the Loughborough University business incubator which also offered office space at the careers and enterprise hub in the market place. 

“The food grew well this season and we have supplied local food bank supplier Turnip Point to provide fresh produce to Your Store at John Storer House,” said Barbara.