GREEN-FINGERED villagers have opened a new vegetable garden to bring the community closer together.

Residents in Earls Colne started a community garden on the High Street to help boost health and well-being.

It is inspired by the ‘Incredible Edible’ movement – a campaign to bring communities together through gardening and growing food.

It says the importance of local produce and the role gardening can play in health and well-being has never been greater following months of lockdown.

The group hopes to get residents involved in growing vegetables after opening their own garden in the the heart of the village, opposite the Lion pub.

Mortimer’s Tree Surgery in Halstead supplied the garden with bark chips while Ridgeons in Colchester donated timber.

Volunteers spent more than a month digging, weeding, installing a water butt, building raised beds and finally planting their first crops.

The lockdown hit just weeks after the group started putting the garden together but organisers hope the scheme will expand.

Founding member Jayne Meleschko said: "The pandemic has affected us all and has forced us to think about what is really important in our lives.

"Human contacts with family, friends and our local communities and food.

"Incredible Edible is a global movement putting food production at the heart of our communities.

"It encourages all of us to grow more and use local food producers.

"Our vision is to create and strengthen kind, confident and connected communities through the power of food.

"Our first venture is a vegetable garden in the centre of Earls Colne opposite the Lion.

"We offer the chance to make new friends, learn a bit more about gardening and help to produce free, locally grown food."

To get involved in the project, contact Jayne Meleschko on 07931 965482