Todmorden News

HRH The Prince of Wales Coming To Todmorden

On the 8th of September, HRH The Prince of Wales will visit the amazing Yorkshire town of Todmorden on the third day of His Royal Highness’s national Start tour. The tour, which takes the Prince, via Royal Train, to ten different locations throughout Britain, aims to celebrate sustainable community living.

In Todmorden, The Prince will visit Incredible Edible, Eco Kids and a community volunteering programme.

Incredible Edible Todmorden was set up two years ago and aims to increase the amount of local food grown and eaten in the town. Businesses, schools, farmers and the community are all involved. Vegetables and fruit are springing up everywhere and public flower beds are being transformed into community herb gardens and vegetable patches.

Business in the Community is also using the opportunity to promote one of its highly regarded volunteer programme by getting locally based companies like Marshall’s to help further Incredible Edible’s aims, by sprucing and priming sites ready for planting seasonal fruit and veg. Another extremely popular volunteer programme with local businesses is Eco Kids. Here, sustainability messages such as waste management, energy efficiency and growing your own foods, and other such issues are tackled. Volunteers creatively communicate with children the impact they can make on changing attitudes by telling others about what they’ve learned. And how can have a positive effect on the world in which we live.

Liz Needleman, BITC’s Yorkshire and Humber Regional Director, said: “Business in the Community’s expertise lies in helping the corporate sector to find the best way of working with local communities for the benefit of people and planet. We’re delighted to be hosting this forthcoming visit by our President, The Prince of Wales, to encourage and celebrate local Start initiatives. This is a continuation of BITC’s work in convening and fostering sustainable community partnerships and campaigns.”

Mary Clear, the co-founder of Incredible Edible Todmorden, said: “Incredible Edible is thrilled His Royal Highness is coming to see the amazing work being done in Todmorden. When people and communities like ours come together and work together amazing things happen, as they have done here under our very noses.

“We’re astounded by the support and hard work this community has put in to help make us sustainable. The Start project is a great venture and if a more people start to protect our planet and create a kinder world, what a massive difference that will make to us all.”

Business in the Community is also running a ‘Seeing is Believing’ tour alongside the Royal visit. This SIB consists of a group of 15 senior business and community leaders from Yorkshire and the Humber, seeing for themselves the exemplary work being done by Incredible Edible and BITC. Here, the Chief Executives of Sheffield and Rotherham Councils, the Chief Executive of Northern Foods and CO2 Sense as well as the CR Director for Asda, to name a few, will also get to see how sustainable projects can be developed and replicated by their businesses and organisations.