Women and Community: From Archives to Action
Naomi Oakley, Archivist with Swindon and Wiltshire History Centre, describes the recent 'Rooted in History' project which used garden and nature-related archives to encourage people to garden. Naomi had arranged to present a paper on the subject at our last Annual Conference on Women and the Natural World: Historical Perspectives on Nature Climate and Environmental Change, but was unfortunately prevented. In 2022 the Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre were awarded £10,000 through the National Archives’ testbed fund (a fund to trial ideas) with the aim of using garden and nature related archives to encourage physical activity, mental wellbeing, and to get people gardening. The gardening theme also allowed us to further develop our relationship with Rooted Chippenham, a community market garden founded by two women in 2021 and which is based on the History Centre site. One of the benefits of the ‘Rooted in History’ project has been the opportunity to delve into the w