Calling All Gardeners – this an event you won’t want to miss – learn about all things “compost” from the amazing Soil Squad and how to twin your garden and support a family in Africa with Ripple Effect.
Zoom – Mon 23 Feb 2026, 7.30pm to 9pm
Click here to book on Eventbrite:
or email sistalbans@hotmail.com to reserve your place.
All are welcome – gardeners from large gardens to pots on ledges, community gardeners and allotment holders are invited to this special event organised by Soroptimist International St Albans & District.
- Hear from expert Vicky Gutteridge of Soil Squad about how turning food waste into nutrient-rich compost can restore local soil and strengthen communities.
- Learn how you can twin your Community’s or your own Garden or allotment, bringing hope to a family in Africa with charity Ripple Effect’s Garden Twinning Project.
Vicky Gutteridge will share her composting journey which led to the founding of Soil Squad, a St Albans-based community interest company turning food waste into microbe-rich compost and how this practical act connects to a deeper story. There’ll be plenty of time for your own composting questions ……
Then Ken Young from Ripple Effect will introduce us to the Charity’s Garden Twinning Project bringing hope to families in Africa https://rippleeffect.org/gifts/twin-my-community-garde2/
Hear from Chiswell Green Community Garden, who’ve twinned their garden, about how you too can get involved. Soroptimists Helen Byrne and Janet Tansley are pictured here on the right handing over the Garden Twinning Plaque to Christy Mitchell which is now displayed on the garden gate at the Greenwood Community Garden.
HELP MAKE ST ALBANS A GARDEN TWINNED CITY
We all know gardens are a joy and can also provide tasty nutritionally-rich food which can help ease the cost of feeding our families. Think how vital being able to grow their own food is for a family in rural Africa.
By getting involved and donating to twin your own or your Community’s Garden or allotment you can help provide a family in rural Africa with three years training in sustainable organic farming. Starting with small kitchen gardens, families can grow enough to eat, set up small businesses, send their children to school and go after their dreams. You’ll receive this Garden Twinning Kit – with a plaque you can display and some helpful hints on no-till food growing.
Vicky Gutteridge
Vicky is the founder of Soil Squad, a St Albans-based Community Interest Company. A qualified Permaculture Designer and former Head of Education for a suicide prevention charity, Vicky brings together her backgrounds in health and education to show how soil regeneration and human wellbeing are deeply connected. Her work with Soil Squad is helping schools, businesses, and residents rethink waste as a resource and build thriving communities from the ground up.
Talk Overview
In a world facing climate uncertainty, food insecurity, and rising costs, composting offers a simple, hopeful solution. Vicky explores how turning food waste into living compost builds both ecological and human resilience.
Vicky shares how Soil Squad CIC is creating local systems that transform kitchen scraps into microbe-rich soil, supporting food stability and community health in St Albans. She connects this practical act of regeneration to a deeper story, one where we can lead the way in restoring balance to our local ecosystems.
The session highlights how composting can:
- Strengthen food security by rebuilding fertile soils.
- Reduce emissions and dependence on chemical inputs.
- Empower women and girls with green skills, confidence, and agency.
- Cultivate community connection and hope in uncertain times.
By the end, attendees will see composting not just as waste management, but as an act of maternal care, a way to nurture both people and the planet, and a tangible path toward resilience led by women.
There is no charge to attend this event. When you book on Eventbrite you will be asked if you wish to make a donation to Ripple Effect to go towards our Garden Twinning Project. Please understand there is no pressure to do so. If you wish to make a donation after the event the bank details are on this page of the website: https://sigbi.org/st-albans-and-district/donate/.