Our five-year strategy

We’re committed to making Garden Organic the go-to charity for organic horticulture advice and research. Here’s what we want to achieve by 2030

In the next five years, we want to ensure all our work aligns with our mission to engage and educate people about organic growing - so we have redeveloped our organisational strategy

Garden Organic’s purpose is to show everyone how to grow food, compost and save seed in a way that builds ecosystems in growing spaces to benefit planetary and human health.

In the next five years, we want to ensure all our work aligns with this mission.

Our long-term objectives have been brought into focus by using the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals – with particular attention to No.15 ‘Life on Land’;

“Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss"

But our goals are also set against a backdrop of growing global and local challenges around wildlife decline, waste and climate change:

In 2022, 3.9 million tonnes of household food waste went to black bins (likely landfill/incineration). That’s 83% of all UK food waste transported away from homes, a large proportion of which could have been composted.
In 2024, local councils were using 354 tonnes of pesticides in public spaces (parks, playgrounds, pavements, playing fields, housing estates). This figure is more than four times higher than government estimates (84 tonnes) for pesticide use by local authorities.
Globally, there’s been an estimated 75% loss of crop diversity in the 20th century.
And there’s been a loss of skills both at home (foraging, growing, harvesting and storing) and in the horticultural profession.

Our growing goals 🔗

Taking global and local challenges into consideration, we’ve set out a plan for what we want to achieve as a charity by 2030. This is split into the following five key goals:

Alternative text should describe the visual content of the image.

Goal One

To become the go-to charity for formal and informal organic learning, engaging and equipping everyday gardeners and communities with organic food growing, seed saving and composting skills. We’ll be training up volunteers to show people how to grow food, make compost, reduce household waste and live more sustainably.

Goal Two

To conserve and share vegetable seeds for future generations via a world-class community led seed production and saving facility at the Heritage Seed Library. We want to save and share more vegetable varieties, and encourage others to save their own seed too.

Goal Three

To be a comprehensive source of the best possible contemporaneous, evidence-based, organic horticultural advice. And be a valued research partner for food growing, seed preservation and composting, against a backdrop of biodiversity loss and the climate crisis.

Goal Four

To attract the widest support – and awareness - for our work with an emphasis on impactful campaigns aligned to the principles of organic growing such as pesticide and peat use.

Goal Five

To secure a long-term future for the charity, with adequate funding, a skilled team and collaborative partners so we can achieve the greatest impact for many more years to come.