We’re proud to share the inspiring stories of members of the CAT community putting sustainability into action. Here’s how CAT graduate, Raddon Stephenson is making a difference.
Raddon works in urban horticulture at the Caritas Lalley Centre Community Allotment and Food Pantry in Manchester, which is deeply rooted in tackling social and environmental issues. In his role as Allotment and Food Provision Manager, Raddon focuses on closing the food waste loop, helping people grow their own produce in the city, and recognising the interconnection between social wellbeing, our food systems and the natural environment.
Raddon says, “It’s really fulfilling to have a job that enables me to do practical food growing, improve people’s mental health through wellbeing gardening sessions, and tackle food waste in a tangible way. I’m always learning how to be a better grower and how to most effectively encourage community participation in their local greenspace by observing what we grow and how people respond to the site. It’s also great to learn from people who’ve moved to the UK from elsewhere who have varied growing knowledge and skills to share too.”
Through this work, Raddon is using what he learned from his Master’s in Sustainable Food and Natural Resources at CAT. While studying at CAT, he was inspired not only by the practical learning, like identifying plants, but by the conceptual skills he gained, such as systems thinking approaches.
In 2022 he set up a composting project with a local primary school. Having recognised that the school wasn’t separating food waste, that children weren’t using their allotment, and that the 1,400m2 plot was in constant need of compost, Raddon set out to tackle the disconnect between the three issues. He got pupils involved in composting their own canteen scraps to then grow food to provide for the community through the pantry, closing the food waste gap. The project received funding for a Ridan composting system. It now makes around 9.5 tonnes of peat-free compost for the allotment each year!
Before coming to CAT, Raddon was pursuing a career as a musician but just as he was starting out the pandemic hit, cancelling any work at that time. However, lockdown brought time and space for reflection. After experiencing organic farm work, Raddon decided to pursue his passion for nature academically at CAT. He recognised that what we grow and how we grow it has a vast impact on our ecosystems and that the universal need to eat can directly connect people with environmental solutions.
Studying at CAT also gave Raddon the opportunity to continue creating and sharing his music, including The Compost Song written during his dissertation, which he now brings into community gardening work to engage children in reducing and composting food waste.
“Studying at CAT has allowed me to focus my energy into a field of work which is genuinely beneficial for the social and ecological wellbeing of the community, and which I find really fulfilling. The postgraduate course, the student community and the CAT site itself have been inspirational, leading me to a job where I can put my knowledge and skills in food growing and community engagement into practice on a daily basis.”
Has CAT inspired your sustainability journey?
We’d love to hear how you’re making change happen. Share your story at cat.org.uk/cat-stories for a chance to be featured in a future edition of Clean Slate, on the CAT website or on social media.