Sutton gardeners go 'weed' dating
7:20am Saturday 4th April 2009 in News
Carshalton Lavender is hosting Londons first eco-dating event next month. Roger Webb and Jane Durney weeding the lavender
First came speed-dating, then speed-flatmating and now environmentally-aware singletons are rushing to try their hand at weed-dating.
The Carshalton Lavender group is hosting the first outdoor eco-dating event in London for time-pressed professionals searching for love in a green climate.
In the horticultural equivalent of speed-dating, lonely Greens are instructed how to weed rows of lavender before splitting randomly into pairs.
The lavender field mob then have 10 minutes to get acquainted over root clumps, before moving methodically from one honest-as-the-soil partner to the next. With the growth of niche dating sites on the internet, it was only a matter of time before help arrived for romantic recyclers and coquettish conservationists.
Jane Durney, a Carshalton Lavender volunteer, said: “We are introducing to London a new form of match-making for environmentally-conscious singles, aged from 30 to 50.
“Eco-dating seeks to take the speed-dating idea, and do a little for the environment at the same time, by helping prepare Carshalton Lavender’s field for this year’s annual harvest and weeding rows of lavender.
"The event is part of a project run by volunteers aimed at restoring the world-famous lavender industry of Carshalton and Mitcham, which is funded by proceeds of the annual lavender harvest and the Thames Valley Community Fund.”
The speed-weeding day follows the success of a serial eco-dating event, run among hedgerows in York by the BCTV conservation charity.
The trend is taking root at Stanley Road Allotments, Carshalton Beeches, between 10am and 1pm, on Saturday April, 18.
It costs £5 to take part, with hot drinks, biscuits and cakes provided.
Spaces are limited, so register your interest by calling 020 8773 8157 or emailing jane.carshaltonlavender@yahoo.co.uk.
For more information, go to carshaltonlavender.org
• Find out about more local green groups at greenguardian.co.uk
