Abundance brief for Good for Nothing at SHIFT

1. [ Abundance Brief ]
Abundance is a countrywide network of approximately 75 local projects
to harvest the seasonal glut of local fruit like apples, pears, cherries and
plums and redistribute it to the local community primarily in order to
reduce waste. This is an example of one such local project:
http://www.growsheffield.com/pages/groShefAbund.html
Each year hundreds of fruit trees go unpicked either because people don’t
notice them, may not be physically able to harvest them or there are just
too many fruits at one time.
Abundance is a movement of volunteers that help harvest city fruit and redistribute the surplus to the
community on a non-profit basis - to community cafes, schools, charities Sure Starts, volunteers and
individuals. Abundance also juices tonnes of fruit and makes jams, chutneys and preserves, some of
which has been for sale. They’ve even set up an apple press on the high street through Abundance
Chiswick for everyone to enjoy local apple juice. Abundance continues throughout the seasonal cycle
with tree planting, grafting and pruning workshops.
[ BACKGROUND ]
Fruit facts
Currently, 90 per cent of fruit and 50 per cent of vegetables in the UK are imported. 70 per cent of our
apples come from distant lands such as New Zealand, over 12,000 miles away. Many of these fruits are
produced using intensive methods, which are heavily reliant on oil-based farming systems, and are
then transported using fossil fuels.
History
Abundance was set up by Stephen Watts and Anne-Marie Culhane in Sheffield in 2007 to encourage
more local fruit growing, cultivation and harvesting. Abundance is an umbrella term for 75
independent groups some of which do not use the term Abundance. The groups wish to co-operate
and communicate more but to remain small, local and independent because the activity is by its nature
very local.
How it works
Abundance aims to have zero waste, so fruit is either eaten, stored, preserved, pressed,
composted or fed to animals.
Fruitful trees are identified through scouting, phone calls, word of mouth, texts and emails
from tree owners or tip offs from people who have spotted fruit. They collect all the data
about the trees and owner contact details in a chart as well as on a Google map.
Abundance groups help create a sense of local community and attract significant numbers
of volunteers and very positive press coverage. They draw attention to a fairly widespread
disconnect with where our food comes from and how it is produced.
Abundance has been featured on Channel 4’s River Cottage and Radio 4 and
voted grassroots project of the year for the Observer Ethical awards in 2010.
The project has been funded by a number of organizations including Arts
Council, Naturesave Trust and Co-operative Membership Community Fund.

2. [ CREATIVE BRIEF ]
There is a lot of enthusiasm and interest in what Abundance are doing and many local groups
are forming to harvest fruit in their area. The need for a website comes from groups being
fragmented and sometimes isolated, relying on a Yahoo group and occasional physical
meetings for moral and practical support.
Paul Mackay, who is managing the Abundance Network website, would love help with the
following 3 things:
1. Create an overarching Abundance brand and look feel for the central website that
embodies the uniqueness and character of the project (Logo, colour scheme, design
elements, imagery). The individual groups will retain their own distinctive visual
identities.
2. Create a simple homepage for the central Abundance Network website (wireframes,
simple layouts and initial designs), that tells the Abundance story, provides links to
existing local groups and serves as an informative promotional tool for new groups,
volunteers, tree owners and potential funders.
• Paul to provide key sections, eg. Local groups, how to set up a new group, become a
volunteer, Abundance inspiration (photos, videos, news), fruits by season
• Create a beautiful hand drawn/illustrated map of the UK which you could click on
to find your local group and their info that DIDN’T look like a regular Google map
but had some character, charm and uniqueness like the Abundance project.
3. Create imaginative communication assets to help spread the message about Abundance
to potential volunteers, funders and tree owners. This could be through film, a tumblr
site, animation, stunts etc.
What we have to work with:
We’d love an apple press any other props, photos, video from the
network
Abundance guide to community urban harvesting (including stunning
illustrations and useful information):
http://www.growsheffield.com/images/abundbkview.pdf
http://www.growsheffield.com/pages/groShefAbund.html#
www.abundancelondon.com/
http://abundancemanchester.wordpress.com
Abundance London fruit map
http://g.co/maps/2nq22
Google Doc of all the Abundance groups across the country:
http://bit.ly/xYlIR0