Share your community gardening story: tips for zine-making
Sharing the work your group or neighbourhood do can raise your profile as a community group, encourage more volunteers and inspire others to set up their own projects. Documenting the way you grow and work together doesn’t have to feel daunting – it can open up lots of creative possibilities and new ways to engage with nature and the people around you.
The RHS has been working with the Socially Engaged Photography Network to encourage and upskill communities in creative storytelling. We’ve asked the artists involved to contribute their top tips, as well as share the work created to inspire others to document their own gardening stories.
Zine-making
Often made to tell a story, share a message or raise awareness about something important to you, a zine is a handmade or self-published booklet or leaflet. Zines can be a creative way to bring people together and empower them to document and share what matters to them.
Tips from the artists
- Capture lots of different things e.g. photographs, drawings, handwriting, labels, typefaces that exist in the space – you don’t know how you might use it later
- Ask lots of different people to contribute – their contributions don’t have to all be the same, so talk with them to see what suits them. There is no right and wrong – don’t restrict yourself
- Once you have collected all of your content, look at it all together – what themes do you notice? (Again, ask lots of people for their ideas)
- Think about who is choosing the photos and content. Who should do this? Who wants to do this? Have a conversation and make a decision about this together at the start
- The themes might inform how you order things within your zine – or even how you make it. There are an endless number of ways to put together your zine, so think about what is most important to you
- It can be useful to collaborate with someone who has not been involved directly in the project – they will see things differently. Keep the group involved in how the process develops, select certain points along the way to share progress
- Play! Try out lots of different things when putting your zine together – see what you like and what works, also notice what doesn’t work
- Does your zine tell a story? Think about how to order your content to reflect the narrative
- Think about who the audience is for your zine. What do you want the person looking at the zine to think, feel, learn, enjoy or discover?
Take a look at the zines created by both artist projects for inspiration:
Home Grown Knowledge (pdf) showcases the work shared with Gwen Riley Jones, Q Gardens, Strand Community Hub and Petrus Incredible Edible Rochdale (PIER) in Rochdale. Designed, risograph printed and bound by Amrit Randhawa.
Grow To Eat (pdf) documents the Grow To Eat programme with Cranhill Community Developoment Trust. Designed by Callai Watson, cyanotype images created by Cranhill Community members.
Guidance from artist partnership Coulson & Tennant on how to present and share your zine:
- Use a lot of visuals – photographs and illustrations should take up most of the space, and text should be short and concise
- Your cover image should be something that catches peoples’ eyes instantly. Think about what would capture attention and use that
- Include different stories or types of material. For Grow to Eat we wanted to put together a holistic zine, so we included growing tips and recipes for using the food that was grown in the community garden
- Remember to include your funders’ logos, and anyone else who has helped you along the way – it is such a nice way to thank people and organisations for their contribution
- Share a print and digital version so as many people as possible can see it. Ensure that a digital file is readily available on lots of platforms and ask your funders if they want to share it. By having it in many places you can reach a wider audience
Text: RHS
Image: Gwen Riley Jones
Sharing the work your group or neighbourhood do can raise your profile as a community group, encourage more volunteers and inspire others to set up their own projects. Documenting the way you grow and work together doesn’t have to feel daunting – it can open up lots of creative possibilities and new ways to engage with nature and the people around you.
The RHS has been working with the Socially Engaged Photography Network to encourage and upskill communities in creative storytelling. We’ve asked the artists involved to contribute their top tips, as well as share the work created to inspire others to document their own gardening stories.
Zine-making
Often made to tell a story, share a message or raise awareness about something important to you, a zine is a handmade or self-published booklet or leaflet. Zines can be a creative way to bring people together and empower them to document and share what matters to them.
Tips from the artists
- Capture lots of different things e.g. photographs, drawings, handwriting, labels, typefaces that exist in the space – you don’t know how you might use it later
- Ask lots of different people to contribute – their contributions don’t have to all be the same, so talk with them to see what suits them. There is no right and wrong – don’t restrict yourself
- Once you have collected all of your content, look at it all together – what themes do you notice? (Again, ask lots of people for their ideas)
- Think about who is choosing the photos and content. Who should do this? Who wants to do this? Have a conversation and make a decision about this together at the start
- The themes might inform how you order things within your zine – or even how you make it. There are an endless number of ways to put together your zine, so think about what is most important to you
- It can be useful to collaborate with someone who has not been involved directly in the project – they will see things differently. Keep the group involved in how the process develops, select certain points along the way to share progress
- Play! Try out lots of different things when putting your zine together – see what you like and what works, also notice what doesn’t work
- Does your zine tell a story? Think about how to order your content to reflect the narrative
- Think about who the audience is for your zine. What do you want the person looking at the zine to think, feel, learn, enjoy or discover?
Take a look at the zines created by both artist projects for inspiration:
Home Grown Knowledge (pdf) showcases the work shared with Gwen Riley Jones, Q Gardens, Strand Community Hub and Petrus Incredible Edible Rochdale (PIER) in Rochdale. Designed, risograph printed and bound by Amrit Randhawa.
Grow To Eat (pdf) documents the Grow To Eat programme with Cranhill Community Developoment Trust. Designed by Callai Watson, cyanotype images created by Cranhill Community members.
Guidance from artist partnership Coulson & Tennant on how to present and share your zine:
- Use a lot of visuals – photographs and illustrations should take up most of the space, and text should be short and concise
- Your cover image should be something that catches peoples’ eyes instantly. Think about what would capture attention and use that
- Include different stories or types of material. For Grow to Eat we wanted to put together a holistic zine, so we included growing tips and recipes for using the food that was grown in the community garden
- Remember to include your funders’ logos, and anyone else who has helped you along the way – it is such a nice way to thank people and organisations for their contribution
- Share a print and digital version so as many people as possible can see it. Ensure that a digital file is readily available on lots of platforms and ask your funders if they want to share it. By having it in many places you can reach a wider audience
Text: RHS
Image: Gwen Riley Jones
