TEN gardens in Bacup and Stacksteads have been transformed into havens for crops to encourage people to grow their own fruit and vegetables.

Stubbylee Community Greenhouses is now hosting a new project ‘Cultivating Health’ in a bid to make Rossendale residents healthier.

Project co-ordinator Souta Creagh said: “I am passionate about growing and here we can share our knowledge and experience.

“And we can enable others to live healthier lives and eat fantastic food that they have grown for themselves.

“This area does not have a very good health record.

“We do get people coming into the greenhouses who do not know what fennel is.

“Some have said they didn’t know potatoes grow in the ground while others have seen the cucumbers growing and thought that they were an alien vegetable.”

For more information about Cultivating Health contact Souta Creagh on 01706 872111.