thrivng with the Seasons 2026/27 - Heritage Funded

As part of Thriving with the Seasons, our National Lottery Heritage Fund project, we held a seasonal food education session called Spring into the Kitchenon 11 April 2026, led by Beccy Jones Health Solutions. The session brought people together to explore spring food traditions, healthier ways of cooking, and the value of reconnecting with older, more local and seasonal ways of living, all central to the heritage focus of the project.

The session was about far more than just making soup. Beccy opened the afternoon by reflecting on how modern life has made us overly comfortable and disconnected from the more manual, seasonal ways people once lived. She spoke about how, in the 1950s and 1960s, food preparation was more hands on, local produce was used more naturally, and daily life itself supported movement and health. This created a strong link to the project’s heritage themes, helping participants think about the knowledge, habits and food culture that previous generations would have taken for granted.

Using as much local produce as possible, the group prepared a Spring Broth with Wild Garlic, followed by rhubarb and ginger compote served with local live yoghurt. Produce for the session was supported through local shopping, including ingredients bought from Scott’s Veg on Blackburn Market, which helped reinforce the value of supporting local growers and traders as part of seasonal living and community resilience.

Throughout the session, Beccy blended practical cooking guidance with discussion about nutrition, food quality and traditional knowledge. Participants learned how to prepare and use seasonal spring ingredients including leeks, spring onions, potatoes, spring greens, purple sprouting broccoli, asparagus, peas, parsley and wild garlic. Beccy encouraged people to use more of the whole vegetable where possible, reducing waste and reminding the group that older ways of cooking were often naturally more frugal and resourceful.

The session also opened up wider conversation about food systems, including the impact of supermarkets on local producers, the value of growing what we can ourselves, and the benefits of choosing less processed foods. Beccy shared guidance around fats and oils, discussing the difference between heavily processed seed oils and more traditional or less processed options. She also spoke about gut health, explaining how ingredients such as bone broth, herbs and fibre rich vegetables can support digestion and overall wellbeing.

People worked in pairs to chop, wash and prepare the vegetables, took turns stirring the pans, asked questions, and shared their own knowledge and experiences. This created a relaxed and communal atmosphere where learning happened through conversation as much as instruction. The simple act of chopping and preparing food together became part of the session’s value in itself, offering a mindful, rhythmic activity that supported nervous system regulation, connection and calm.

There was also rich discussion around foraging and seasonal plant knowledge, especially wild garlic. Beccy explained that she had foraged the wild garlic locally near the River Irwell, prompting conversation about how these traditions can still be practised today and passed on. This aspect of the session strongly reflected the project’s aim to preserve and celebrate living heritage, not as something distant or museum based, but as knowledge that can still be used in everyday life.

The food prepared on the day reflected the season beautifully. The Spring Broth with Wild Garlic brought together fresh spring vegetables with a simple, nourishing method, while the rhubarb and ginger compote with local live yoghurt offered a seasonal dessert rooted in traditional flavours. Together, these dishes demonstrated that heritage food practices can still feel relevant, accessible and enjoyable now.

Overall, Spring into the Kitchen was a strong example of what Thriving with the Seasons is about. It connected people with seasonal food heritage, encouraged support for local producers, shared practical knowledge around cooking and foraging, and created a warm shared experience where community and wellbeing were strengthened through food. 

Recipes made during the session

Spring Broth with Wild Garlic
Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 20 mins | Serves: 4

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil or butter
2 large leeks, sliced
1 bunch spring onions, sliced
300g new potatoes, diced
1.2 litres vegetable or chicken stock
200g spring greens, shredded
100g purple sprouting broccoli, chopped
1 handful wild garlic leaves, shredded, or 2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bunch asparagus, chopped
150g frozen peas, optional
Sea salt and black pepper
To serve: Pecorino or Parmesan, crusty bread, fresh parsley

Method
Heat the oil or butter in a large pot and soften the leeks and spring onions for 5 to 7 minutes. Add the potatoes and stock and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until tender. Add the spring greens, broccoli and asparagus and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the wild garlic, peas and lemon juice and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the lemon zest, season to taste, and serve with cheese, olive oil and bread.

Dessert
Rhubarb and ginger compote served with local live yoghurt.

Thriving with the Seasons hosted its first walk on the 22 March a welcome of Spring and a welcoming of  25 people together at Whitehall Park. Led by Pete from Pendle Plant Craft. 

The park opened in 1879 and was designed to make use of the natural streams from the moors. Today it remains and important heritage site with historic features such as the Lightbown fountain and other Victorian structures. 

As we walked through the park, participants were invited to slow down and notice the signs of early spring all around them. The group explored seasonal plants, lichen and fungi, and learned more about how local people once lived much closer to the rhythms of the year, understanding what could be gathered, when it was ready, and how it might be used for teas, food, simple remedies and everyday household knowledge. 

The photographs captured that beautifully, from the daffodils coming through across the park to close up finds like scarlet elf cup fungi and lichen shared during the walk. People were not just passive listeners, they were observing, handling, asking questions, tasting and learning together. That hands on, shared experience matters because this project is not simply about talking about heritage, it is about helping people feel it, notice it and take part in it.

The walk also helped shine a light on Whitehall Park as a heritage space in its own right. Participants paused at the historic Lightbown Fountain, the striking cast iron fountain that stands in the park’s main pool. We were also reminded that roses have been cherished for millennia, with evidence of them being grown in China around 5,000 years ago. Showing how plants connect us not only to local history, but to a much older human story of beauty, care and cultivation.

That gave the session another layer. It was not only about foraging and seasonal learning, but about recognising that the park itself carries memory, care and local history. Features like the Lightbown Fountain remind us that these spaces were shaped by earlier generations who believed public parks mattered, for health, beauty, refuge and community life. That links strongly with the purpose of Thriving with the Seasons, which is to reconnect people with the land, with local heritage and with traditions of stewardship, self sufficiency and belonging. 

The session ended with the making and sharing of a spring tonic herbal tea, giving people a simple, sensory way to experience the season through taste as well as through place and story. 

Overall, the spring forage walk engaged 25 participants in a heritage focused, nature based learning experience that increased awareness of seasonal plant knowledge, Whitehall Park’s historic significance and the value of traditional practices linked to food, remedies and community resilience. It also created space for social connection, mindful observation and shared outdoor wellbeing, which are all central to the aims of the project.

More to come including pollinator education and cooking! Thank you to Pete and to all that came.