What would it be like to cultivate plant life and food growing in the intertidal zone? Intertidal Allotment: A Work in Progress delves into the first five years of artist Andrew Merritt’s attempt to answer this question on the Isle of Sheppey.
Beautifully designed by Polytechnic, this publication — part guidebook, part journal — records the first steps in the exploratory journey towards establishing the world’s first Intertidal Allotment. Documenting the steps taken towards growing the seed of an idea into a functioning prototype on the Sheppey coastline, it considers how, with support, communities can respond to climate change through collective stewardship of land, sea, and food systems.
Part One: Seeding begins with walking, talking and eating with people on Sheppey to understand its unique ecology and what an Intertidal Allotment might mean to them. It then visualises how Andrew’s design process developed in response to this, and incorporated the traditional allotment practice of upcycling found materials.
Part Two: Tending sees us testing materials and fabricating prototypes with local friends before working with the necessary council and environmental bodies to install the first prototypes on our chosen site. It shares a timeline of the regular reports we received from our Caretaker James Buttenshaw and marine biologist Ian Tittley, who were closely monitoring the structures to see what species were growing on and inhabiting them.
Part Three: Harvesting presents recipes for future allotment harvests from Cherry Truluck and Lucia Stuart, bringing to life the culinary opportunities that Intertidal Allotment could yield. We conclude by digesting our learnings so far and looking ahead to our hopes for the project.
