We first became aware that our general site manager and general main man of Rooted had received recognition for the huge amount of effort he puts in on a weekly basis to help the people of Hull become more connected with the food we eat, where it comes from and how we can all become more sustainable. Whilst carrying out our work in the city, with Martin’s expert guidance, there are a host of other positive outcomes for the physical and mental wellbeing of the many who have come to use Rooted over the years.

You might catch Martin cycling about the city on our solar powered e-bike.  If you do, the chances are that he is on his way to or from the farm.  There’s watering to do everyday as well as bees to care for and as the man himself said in his acceptance speech, “There are lots of things to see and do. But there are also lots of things going on at Rooted that you don’t see…we have all these little stories…”

It is specifically those “little stories” that keep us all going at Rooted in Hull.  There are several individuals who have attended over the years who have positive stories to tell, some of whom started to attend Rooted having been referred whilst traversing recovery programs, others attend from the local homeless community. We have watched as we have become part of their stories and Martin has led the way with his easy going, non-judgemental, welcome all attitude.

A few of us travelled to the Baths Hall, Scunthorpe for the presentation evening hosted by BBC Radio Humberside’s Kofie Smiles and Carla Green and were blown away by all of the other nominees’ stories. We were even more surprised and extremely proud when Martin’s name was announced as the winner in the Green category.  Each winner had a celebrity endorsement via video link, Martin’s award was introduced by local Hull actor, Leah Brotherhead who spoke warmly about the space we have created and the work that we do, which is good for business and potentially encourages our readers to familiarise themselves with the donate button on our website!

Well done Martin, this is a well deserved reward for all of us at Rooted, although nobody works harder than you do!