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It is a special year for the Castrop-Rauxel Nord allotment association: they have already been officially named the best allotment in Westphalia – but this also means they have been nominated for the big national competition for all allotment associations in Germany. This only takes place every four years – with a big awards ceremony and gala in Berlin. And of course the people of Castrop-Rauxel want to win gold there too! It will be a difficult year, a test of endurance for the association and all its members. 89 plots on 5.3 hectares, 149 members and all in the middle of a socially disadvantaged area – that is the Castrop-Rauxel Nord allotment garden. A primary school class walks past Stefan Bevc, gardening consultant at the association: small shovels in their children's hands. "The children should learn that fruit and vegetables do not grow on supermarket shelves," explains Bevc. Today they are assigned their own potato patch, which they are to look after themselves. "The times when it was all about making a little happiness possible for everyone in the allotment garden are over. It's about more: ecology, sustainability, social interaction. Allotments are a reflection of society," explains Bevc. André Suren, the youngest board member at 23, dreams of an allotment garden 4.0 - with free internet for all allotment gardeners. The association's chairman, Hans Vondey, wants a proper facility with uniform fences. Gardener Günther Kusik is realizing his dream with an improvised raised bed. Everyone here has their own dreams - but for the competition they all have to pull together. And they have no chance against nature anyway: weeks of drought are causing the flowers to wilt, an introduced pest is gnawing at the box trees - and soon the commission from Berlin will come to take a closer look at their association. For a year, the film accompanies the people in the KGV Castrop-Rauxel Nord - from the first awakening of the gardens in spring to the big allotment garden gala with awards ceremony in wintry Berlin. Sowing, harvesting, hoping and fearing - and completely unexpectedly - the garden even starts to be haunted... ______ A film for people up close by by Marko Rösseler. This film was produced in 2020 (filming from December 2017 to March 2019). All statements and facts correspond to the status at the time and have not been updated since then. Other documentaries on the topic: • To be in love again WDR Doku