Community Green Space Grants 2020

London Tails of Amphibian Discovery (T.O.A.D.) Phase Two

Froglife received £40,000 to improve existing habitats and create new ponds at four nature reserves across London: Waterworks Nature Reserve and Epping Forest in Waltham Forest, Fryent Country Park in Brent, and Eastbrookend Country Park in Barking and Dagenham.

The project involved 221 volunteers in training sessions online and in the field, developing their skills in surveying for amphibians and maintaining and monitoring the new habitats.

The EN5 Community Eco-Zone

Foulds Primary School has been awarded £18,523 to convert over 400m2 of grey space back to nature in the school playground in Barnet. The new “Eco-Zone” will encourage native species and pollinators, and provide space for a vibrant calendar of cross-generational activities.

Thamesmead Canal Habitat Enhancement

Thames21, working in partnership with London Wildlife Trust, Peabody, Environment Agency, Thamesmead Town Angling Club and Thamesmead & Marsh Dykes Catchment Improvement Group, received £22,850 to enhance the canals and lakes around Thamesmead.

The project has installed floating reedbed habitats at four sites on the Harrow Canal and Crossway Pond. The new habitats create green links for wildlife, and align with Peabody's wider green infrastructure strategy for the area.

"When I retired I wanted to do something to give back to the local community but also support wildlife. Helping with the reed beds helped to do both."

Peter, project volunteer

Connecting Greener Riverside Communities

Thames21, working in partnership with London Borough of Brent, Canal and River Trust and multiple local groups, received £30,000 to open up a green corridor along the River Brent at Quainton Street Open Space in Neasden.

The project has created a safer, welcoming green space with riverside walks and cycling routes, linking Wembley with the Welsh Harp reservoir. New planting has created more attractive and wildlife friendly spaces along the route. 189 local volunteers took part in the project, which will continue with additional funding to develop a further riverside path.

"There is a huge evidence base about being in green spaces, being in the green around trees fundamentally affects the way our brain works, how that influences you mental health, and the way we respond to the world. Working on a project like this brings people together, makes us realise we are all connected."

Tania Town, Mental Health Mentoring Project Lead, Ashford Place

Greening Our Valley

Valley Primary School received £30,000 to improve the school grounds in Bromley. This included installing green ivy screens to reduce exposure to air pollution, an outdoor learning space, and edible planting and orchard areas. 450 children and 100 adult volunteers took part in the project, and a new parent and child gardening group has been set up to help maintain the newly planted areas. The school has increased the amount of outdoor education in the curriculum, with all students now having time dedicated to outdoor learning each week.

"As a parent, I love the changes we’ve seen since the Greening Our Valley project began. Our daughters are now enjoying weekly lessons in the outdoor learning space, and it has been great for them to get involved in the revitalisation of the school’s orchard. The playground has become a greener, more inspiring space, and they have learned about air purification and the need for wildflowers to help protect biodiversity."

Fiona Cowood, parent.

Greening the Regent’s Canal

London Wildlife Trust received £39,996 for improvements to the unique Camley Street Natural Park in King’s Cross.

The project included creating a new wildflower meadow, restoring the pond, and installing 150 square metres of reedbeds along the canal, creating a new habitat within the nature reserve.

19 volunteers helped to install the reedbeds, and will continue to maintain them.

"We can be really proud of ourselves, we have completely transformed this part of the canal as well as Camley Street Natural Park"

Karolina, project volunteer

Nature Nurture

Minster Nursery and Infant School has been awarded £15,000 to create a kitchen garden within the school grounds in Croydon. The garden will create an interactive learning resource for students, their parents and the wide community.

Foxley Wood

Friends of Foxley, working in partnership with TCV, Fields’ Garden and Countryside, and London Borough of Croydon, have been awarded £11,000 to help conserve Foxley Wood in Purley. The project will include protecting an ancient beech tree, resurfacing paths, planting new trees and improving access to the wood.

Socco Cheta Community Garden

Socco Cheta Community Hub has been awarded £8,596 to create a community garden in South Norwood. The garden will bring residents together and provide access to nature, as well as increasing greening on a highly polluted street.

Nature Works

METRO Charity has been awarded £19,987 to transform seven overgrown, derelict allotments into a thriving wildlife area in Eltham. The plot will include different habitat zones building on already established trees and plants.

Connecting Green Spaces – Daubeney Fields

London Borough of Hackney, working in partnership with Daubeney Fields Forever, Kings Park Moving Together and EcoACTIVE, has been awarded £40,000 to improve the entrances to Daubeney Fields in Homerton. The new entrances will open up the park to its community and blur the boundaries between green and grey.

Greening, Cleaning Air Quality

St. Dominic’s Catholic Primary School received £19,998 to install green screens around the school playground in Homerton, creating a continuous green barrier along Wick Road The project aimed to reduce students' exposure to air pollution, and also planted new trees and hedges.

Regent’s Canal Living Waterway

Wildlife Gardeners of Haggerston, working in partnership with Laburnum Boat Club received £15,000 to create a green corridor along the Regent’s Canal in Haggerston.

Floating islands of vegetation were installed along the canal to improve water quality and create habitat for wildlife. The project aims to be a pilot for improving the whole of the canal as a green corridor. 25 volunteers took part in the project.

"My son Oskar, is a keen gardener and relishes all opportunities to get his hands in mud. It’s a delight for him to be invited each year to help the Wildlife Gardeners of Haggerston. It’s a unique opportunity to spend a day working alongside one’s neighbours. We look forward to it, and it feels very meaningful to be part of these projects."

Dayle and Oskar, project volunteers

The Lindales and Cooperage Close Minor SuDS Project

London Borough of Haringey received £20,000 to create two rain gardens in Tottenham.

The rain gardens have replaced grey with green, reducing flood risk and improving local water quality, and have already reduced flooding in this winter's storms. Community groups will help to maintain the new green spaces.

Green Oasis for Tottenham Schools

Lancasterian Primary School, working in partnership with the Parent Staff Association, Blooming Gardens and The Vale School, received £10,000 to green the school grounds in Tottenham. The project has transform an area of dead grey space into a living, green, tranquil and accessible garden, creating 99 square metres of new green space.

As a result of the project, the two schools now have constant access to a garden, and have employed a regular forest school-trained teacher to support its use. Over 300 school children took part in the project, as well as parents and other local volunteers.

"I have been so glad to see this area of green in such a deprived area where many children live in small flats with no garden space and know very litter about growing and use of land."

Marcus, parent volunteer

Broadwater Farm Community Garden Project

Friends of Harmony Garden, working in partnership with Friends of Lordship Rec, Homes for Haringey, Broadwater Farm Tenants and Residents Association and Naturel, has been awarded £8,000 to create community growing spaces at Broadwater Farm Estate. The growing spaces will be located on currently unused raised terrace areas across the estate.

Green Fingers, Greener Community

Tiverton Primary School has been awarded £5,250 to create growing spaces in the school grounds in Harringay. Pupils will be able to grow their own salads, vegetables and herbs, and create greener spaces for wildlife.

Newt Waterways

London Borough of Hillingdon, working in partnership with TCV, has been awarded £40,000 to transform 5 hectares of amenity green space at Hillingdon House Farm. The project will create a mosaic of ponds and wildflower meadows, creating habitat for wildlife and environmental education opportunities.

Harefield Peace Gardens

Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals Charity, working in partnership with Groundwork London, received £20,000 to transform three areas of neglected green space at Harefield Hospital. The gardens will benefit patients and visitors to the hospital, and the design includes themed planting to reflect the hospital's history in caring for Anzac soldiers during World War I. Patients and staff helped to shape the design of the garden, and 79 volunteers took part in the project.

"I was greeted by a great big window, looking out on to a lovely, tasteful set garden...I mean, it's bound to do people good, looking out the window on this wonderful picture of nature. It's a really good addition. When I come back as an outpatient, I might pop out to have a look"

Patient, Harefield Hospital

Boston Manor Park River Resilience and Stewardship

Thames21, working with London Borough of Hounslow, Friends of Boston Manor Park and Brent River and Canals Society, received £34,147 to revitalise the River Brent in Boston Manor Park, Brentford. The project has improved 600m of waterway, improving habitats within the river and along the banks, creating a thriving wild space for people and nature to enjoy.

81 people took part in the project, including ten volunteers who completed the Leading Action for Healthy Rivers training course.

The Natural Workshop

Freightliners City Farm has been awarded £15,755 to renovate a disused area of the farm in Holloway. The project will bring the space into use for visitors, especially children to enjoy the outdoors and discover nature in a playful way.

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Community Garden Project

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School received £4,987 to create a community garden in the school grounds in Islington.

The garden has enabled students to grow food which is being used in the school kitchen, and is also used for events. 40 students have taken part in the project and a horticultural education course is being developed to start in September 2021.

"The new garden at EGA provides us with a colourful, warm and vibrant welcoming space for the whole community. To be able to watch the food growing and then knowing that the end product is being used in school is a real asset"

Karen Tumbridge, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School

Rush Common Woodland Walk

London Borough of Lambeth, working in partnership with St Matthews Estate TRA, We Are Brixton, Father Nature and South Bank UTC, has been awarded £24,945 to improve Rush Common in Brixton. The project will create a woodland walk for people and nature, including a native hedge, new trees and a wildflower meadow.

Elam’s Adventure Nature Area

London Borough of Lambeth, working in partnership with Loughborough Junction Action Group, Friends of Elam Street Open Space and The Grove Adventure Playground, has been awarded £11,693 to improve Elam Street Open Space in Loughborough Junction. The project will work with volunteers including young people to create a range of micro-habitats.

Torridon Wildlife Corridor

Friends of Torridon PTA, working in partnership with Torridon Primary School and Clean Air for Catford received £13,500 to green the playground at Torridon School in Catford.

The project will created a wildlife corridor around the perimeter of the playground, planting 355 trees. 225 children from the school took part in planting days.

"The school community were very excited to take part in the tree-planting and get digging – many of the children had never had the opportunity to plant a tree. They loved getting muddy and working together. All have been part of the process and are taking responsibility for the trees and nature here."

Manda George, Headteacher, Torridon Primary School

Haseley End and Talmage Close Greening Project

Lewisham Homes, working in partnership with Haseley End Residents, received £4,818 to improve green spaces on Haseley End and Talmage Close estate in Forest Hill.

The project involved 25 residents as volunteers, and enabled people to get outside during the COVID-19 pandemic to take part in socially distanced planting days. A committee of residents is being set up to maintain the spaces and develop further ideas.

"During lockdown in the spring, working (at a safe distance) with neighbours on planting, watering and weeding really helped me to feel less isolated, and to love my neighbourhood more than ever before in the 18 years I have lived on this estate. I've got to know neighbours I probably wouldn't have spoken to otherwise."

Katherine, local resident

The Telegraph Hill Community Orchard Project

Lewisham Homes, working in partnership with The Orchard Project, received £4,981 to create a community orchard of 18 trees on the Honor Oak Estate in Telegraph Hill. The orchard has transformed an unused green space to become a focal point for improving the estate and bringing the community together. The site is being cared for by a network of 25 residents, who have received training in orchard maintenance.

"Our new orchard has been a bright spot in the long boring year of the pandemic. I really enjoyed getting stuck in with the planting during the winter and am looking forward to helping with the watering and pruning as the trees grow over the next few years."

Satu, project volunteer

Rewilding Calverton Primary School

Calverton Primary School, working in partnership with London Borough of Newham, Trees for Cities and Learning Through Landscapes, has been awarded £10,720 to green the school grounds in Beckton. The project will include planting an orchard and a wildflower border, to help create natural play spaces and cleaner air.

Cossall Park Master Plan

London Borough of Southwark has been awarded £40,000 for improvements to Cossall Park in Peckham. The first phase will create a new 1 km2 nature area, bringing into use a currently overgrown and inaccessible part of the park.

Cameron House – Swales and Raingarden SuDS Scheme

London Borough of Southwark, working in partnership with Wyndham Estate Tenants Association, has been awarded £30,000 to create a raingarden on a social housing estate in Camberwell. The project will capture runoff from the building roof and protect nearby properties from flooding.

Mawbey House SuDS Eco-Swale

London Borough of Southwark has been awarded £20,000 to transform an unloved and unused grass lawn on a social housing estate in Old Kent Road. The project will capture rainwater to create an enhanced green space with wildflowers and shrubs.

Kipling Rooftop Garden

Leathermarket JMB, working in partnership with Kipling TRA, has been awarded £19,990 to create a roof garden at the Kipling Estate in Bermondsey. The garden will transform a neglected garage rooftop space for use by residents and the wider community.

Wild in the Woods

TCV has been awarded £7,266 for improvements to Dulwich Upper Wood. The project will enhance biodiversity, access and educational value.

Project Duckling

Friends of Burgess Park have been awarded £6,514 to improve Burgess Park lake in Camberwell. The project has installed a new island for nesting birds, improved water quality and restored the bankside. 100 people took part in the project through planting events, including children from Cobourg Primary School.

"It has been wonderful to help order, assemble, and launch the floating islands, see the plants on them flourish, know they are helping to improve the water quality of the lake, and watch the birds begin to use them for undisturbed roosting and nesting [...] Being part of this project allowed me to use some of my long-dormant professional skills and start getting ready for paid work again."

Anna Hwang Collins, project volunteer

The Cambridge House Community Garden

Cambridge House received £3,736 to create a new garden at its community centre in Camberwell, revitalising a litter-strewn and uninviting space. The garden will be open access and is based on permaculture principles, as part of a renewed organisational focus on the environment. It will be used for permaculture classes and growing food for local foodbanks.

"It was great to see the progress at Cambridge House's garden when I visited yesterday. To have a flourishing green space right next to Walworth Road is such an asset for the local community." 

Elliot Laker, Cambridge House

Mudchute Nature Play Space

Mudchute Association has been awarded £35,000 to improve a neglected area of Mudchute Park and Farm in the Isle of Dogs. The project will create a safe and accessible natural play area for children and families.

Greening the Regent’s – Building a Green Network

Lower Regents Coalition, working with several local partners, received £30,000 to improve a 75m section of the Regent’s Canal in Mile End.

The enhancements include floating planters and new trees, bulbs and native plants along the canalside. 75 volunteers took part in the project.

"My time as a part of the Lower Regents Coalition has really made me feel like a valued part of the local community. Working alongside fellow, friendly volunteers, I also learned more about local vegetation and the canal itself than I could’ve been taught in any other environment. My mental health absolutely benefitted from the activities and I look forward to continuing to be a part of the coalition in to 2021."

Joanne, project volunteer

King John’s Moat Wildlife Pond

Stepney City Farm received £20,000 to create a new 135 square metre wildlife pond at the farm in Stepney, with benches, educational signage and dipping platforms.

The pond is within the footprint of the moat of the former “King John’s Palace” on the site, and has created a haven for wildlife - with insects such as dragonflies and pond skaters already moving in. 87 volunteers took part in the pond construction, and will continue to help maintain it. The pond will also be used for school groups to carry out pond dipping.

"The pond has given me a reason to come in on days when I don't feel up to it, as I look forward to see what has happened and seeing my work make a difference."

John, project volunteer

Buzz in the Forest

OrganicLea received £9,896 to build pollinator feeding stations around Waltham Forest, including at sheltered housing sites, veg box collection points and in pocket parks. These green roofs and pollinator-plant filled planters and benches are now providing food for bees, butterflies and other insects.

Following on from the grant OrganicLea are now developing new projects with sheltered housing sites and local schools.

"The planter bench looks lovely now that the timber has weathered in. It has added character to the garden. Now that the pollinating plants have gone over we have filled it with spring flowering bulbs and winter flowering pansies and cyclamen [...] We are looking forward to using it in years to come."

Sheltered housing resident

Higham Hill Park Wildflower Pollinator Corridor

Friends of Higham Hill Park received £5,000 to create a pollinator corridor in the park in Walthamstow. The project installed a ribbon of wildflowers to create new habitat, with 30 local volunteers taking part in planting days.

As one of the volunteers helping the Friends of Higham Hill Park with the wildflower meadow, I am so glad and grateful to have been part of the project. When walking past the strip in early February, I noticed the first flowers poking through, and I was struck by a real sense of pride

Daniel, project volunteer

The Green Gardens of Ravenstone

Friends of Ravenstone Primary School, working in partnership with the school and Transition Town Tooting, have been awarded £10,814 to green the school playground in Balham. The project will transform neglected concrete areas of the playground into spaces teeming with greenery and life.

Patmore Forest Garden

Patmore Co-operative, working in partnership with Urban Canopy and Edible Avenue SW8 received £6,130 to create a forest garden at Patmore Estate in Nine Elms. The garden aims to echo the diversity and abundance of natural systems to create a beautiful, low maintenance space. 40 local residents helped to create the garden through designing the layout and participating in planting days, and are now maintaining the space.

"The gardening sessions gave the opportunity to all members of our community to enhance ecological sustainability in our high-pollution area and helped to restore psychological wellbeing."

Laia, project volunteer

Moore Brook Green Link Phase 2

London Borough of Enfield received £40,000 to integrate rain gardens into neighbourhood improvements in the Haselbury area of Edmonton. The project is part of a wider programme to create a green link between Firs Farm and Pymmes Park Wetlands and created 200 square metres of new green space, reducing surface water flood risk and encouraging active travel through a redesigned streetscape, including safe crossing points and a widened pavement outside of the Westerham shopping precinct.

Growing Tottenham Green

OrganicLea, working in partnership with Clarion Housing Group and Friends of Tottenham Green, has been awarded £27,800 to create a variety of growing spaces along Tottenham High Road, with Tottenham Green at its heart. The project will unite plants, play and food culture to create vibrant spaces using community-led design.

Pinkwell Neighbourhood Greening

London Borough of Hillingdon, working in partnership with Thames21, Cranford Park Friends, FORCE, TCV and Groundwork London, has been awarded £29,990 to improve the quality of green space across Pinkwell Ward in Hayes. The project will bring residents together to create sustainable drainage and diverse planting in housing estates, schools and the public realm.

Fruitful Feltham

The Orchard Project has been awarded £20,100 to plant and maintain fruit trees, plants and shrubs across Feltham. Orchards will be created at three schools and one public green space, and ten community volunteers will be trained in orchard management.

Cultivating Cally – A Community Gardening Project

Islington Play Association, working with several local partners, received £34,000 to transform Freeling Street, off Caledonian Road, into a pocket park.

The street has been closed to traffic, and now includes new trees, edible planters and a new mosaic, helping to form a green link between Bingfield Park and Thornhill Square. The success of the project has led to the council encouraging the greening of other similarly closed streets in the borough. 315 people including 250 children took part in the project.

"The planters on Freeling Street have made a visible difference to the area, they are a refreshing contrast to the much barer surrounding streets and bring a vibrancy that is different to the pre-existing vibrancy of the area. The planting itself brought members of the community to strike up conversations and talk about their own plant related experiences, they were very appreciative of the work young people were doing."

Abena, Assistant Youth Projects Coordinator

Greening Highbury Quadrant Estate

Highbury Vale Blackstock Trust, working in partnership with Octopus Community Network, Highbury Quadrant TRA, Birchmore Hall Community Centre and London Borough of Islington, received £29,978 to transform three unloved green spaces at Highbury Quadrant Estate.

These spaces - The Orchard, The Meadow and The Wildlife Area total over 1,000 square metres, and include food growing beds, a community fruit orchard, mini meadow, hedgerows, accessible pathways, community cabin and more. The project won a Silver Gilt in Islington in Bloom 2021 during the first year of the life of the project, and was home to a ground-breaking "access to nature" programme with Conewood Children's Centre targeted at families with children under-two who had been significantly impacted by COVID-19 lockdowns. Over 200 people took part in the project, which has secured ongoing funding to secure its future through a community co-produced maintenance plan.

"At the end of lockdown last year, I had been missing my stroke rehabilitation a lot. Combined with an emotional breakdown around this time, joining the HQ work has enabled me to replace all the Rehab activities I was doing. The work is purposeful and works both on a psychological and physical level."

Local resident

Loughborough Junction Green Link

Loughborough Junction Action Group received £36,728 to transform a busy neighbourhood street into an active green zone with a range of planting. The project has created an improved corridor connecting two local green spaces – Wyck Gardens and Ruskin Park, and improving Loughborough Junction high street aesthetically, economically and environmentally.

"These planters have made such a difference to the appearance and health and wellbeing of Loughborough Junction...Their placing in the middle of a wide pavement gives the impresson of walking through a beautiful garden and the wildflower planting works particularly well."

Anthea Massey, Loughborough Junction Action Group Chair

Building a Green Hub for SE1

Bankside Open Spaces Trust, working in partnership with Webber and Quentin TMO, Hatfields Garden Communications Group, London Borough of Lambeth and Tabard Growers, received £40,000 to create a green hub for Bankside, testing a new model of support for communities to improve and take ownership of green spaces.

The project worked with four local groups at Hatfield's Green, Webber and Quentin Estate Gardens, Tabard Estate and Applegarth House to create and improve local green spaces and support residents to develop their skills through a programme of training and workshops.

"Our goal is to create a community that celebrates the natural while maximising the use of our green spaces. Since 2020 we have had an increase in garden volunteers and now have a subcommittee for the gardening team and a WhatsApp group. We have had many residents and the local community complement the changes seen in our garden. I can only describe [the impact] as wide-reaching."

Victor Diran, Applegarth House

Green Forest Gate

Forest Gate Community Garden, working in partnership with Loop Labs, has been awarded £28,700 to bring the garden into the community in Forest Gate. The project will create green corridors around local schools, link up and improve accessibility in local parks and green spaces.

St James Street Greening Champions

St James Street Big Local, working in partnership with London Borough of Waltham Forest and L & Q Group Foundation, received £19,389 to kickstart the transformation of some of the greyest streets in the St James Street area of Walthamstow.

The project has supported residents across 89 households to green their own front gardens and public spaces, whilst also co-designing a future programme to enhance the public realm, which will be funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.

"The greening project has made a fantastic contribution to our street by adding more planting and homes for nature. Previously we had spots along the street where gardens were planted up and this project has helped connect these and also connect folk along the street. I hope people who walk from St James Park to Coppermill Lane will enjoy our greener street too! Thank you!"

Resident, Morland Road