Grow Back Greener Fund 2020

Green Health in our Hands

Company Drinks, working in partnership with London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and Refuge Barking and Dagenham received £14,200 to run a 6-month greening and training programme working with vulnerable women in the borough.

The project will include the construction of new herb gardens at the Company Drinks Community Garden and at satellite sites, including a new greenhouse to allow participants to grow herbs from scratch. 56 participants took part in the programme.

"The community herbal network and community garden provide a sanctuary and refuge in the hectic urban jungle. A place to reconnect with nature, ourselves and each other."

Aiyana, project participant

Grahame Park Community Gardening

Barnet Environment Support Team, working in partnership with Friends of Heybourne Park, New Colindale Residents Association, London Borough of Barnet, Saracens High School, Notting Hill Genesis and Colindale Communities Trust, has been awarded £16,419 to create an urban permaculture community garden at Heybourne Park in Grahame Park.

The project will include create a space for food growing and wildlife, and will include gardening activities and workshops for local residents, as well as a gardening market for plant exchanges.

The Greenhouse and The Grow-ver

The Exchange Erith, working in partnership with North West Kent Countryside Partnership, Orbit Housing, 121 Collective, Friends of Riverside Gardens and local schools, has been awarded £20,000 to support greening activities at The Exchange and in the local community in Erith.

The project will include construction of a greenhouse and the use of a green vehicle - “The Grow-ver” - to enable satellite projects in green spaces across North Bexley, starting with the creation of a sensory garden and tree planting at Applegarth House.

Greener Futures

Coram’s Fields and the Harmsworth Memorial Playground, working in partnership with The Bee Friendly Trust, have been awarded £36,700 to improve key green spaces at Coram’s Fields, a vital community resource in Camden.

The intergenerational project brought people together from across the community, many of whom lack their own green space, with bi-weekly volunteering sessions. Four neglected spaces have been improved, including creating a new community growing space and improving the wildlife garden for bees and other pollinators.

"I was stuck at home without a garden, working long hours and feeling a lot of anxiety from being always in the same enclosed space. [...] I joined the gardening club and volunteering after the lockdown. It's amazing to spend time outdoors, doing physical exercise, learning new skills and meeting new people while helping and doing some good for the community, all in one!"

Berta, project volunteer.

Patchwork Gardening

Global Generation, working in partnership with Somers Town Community Association and Oakshott Court Residents Group, received £20,000 to create new growing spaces in Somers Town.

The project has transformed a grey section of the Story Garden, as well as two satellite 'patchwork' food growing sites in the local community. Two cohorts of local residents took part in training in organic growing at the Story Garden to support them to maintain the patchwork sites.

"In my home in Algeria I used to always grow things. Now I moved to Swiss Cottage I don't have the opportunity to grow things. Gardening on the rooftop has reminded me of being back in Algeria. It makes me happy"

Yasmin, project volunteer

Operation Bedspread

Castlehaven Community Association (CCA), working in partnership with Clarence Way TMO, Holy Trinity Primary School, MIND in Camden, The Outside Project, The Good Gym, Cob in the Community, Camden Garden Centre and Co-operation Town, has been awarded £20,000 to create a new food growing space in and around Castlehaven Community Park.

The project will work with volunteers and users from CCA’s foodbank, predominantly local Somali women, to create new growing beds at Castlehaven and in the local community, as well as supporting participants to develop skills to grow food at home.

From Grey to Green at Camley Street Natural Park

London Wildlife Trust has been awarded £10,753 to install new drainage features and rain gardens at Camley Street Natural Park in Kings Cross, as part of the wider redevelopment of the site.

The project will allow rainwater to be captured from the roof of the new visitor centre, slowing down runoff and improving water quality.

South Norwood Goes Wild for All

London Borough of Croydon, working with Friends of South Norwood Lake and Grounds, Croydon Youth and School Sailing Association, The Lakes Café, South Norwood Woodcraft Folk and 1st Crystal Palace Scouts, received £10,068 to improve South Norwood Lake.

The project has planted a new community orchard of 21 trees, installed floating reedbeds in the lake, planted bulbs and improved the woodland areas. 150 adults and 180 children have taken part in the project, and 500 people attended the Community Lake Open Day in September 2021. Volunteers completed training in orchard management, first aid and bat surveying.

"Seeing the improvements the "Friends of" group are undertaking in the park inspired me to get in touch to get permission to transform a side entrance from overgrown brambles to wildflowers. With the Friends' support and council permission we cleared the area, dug it over and invited children from Cypress School to plant wildflowers, including the Dartford Pink. This will be an ongoing project as the children are very keen to return"

Grete, local resident

Northolt’s Breathing Spaces

Building Bridges Careers Services, working in partnership with London Borough of Ealing and local groups, received £23,125 to turn three unused and neglected sites in Northolt into “breathing spaces” for food growing and improving air quality.

This included turning a disused play area into a community growing space at Radcliff Estate, revitalising an empty garden space at Medlar Estate and creating a wildlife friendly garden at Northolt Library.

"I have two children who have gained so much from the garden. I have seen them over the summer look forward to Building Bridges coming on site to support them in the garden...my kids and I are so pleased to have our own community garden to grow food and plants. It really makes the estate a friendlier place."

Herbert Road Green Oasis

Creative City Limited, working in partnership with Becoming X, Extinction Rebellion Greenwich, The Barnfield Hub, Woolwich Community Centre, Barnfield Allotment, Friends of Woolwich Common and the Royal Borough of Greenwich, has been awarded £22,058 to bring nature and wildlife to Herbert Road in Plumstead.

The project has been co-designed by local residents and will transform a polluted, uncared for area into a space for people to relax in a green setting. It will also include “Plumstead Gardener Time”, a community gardening training programme for local residents.

The Wardle Street Project

Core Arts, working in partnership with Hackney Play Association and the Union of Hackney Gardens, has been awarded £19,096 to green the route between Homerton High Street and Homerton Hospital along Wardle Street.

The project will include a community orchard, a new meadow, street planters irrigated with rainwater, tree pit planting and a green wall. It will also deliver inclusive training sessions and “how to” videos to share learning more widely.

Haggerston’s Singing Hedgerow

St Mary’s Secret Garden, working in partnership with Api:cultural, has been awarded £9,268 to help improve the community horticultural therapy garden in Haggerston.

The project will work with people with learning disabilities and older volunteers to extend a hedgerow and improve rainwater capture on the site to create wildlife ponds.

Hackney Wick Greening

Hackney Herbal, working in partnership with Permablitz London, received £7,602 to improve the garden spaces at Trowbridge Gardens and green spaces around Hackney Wick.

The project included volunteer sessions and educational workshops, as well as creating a trainee position. It was centred around a new forest garden with a diverse planting plan including edible plants and those that support pollinators and other wildlife. 69 people took part in workshops, with 42 regular volunteers.

"Being a trainee has given me invaluable life skills which take with me wherever life may lead me [...] I started as a novice,  and I'm so proud of what I've learnt throughout the experience and it heightened my connection to nature and gave me a strong sense of community and belongingness [...] This traineeshop has broadened my horizon to consider a life path which I never before would have."

Abdul Abdalah, trainee

CookBook Edible Library

London Borough of Haringey, working with Volunteer it Yourself and Edible London, has been awarded £40,000 to transform an underused area at St Ann’s Library in Tottenham into a regenerative growing and educational garden space.

The project will be delivered by working with local young people, who will be able to access accredited training opportunities as well as gaining an understanding of the importance of a healthy balanced diet.

Gladstone Parklet

Grow N22, working in partnership with London Borough of Haringey, has been awarded £25,000 to transform a grey space into a productive and experimental green community hub in Noel Park.

The project will work with local people to convert unused road space at the junction of Vincent Road and Gladstone Avenue into a parklet with plants, trees, benches and bike racks.

Creation of Northcote Local Nature Reserve

London Borough of Hounslow, working in partnership with Friends of Northcote Nature Reserve, Greenspace 360, Friends of the River Crane Environment and South West London Environment Network, has been awarded £40,000 to create a new nature reserve in Isleworth.

The project will transform a green space with limited value for wildlife into a more natural environment supporting a diverse range of habitats. It will create a tidal inlet and river bank terracing, alongside tree planting, a community orchard and wildflower meadows.

Rooftop Kitchen Garden & Living Learning Greenspaces

Octopus Community Network, working in partnership with Brickworks Community Centre, has been awarded £29,370 to create a community plant nursery and rooftop garden at two sites in Crouch Hill.

The project forms part of the Octopus Community Food Hub programme, and will create space for food growing, outdoor play and wildlife habitats, whilst supporting local people to learn new skills through a programme of workshops and volunteering.

Swinbrook Estate Greening Project

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, working in partnership with Swinbrook Residents’ Association, has been awarded £35,000 to create a “green nature superhighway” along Acklam Road in North Kensington.

The project, co-designed with residents, will establish a mini-park along the street, including sustainable drainage, tree planting, depaving, and pollinator-friendly planting, to transform an environment dominated by concrete into a community hub. The site is planned to be the starting point for a borough-wide “bee superhighway”.

Grow Back Greener with Nature Vibezzz

Grow Back Greener Estates

Incredible Edible Lambeth, working with London Borough of Lambeth, Metropolitan Housing and WATMOS and local partners received, £40,000 to help catalyse a transformation in how housing estate land is managed for nature and food growing across the borough.

The project has worked at six housing estates across Lambeth - Ethelred, Vauxhall Gardens, Holland Town, Myatt's Fields South, St Martins and Central Hill to revitalise neglected and degraded spaces with new planting schemes. All the estates now have resident environment 'champions' who will maintain the spaces, and the project has created a template of engagement for use across other housing sites in the borough.

"I am delighted to say the effect on our community has been wonderful. I have lost count of the number of neighbours, young and older, who have expressed their appreciation and there are many who help with watering and maintance of our garden. I particularly love the interest and involvement of the kids on our estate."

Project volunteer

Nature Vibezzz, working in partnership with Friends of Tivoli Park, London Borough of Lambeth, Fern Lodge TRA and Portobello TRA, received £29,390 to enhance three sites in West Norwood through a programme of community-led, family greening activities.

This included organic gardening at Fern Lodge; habitat creation including meadows, glades and hedgerows at Tivoli Park and Knights Hill Woods; and woodcraft and bushcraft skills sessions. Work was also carried out to reduce flooding in Tivoli Park including clearing a drainage ditch and planting willows. 82 adults and 115 children took part in the project.

"We benefit from these sessions so much...such a sense of community spirit and care for the local area...the sessions provide such a rich experience for my children with all that they offer"

Josie, project participant

Lambeth Loves Nature

Froglife, working in partnership with Streatham Common Co-operative, received £20,000 to create a unique corridor of ponds alongside the River Graveney on Streatham Common, helping to reduce flood risk.

Swales divert water from heavy rain and overflow from the river into the ponds, that are connected by leaky dams. Alongside the construction of the ponds, the project has developed a 'Wild Times' dementia-friendly volunteering programme for over 55s. This has helped to establish a new partnership with the SCCOOP, with the launch of a weekly Froglife programme for long-term volunteers. Overall 150 local volunteers took part in the project, with 68 taking part in training sessions.

"I've learnt so much from the Froglife workshops and volunteering with SCCOOP at Streatham Common. I'd never even seen a newt before! I really enjoyed being part of the woodland habitat improvements. Watching the woodland change as we work and learning why we're doing it has been a real eye opener. It's changed the way I look at nature, any myself. I've done things I wouldn't have believed I could have"

Catherine, project volunteer

Pavement Plants for People

South London Botanical Institute, working in partnership with London Borough of Lambeth and Station to Station Business Improvement District, has been awarded £15,295 to green the high street between Tulse Hill and West Norwood.

The project will create ten depaved plant beds and three rain gardens to help reduced surface water flood risk, as well as installing new planters and revitalising old ones. Planting will be completed with local community groups and school students, supporting them to learn gardening skills.

Sunnyhill Nature Garden

London Borough of Lambeth, working in partnership with Sunnyhill Nature Garden Umbrella Group, Streatham Common Co-operative, Earthwild and Sunnyhill Primary School, has been awarded £15,144 to create an accessible community garden from a currently overgrown, closed off site in Streatham.

The project will be led by local volunteers who will clear brambles and create a pond, meadow, paths and vegetable beds to create an enhanced space for wildlife that will also be used for forest school activities. 

Rewilding the Albany Garden

The Albany, working with Entelechy Arts, Lewisham College and Tidemill Academy received £15,000 to revitalise the garden at the community arts centre in Deptford.

The project has made the garden more physically accessible with a new permeable pathway, created a wellbeing garden, depaved a section of concrete path, and planted a new wildflower meadow.

42 people attended "Come 'n' Grow sessions, whilst 36 Lewisham College students took part in eight Preparation for Work sessions. Following on from this programme, over ten students with learning difficulties from the college's horticultural course are now gaining practical gardening skills working in the Albany Garden.

"I joined the Gardening Club this year and was so pleased and surprised to find I could be part of a great garden with a lovely community just down the road from where I live. I've been trying to find places to improve my vegetable growing skills, so I think the club will be a very important resource for me"

Helen, Come 'n' Grow participant

Enhancing SE23

The Horniman Museum and Gardens, working in partnership with Ewart Road Housing Co-operative, Young Lewisham, Sydenham Gardens, Greenwich Co-operative Development Agency and Dalmain Primary School, has been awarded £14,000 to improve green spaces in Forest Hill.

The project will include the design and build of new food growing and sensory play areas at Ewart Community Hall, alongside volunteer gardening clubs and training for adults and young people.

Nurturing Nature in New Cross

The New Cross Gate Trust has been awarded £12,500 to improve its community garden in New Cross. 

The project will include repairing the pond, planting new trees, adding new green roofs and walls and improving habitats with climate resilient planting. New weekend gardening clubs will be established to engage a wide range of volunteers including families.

Allotment of Refuge

Action for Refugees in Lewisham (AFRIL), working in partnership with One Tree Hill Allotment Society, has been awarded £8,208 to transform an unloved allotment into a food growing space for people from refugee, asylum-seeker and no recourse to public funds families.

The project will engage 120 people and will enable 10 adults to develop horticultural skills and accredited gardening and volunteering qualifications, as well as ensuring a supply of fresh vegetables for participants and AFRIL’s foodbank.

Polka Community Garden

Polka Children’s Theatre received £20,000 to revitalise the garden at its site in Merton, to complement the ongoing redevelopment of the theatre building.

The new garden is safe and accessible, open to the community six days a week as well as hosting programmed children's activities. 30 people took part in volunteering days to complete the planting, and will help with ongoing maintenance through a newly formed garden club.

"I've never really been into gardening but I'm always happy to help my local theatre [...] I learned that gardening can be therapeutic and calming and this experience helped me come out of my shell"

IJ, project volunteer

Royal Docks Grass Routes

The Royal Docks Learning and Activity Centre, working in partnership with London Borough of Newham, London City Airport, Create London, Tate & Lyle, East London Business Alliance, University of East London and Groundwork London, has been awarded £40,000 to renovate and activate a corridor of green and open spaces in Royal Docks.

The project will include food growing, tree planting, habitat improvements, park clean ups and a programme of green training activities for local people.

Valentines Park Forest Garden

Transition Town Ilford, working in partnership with Vision Redbridge Culture and Leisure, Roots N Permaculture, Commonwealth Gardeners, Redbridge Green Fair Association and ASNET, has been awarded £5,132 to create a forest garden in Valentines Park, Ilford.

The project will work with local community groups to design, plan and plant a garden with eight layers of planting, and set up a learning space at the site, complemented by online courses.

Bethnal Green Wetlands Rescue

Bethnal Green Nature Reserve Trust received £15,050 to restore the wetlands areas at Bethnal Green Nature Reserve, creating a new pond in the process.

As part of the project, six local young people took part in an internship programme, gaining first-hand practical conservation experience, alongside learning and enrichment activities. 40 adults and 150 children from local schools also took part in regular ecology workshops, and a dedicated "pond care" volunteer group will help with ongoing maintenance.

"The ecology internhip has been transformative in my understanding wetland ecosystems and why they are important, especially in cities like central London. The opportunity to receive first-hand training by experts whilst also being paid is a real game-changer for me."

Lauren, Ecology Intern

Green Up Priory, Let’s Go!

OrganicLea, working in partnership with Clarion Futures, London Borough of Waltham Forest, William Morris Big Local, Penrhyn Surgery, Age UK Waltham Forest and Worth Unlimited, has been awarded £37,300 to green the Priory Court Estate in Walthamstow.

The project will work with residents to co-create a network of wildlife-friendly spaces, establishing green corridors and communal gardens, whilst also supporting people to take positive action in their own gardens and outdoor spaces. Participants will be supported by training and educational workshops led by community gardeners.

PiPs and Seeds

Pursuing Independent Paths (PiP), working in partnership with Randolph GP Surgery, Thrive and Petit Miracles, has been awarded £10,000 to revitalise the community garden at the surgery in Maida Vale.

The project will be delivered by working with adults with Learning Disabilities, Autism and mental health challenges, supporting them to develop new skills, and transforming the garden into a space for patients and staff.

Landscaping and Planting Front Courtyard

The Church of Our Lady of Lourdes & St. Vincent de Paul received £6,836 to help transform the concrete space in front of the church in Maida Hill into a green parklet accessible to the whole community.

The project has included depaving, planting trees and installing seating to create a safe, welcoming environment. The garden will be maintained by volunteers from the church and the wider community.

"It has been a joy to watch the transformation of this heavily concreted space from an eyesore to an icon. We desperately need green spaces to mitigate the effects of the high levels of pollution from traffic on the adjacent Harrow Road and to reduce the urban heat island created in this built-up area. It is heartwarming to see the effect of the transformed church grounds for people passing by on foot, in cars or on buses."

Patricia McAllister