Holland Town Estate is between Vassal road and Camberwell New Road, it is a mixed low rise estate of town houses, bungalows, maisonettes and flats. Many of the properties have private gardens, but there are a significant proportion with no access to green space; there are small pockets of green/brown spaces around the estates that were the main focus of the GBG project. Residents felt that by transforming and enhancing these spaces they could bring new life to the estate and make it a better place to live.
Holland Town already had a history of community food growing in the Community Halls garden, supported by Lambeth Councils Edible Living project.
Residents created a fantastic leaflet to articulate the group’s vision and to share it and engage with all residents on the Estate.
The project was in collaboration with BeeUrban, and supported by Friends of the Earth, Goodgym, Veolia. Through this collaborative work residents transformed pockets of neglected space into beautiful pollinator friendly mini gardens that brightened the estate and brought residents together.
Residents also participated in an ongoing Mosaic workshop to create mosaic art based on the theme of biodiversity. This multi generational activity resulted in some wonderful artwork that now brightens up a once miserable passageway.
The Grow Back Greener project also supported more food growing sessions in the Community halls beds, up-skilling residents and reinvigorating their interest in vegetable gardening.
The community on Holland Town estate would like to continue to do more greening on the rest of the estate and hope to plant a mini orchard along with more plants for biodiversity, so they hope to apply for more funding in the future to make their dreams a reality.