This month we are throwing the spotlight on three community groups which are all providing opportunities for local residents to help to maintain and improve their inner-city green spaces.
Friends of Norwood Park
We had a lovely walk and talk with Jack and Ana from the Friends of Norwood Park. We visited their community garden and orchard and found out all about their plans for expanding the edible planting in the park and setting up a community composting scheme.
The prolonged dry weather has presented a serious challenge to saplings across the park which are only just getting established. Jack and Ana have come up with a novel solution and have been using a festival trolley to transport bottles of water to the trees that need it the most. They are also working on an ‘adopt-a-tree’ scheme to invite local people to take over stewardship (and watering) of specific trees.
We looked at some raised beds that have been neglected in recent years and spoke about the potential for perennial food crops and mixed planting schemes, in response to dry weather conditions and limited capacity for watering. It will be exciting to see how this space develops over the next few years.
Brixton Orchard
We took part in an early morning volunteer session at Brixton Orchard on one of the hottest days of the year. In the early morning (they moved the session forward to 8am to try and avoid the more intense heat of the afternoon), under the shade of the trees, the temperature was bearable, and we were able to do some watering without overheating.
It was interesting to see how the different fruit trees have been coping with the driest and hottest summer on record. The apple trees were showing signs of stress but the quince trees were full of developing fruit and community gardener, Anke, said it had been a good year for mulberries too. They have been helping the younger trees and shrubs by giving them generous watering once a week.
Brixton Orchard has recently secured over £40,000 from Veolia for an exciting programme of improvements that will enhance biodiversity and create a richer and more resilient green space for the local community. They will be creating a bog garden, wildflower meadow and mushroom garden, whilst also planting hundreds of multifunctional plants. Volunteer sessions take place every Thursday from 1-3pm.
Archbishop’s Park Community Trust
We visited Archbishop’s Park, just a few moments’ walk from St Thomas’ Hospital, the River Thames and all the busyness of Waterloo. We met with Community Garden Manager, Nicky Buley, and chatted about the weekly gardening club which has been running in the park on Friday afternoons since 2004. They help to maintain different areas within and around the park, including a food growing area, orchard, herbaceous borders and a wildlife pond, and focus on supporting people with mental health issues.
In 2025, they were granted access to some land next to the park, owned by Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation, which had previously been used for food growing. It was completely overgrown with brambles and buddleja with just a few rotten, disintegrating raised beds. A huge volunteer effort has gone into transforming the site. The gardening club helped to clear and level the land – over 80 tonne bags of brambles were removed! They now have a fully-functioning food growing area with produce for volunteers to harvest.
Weekly volunteer sessions take place on Friday afternoons from 1.30-4pm. They finish all sessions with tea, cake and a chat.
