Growing Community across London - Part 2

Our previous blog post describes Growing Community Part 1 - and to recap in the last week of July our long-planned collaboration between Ravenstone School and Tooting Community Garden offered two interlinked local 'Growing Community in the Heart of the City' workshops as part of The Mayor of London's National Park City Festival

The common green thread running through both events was celebrating city growing and the outdoors, creating an environment which is good for ourselves, for the community and for nature.




Blog post Part 1 describes the Ravenstone School event on July 22.
Here we're sharing what we did together in the second of the two events, the Tooting Community Garden open day on July 28th.

The garden team of a dozen volunteers met early (no Sunday lie-ins) to put up signs, hang our TTT bunting, set up activities and then provide a warm welcome and an invitation to join in the day in any way people wished. We wanted to demonstrate that being outdoors together is accessible and enjoyable.

Over 80 people came along on a Sunday with an on-off forecast for rain. We decided to not put up gazebos, and we were all rewarded with a lovely afternoon.

The welcome table gave a focus for saying hello and having a chance to talk with visitors who either explored the garden, relaxed or joined one of our fun and practical activity workshops:

1. Creating vertical wall planters with Paul: sharing environmental, DIY, creativity and urban growing benefits.














2. Being guided by Sharon to select plants and re-purposed containers to take home - building growing skills and wellbeing.

3. Joining Jane's 'Drawn to Nature' drawing workshop: enjoying taking time to observe and be present, with wellbeing and drawing practice benefits.

4. Annie's creative workshops in the family zone: sharing benefits of creating together in unusual ways across generations or with people new to you and learning fun techniques to take home.

Feedback from visitors included:
'A lovely place, and lovely people' 'A lovely celebration of nature and community spirit' 'The day was beautiful, well thought-out and sustainable' 'A nice peaceful day and a great community feel' 'Loved the community feeling and how positive and welcoming everyone has been' 'What a lovely garden, and such friendly people. We'll be back'

Our own responses to the day?
It was very affirming for the Community Garden team to welcome so many people who enjoyed what we offered together. Sundays in the Garden are fun and informal, and it was a good challenge to do something different, facilitating an engaging and outward-looking day.
Plus, it was our 8th birthday as a garden project since being generously offered use of the land by Naseem Aboobaker.  

Many volunteers have opened the Garden space on over 400 Sundays. 

That's worth celebrating!

Thanks to all the volunteers: Amanda, Annie, Chuck, Deb, Jane, Kay, Keith, Paul, Ryan, Sharon & Tom. A big shout out to our new friends and qualified first aiders Alice & Charlie who joined us on the day to provide that cover - thankfully they had no cause to leap into action. Kudos to photographer Bryony Williams for images used here (plus more for another time) and to Kay and Chuck for other pictures in this blog.

Everyone is welcome to join us at the Community Garden every Sunday from 11:00 to 1:00 (sometimes later into the afternoon). No experience necessary and we share any updates or changes on our Tooting Community Garden Facebook and Instagram pages.

The annual Tooting Foodival - our twelfth! - is TTT's next big community event! It's taking place on Saturday 14th September and we hope to see you there - it's going to be great!

Growing Community in the Heart of the City: two linked local events offered as part of The Mayor of London's National Park City Festival

'Growing Communities in the Heart of the City' is this weekend in the Tooting Community Garden!
We'll be running our free open day on Sunday 28th July from 12:00-4:00 to celebrate the National Park City Festival and also our 8th birthday (we've opened the garden on around 400 Sundays!)

 












What will we be doing on Sunday?

• Welcoming everyone to come along and enjoy the space - no need to book.
• Bring a picnic, and we'll provide activities, green space, shade and plenty of cool water!
• We're offering a particular welcome to families with young children or babies - come and have some outdoor time in a safe and welcoming place.
• We'll have a range of fun garden-themed activities for families and young children.
• We're also offering three timed workshops, just drop in:
  • 12:30 - 1:30, learn about making vertical wall planters so you can garden anywhere with very little space
  • 1:00 - 2:00, learn about selecting and taking care of plants, and choose some to pot up and take home
  • 2:30 - 3:30, be 'Drawn to Nature' and join our plant life drawing workshop for adults and teenager
• Of course you can simply come along and enjoy being in the garden - so do bring a blanket to sit on and a picnic.

All welcome!

You can follow Tooting Community Garden on Facebook and Instagram - join us!

 

We're celebrating city growing and the outdoors, creating an environment which is good for ourselves, for the community and for nature.

We also facilitate other community programmes in the Community Garden. 
For six years we have run outdoor learning with Gatton School and garden and wellbeing activities with the beneficiaries at CARAS the Tooting charity working with asylum-seekers and refugees.  

We're proud to be able to offer to share the space with everyone locally and also very grateful to Naseem Aboobaker of Mushkil Aasaan for the free use of her land to create this community garden during these years.

Join us at the London National Park City Fair on 21st July to co-create a Greener, Healthier and Wilder London!

We're thrilled to be invited to contribute to the London National Park City Fair on Saturday July 21st 11:00 - 5:00 - all the details here.

The purpose of the Fair is to celebrate's London's potential to be Greener, Healthier and Wilder.
Two dozen stands & an A-Z of short talks will show how that potential can be an imagined & achieved right now.


Our stand focuses on our partnership projects and facilitation since 2015 with CARAS the Tooting charity who work with refugees and asylum-seekers: all about social sustainability in the community.

We'll be sharing our thoughtful, creative and fun Signs of Welcome making workshop - come and join in: any ages, any languages welcome and you can take your signs home to brighten up your neighbourhood.

We'll share 5 short case studies that explore our work in partnership with CARAS beneficiaries, and explore options with stand visitors who are interested to get involved as volunteers.
You can read the case studies here.

There's also a more formal description of the history and impact of the partnership since 2015 - read it here.

Finally on sharing learning, there's an article on our Stay With Love pallet-benches on the London National Park City website in the Making a Difference section here.

We'll have a prize draw to attract a lucky winner plus family or friends to Tooting for a Taste of Tooting experience! You'll enjoy our diverse food culture, try recipes from CARAS participants and cook on an open fire on the Tooting Community Garden. Here's a copy of the prize draw details: you have to come along to the Fair to enter!

Please join in the fun of the Fair and meet us at the stand - we look forward to seeing you and we're proud to be contributing alongside so many fascinating London groups.

Leo's Garden - a green gem in the heart of Tooting. Plus: valuing our local green spaces in London.

Leo's Garden, the highly-valued and hidden-away balcony garden at South Thames College in Tooting held a celebratory event this week. STC staff and friends marked two years on from its opening (see our 2015 blog report here) and did some autumn planting.

This kind of local oasis is so relevant to a new study published this week by the Mayor of London, the National Trust and the Heritage Lottery Fund. It's called Natural capital accounts for public green space in London & is intended to help shape future policy and decision-making. All the info here. In turn the report is relevant to the Tooting Bec & Broadway Neighbourhood Forum's work on developing a local Neighbourhood Plan.  


Back to Leo's Garden:

A sunny November day...

The photo shows, from left to right: 
Peter Mayhew-Smith, Principal of South Thames Colleges (STC) Group,  
Rosemary Scott, (STC Branch UCU member),  
Angie Birtill (STC UCU H&S Convenor),  
Kate Turney (STC UCU Environment Convenor),  
Jamie Stevenson Director of Business Centre STC.

Named in memory of STC Facilities Officer 'Leo' Mumuney Olusanya, the garden is a great example of a green space that's developed because people in the team had the vision and perseverance to create it. 

Angie Birtill said at the opening: 
> "We wanted a place where workers could rest and enjoy our own garden right above Tooting Broadway: an area badly lacking in green spaces.

> We know this garden isn’t going to get rid of our stress all by itself, but it will always be a lovely place for people to recuperate when they can find time to do so.

> We know that Leo’s Garden won’t do away with the toxic air we breathe daily in London. However plants in Leo’s garden help restore clean air while offering us a place to rest. The tests that the University and College Union, Greener Jobs Alliance and Furzedown Low Carbon Zone have carried out directly outside this Tooting site show that the levels of Nitrogen Dioxide are over twice the legal limit. We need to continue campaigning on this."

Transport in Tooting

A few transport issues have caught my eye this weekend. Firstly I am well in support of Wandsworth Council's opposition to the expansion of Heathrow. Who wants more aircraft noise blighting our quiet enjoyment of SW17 and around. Not me. See the Council's reasoning and ways to have a say in the consultation here.

Crossrail2 Safeguarding Area

Another issue for consultation is the proposed route and access shafts for Crossrail2. The plans will undoubtedly be of benefit to commuters in the Tooting Broadway area, but a big concern for me is the proposal to site permanent access shafts on both Trinity Fields and Wandsworth Common. This is currently under consultation and I think it is important to oppose any further infringement into community green spaces. Dan Watkins has a good analysis of the impacts for Tooting and around on his site here.  You have until Weds 28th January to voice your opinion to crossrail2@tfl.gov.uk.

Meanwhile Jon Irwin's tireless campaigning for a more people and cycle friendly urban space in our area continues. His latest campiagn is to make Tooting Bec Road safer. Will Balham Boulevard become a reality this year? I hope so. Check out details on these and the latest on local cycling and street design issues here. 

Finally Wandsworth Council's snail's progress towards 20mph on residential roads sees some action now in Bedford and Furzedown but what about the rest of us? Let's hope there is more progress in 2015. Wandsworth Living Streets and the Wandsworth group of 20s Plenty For Us continue to campaign for better safer streets for all.  dt

Meet me at the Cemetery Gates

On Sunday 6th July, Friends of Streatham Cemetery, in partnership with Groundwork London and Lambeth Council were joined by local residents to celebrate the re-opening of an entrance into Streatham Cemetery that has been closed to the public for 20 years. This makes this phenomenal area of green space much more accessible to the hustle and bustle of Tooting High St.  Tooting residents gathered outside the gates that had been beautifully decorated in floral garlands, to hear Lucy Neal of Friends of Streatham Cemetery talk about the significance of the re-opening of the gate, making the wildlife rich green space on the other side accessible to local people. Some of the local residents shared their personal memories of the cemetery and the new gates were then unlocked for partners and local residents to explore the newly improved green space within. Streatham Cemetery has recently undergone a number of improvements in order to make the space more accessible and of greater value to the local community. The improvements include the creation of raised beds for local people to take part in planting and growing activities, the installation of a noticeboard to keep people informed about local events and opportunities, benches where people can sit and relax and an apiary with three bee hives.

The cemetery is located in a built up area and offers a much needed oasis for residents to enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits of nature and wildlife on their doorstep.

Lucy Neal said: Streatham Cemetery is a glorious and under-used green space in Tooting. The Friends have been working to cherish local history, wildlife and beauty and the re-opening of the pedestrian gate is a small but very significant moment in bringing this area back into use as a community space for all'.  Kate Allan (BATCA) who attended the event said: "It was a gentle and inspiring ceremony. The cemetery is a haven of expansiveness and peace. I loved the garlands! Well done'."  More photos of the event here.