Wild about Community
Greening and Rewilding urban spaces has benefits for the community and for biodiversity. We are passionate about playing our part to help rewild our community and public spaces, schools, gardens & businesses. Plants sequester CO2 and contribute to tackling the climate and ecological emergency, they also support wildlife and enrich the biodiversity. Research has proved that spending time in nature can reduce stress too.
Our greening projects are, however, about so much more than just planting – we are wild about community. Our greening projects are aimed at bringing our communites together. Behind every green project we co-design and deliver with residents, there are at least 3 months of engagement work. This takes the form of doorknocking, postering, and community events. Each of our projects also help create youth opportunity. One of the USP’s of our Communi-tree and Beeline Box projects is that in partnership with the KOKO Foundation, we pay young people – our Koko Foresters, living on estates, a weekly fee to care for their newly planted trees and Beeline herb boxes.
We also excited about our growing an eco-system of partners. New partners to our greening and rewilding projects include: UAL – Central St Martins, University College London, Front Yard Company.
As Musa Habib, one of our Foresters said:
What if all Camden Estates and beyond, could be planted with Communitrees and Beeline Boxes installed on walkways? What if upcycled benches and picnic tables could be built by volunteers and nature inspired murals painted on walls to encourage residents to sit and enjoy their newly greened up estate?
Here’s some info on some of our our growing projects, and a list of our established projects:
Growing projects:
Established projects:
Pop-up wildflower meadows
Since the 1930’s 97% of UK wildflower meadows have vanished. Native wildfllowers not only are crucial to support wildlife, pollinators and a wide variety of plants, they also bring colour to urban environments and a sense of country side to the city. Following requests from residents, we have started to plant a patchwork of pop-up wildflower meadows across Camden and beyond. Our first 4 pop-up meadows can be found later this spring at: Constable House, Chalk Farm, Sydney Boyd, West Hampstead, Three Fields estate and Bayham Place, Camden. For more info on the felt backed Lindum turf we use: turf.co.uk.
Click on one of the following images for a presentation on the various ‘Wild About Community’ projects:
How to get involved ?
Businesses
- Do you have space on your premises that could be home to a patch of green?
- Would you like to support your local school or community group by funding local greening projects?
Individual Actions
- Are you an experienced gardener or garden designer? Could you visit a school and advise on how they can green up? Get in touch.
- Avoid pesticides, such as Round Up as these are toxic to the environment.
- Find a local community gardening activity with TCV
If you have access to a garden consider some of these tips from Rewilding Britain. - Would you like to make your estate more green? Start discussions with your Tenants and Residents Association and get in touch below.
