If you're interested in meeting new people, saving money and caring for the environment you could become one of Lambeth Council’s Green Community Champions. All you have to do is to join a green community project or set one up in your area.
In return you will get support from Lambeth Council, including regular newsletters to keep you up to date with what’s going on in your area. The council will provide you with contact details for other local environmental projects. It also offers support with fundraising, accessing specialist resources and organising events.
There are already lots of people working hard to make Lambeth a greener place to live. Here are some of their stories.
'The estate is certainly a lot friendlier than it was'
Bonnie Hewson, was a Green Community Champion and helped to set up and run the Blenheim Gardens EDIBLE Estate project, which encourages residents to grow their own food.
“The idea was to get as many people as possible to grow food in back gardens, on balconies in containers, in hanging baskets or in small, raised beds in the newly created barren flowerbeds around the estate.
“Everyone is invited, from keen gardeners to absolute beginners. We have teenagers from Clapham Youth Centre who helped to build our children’s garden and a group of kids aged between four and 18 from the estate.
“The real achievement is the number of residents involved. The atmosphere on Saturday afternoons is pure gardening joy. You can’t move without tripping over a child with a watering can. These kids now run in and out of my house searching for cake. My Caribbean neighbour and I share the pleasure of watching his broad beans grow. The estate is certainly a lot friendlier than it was in the past.
“Gaining a sense of community, getting to know your neighbours, learning new skills, producing food and experiencing the wonder of watching a seed grow into a plant are just some of the benefits of being involved. There's also the joy of seeing things growing everywhere and knowing they're doing a world of good to your soul, your ecosystem and your health.”
If you live on the Blenheim Garden Estate and would like to get involved or would like to see the garden email BGEdibleEstate@gmail.com.
'I've saved money and made new friends'
Toni Scott is a Green Community Champion who works with the Whiteley Road Green Group in Norwood.
“As well as wanting to get involved in the community I was keen to reduce the amount of energy I use to help limit climate change. I started to get work done on my house to reduce heat loss and energy and water consumption. The more I talked about my activities the more people wanted to play their part.
“All I needed to do to get others in my street involved was to organise the first meeting. I found out that they were all enthusiastic and full of ideas. Although we're still in the early stages, our group has already met three times. We're now planning to have energy assessments carried out on our homes, so that we can take measures to reduce our energy consumption.
“Becoming a Green Community Champion has given me the opportunity to learn more about sustainable living. I have also got to know the people in my street who would otherwise have continued to live as strangers alongside me. I have saved money by reducing my energy consumption, developed lots of new interests and made new friends.”
'People of all ages can work together on the gardens'
Simon Ghartey is a Green Community Champion who runs Progress Community Gardening Projects, which works with schools and young people using gardening to teach about diversity, healthy lifestyles and self-esteem. See the video below to hear local teenagers explain what they have gained from getting involved with one of Simon's projects.
“When I first started to think about how improving green spaces could benefit inner city communities I was put in touch with two local schools through the Clapham Park Regeneration Project. I used gardening to help improve the children's concentration and behaviour.
“It was such a success that word spread to the local community and now we have gardens across Lambeth. One is at the Blenheim Gardens New Allotment Space, where teenagers at risk of joining gangs are learning to build a food garden. Another is on the Renton Close Estate where we have created an award-winning children’s food garden.
“One of our aims is to re-use city space to grow organic fruit and vegetables. We hope to turn unused concrete into practical green spaces. Almost any space can be used for a garden as long as it gets some light and the ground is not contaminated.
“Since we started we have mainly worked with people who live in high-rise blocks with no gardens or green space. We hope to improve self-esteem in deprived areas through practical activities. It has helped to strengthen the community as people of all ages can work together on the gardens. People from five to 95 work in the green spaces and we can find tasks for anyone.”
