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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.


At the end of July it’s The Mayor of London’s National Park City Festival. The Festival is city-wide and celebrates London becoming the first urban national park in the world, with three objectives: making London greener, healthier and wilder. 

On July 22 and July 28 we are offering two free events that we have developed along with Ravenstone School. 
The events are called Growing Community in the Heart of the City…Parts 1 and 2.
Links to both the events:
Part 1 is on Monday 22nd July at Ravenstone School. For details please click here. 
Part 2 is on Sunday 28th July at Tooting Community Garden. Please click here for details. 
Here’s a thumbnail of the Community Garden poster.
You can download it by clicking here. The day is also the Garden’s 8th birthday!
Both these events are going to be participative and fun. 
At each, you can simply come along and enjoy the atmosphere, or come for some of the timed workshops. No need to book.
There’s similar but different things happening at each event: you are very welcome to come to both!
For example in the Ravenstone School workshop on 22nd July, we’ll make wall planters using re-purposed pallets and we’ll show participants how to establish and care for plants you can take home in containers. You can find out about The Wild Place For Nature that’s being created at the school
At the Community Garden on the 28th July we’ll be making vertical planters using saved-from-waste textile and learning about planting and looking after plants you can take home. 
Plus: come and be drawn to nature in our outdoor plant life-drawing workshop.
Of course you can simply chill out in the lovely garden – and we are offering a particular welcome to families with babies or young children who may love to be out in our city oasis.
The common green thread running through both events is celebrating city growing and the outdoors, creating an environment which is good for ourselves, for the community and for nature.
Lots more information to come about all the content of both events. Check the links above for outline details and timings.
Would you like to volunteer? Get in touch and let’s chat!

Save the dates and we look forward to welcoming you.