Monday 26 January 2015

MEMBER NEWS // Save the Date // Valentine's Day evening event

Wondering what to actually do on Valentine's Day? We're hoping to have a little local evening event planned for you, the Forest Gate Community Garden Members with food, drink, music and dancing. We're also hoping to celebrate the signing of our lease – so very nearly there – and hold a quick AGM at the beginning to fill you in on what's going on and what our next steps are. Watch this space for more information but for now, save that date!


LATEST NEWS // Congratulations to Tylney Road Play Street

Congratulations to Tylney Road Play Street, organised by local mum Kelly Drake, neighbouring residents of Forest Gate and supported by London Play and Newham London. Could this be something we could do outside the garden on Earlham Grove too?

A brilliant afternoon was had by all, as Tylney Road between Capel Road (Wanstead Flats) and Godwin Road (Forest Gate Hotel) was closed between the hours of 1pm and 3.30pm on Sunday 25 January 2015.

Loads of kids (of all ages) came down and played in the street, just like we used to do when we were kids. They were out on their bikes, roller skates and scooters, writing in the road with chalk, running around with balloons from BoBo the Balloon Man, spinning hoops and enjoying the bucket loads of hot chocolate and tray bakes.

This is such a great idea, and you can help make it happen again by showing your support on the Tylney Road Play Street Facebook page here >

We're also inspired to organise one ourselves outside the garden on Earlham Grove, possibly to tie in with painting the front wall (more on this soon) so let us know if this is something you would be interested in / helping at. Email us at info@forestgate-community-garden.org.uk.

FIND OUT MORE

Tylney Road Play Street
London Play





LATEST NEWS // LYN BROWN MP signs up for Membership of Forest Gate Community Garden

Lyn Brown MP (centre) with local
Councillors Rachel Tripp (left) and Seyi Akiwowo (right)
Super pleased to announce that Lyn Brown MP (our elected MP for West Ham including West Ham, Forest Gate, Plaistow, Stratford, Upton Park, Canning Town and Maryland) has become a Member of the Forest Gate Community Garden. 

Lyn signed up at the Tylney Road Play Street on Sunday, Forest Gate's, indeed Newham's very first Play Street, and gave us £5 towards her Membership.

Welcome to the garden, Lyn. We look forward to sharing our news with you and even getting stuck into some gardening!


LATEST NEWS // Sun-drenched day on site clearing rubbish and moving in materials from the Olympics

Thanks to everyone who turned out on Friday 23 January for the second Forest Gate Community Garden site clear and to help move Freeusable materials from the Olympics 2012 onto our site at 136 Earlham Grove. The sun really is shining on us!

Getting stuck into the site clear led by
Steering Group Member Hugh Barnard
Teams of FGCG Members joined forces with London Groundwork and community officers from the local police and Newham Council to help get the task down, brilliantly managed by Steering Group Members Lisa Eller and Hugh Barnard.

With everyone's help, we managed to clear most of the rubbish into a skip (thanks to Ian Martin at Newham Council for organising that) and move donated goods including paving slabs and stones into the site. Truly amazed by the range of ingenious ways our volunteers came up with to move the rubbish and transport the donated goods on site.

Another brilliant way to transport the rubbish off site
A packed lunch was prepared by Myanah and Kath from the Steering Group to keep the volunteers energised. Plus we had a most generous spontaneous delivery of homemade ginger biscuits and tea from the Bruderhof community on Clova Road – best ginger biscuits we've ever tasted.

The sun shone all day, albeit with a frosty start, proving once again what an amazing sun trap the site of the garden is. Everyone agrees, there's something quite magical about this spot and with some  of the buddleia and debris cleared, the site looks even bigger and more inviting.

Councillor Rohima Rahman with Steering Group Members
Lloyd Jeans and Isobel Matheson – plus our youngest volunteer
Iggy Ellis helping mum and Steering Group Member
Sonya Patel Ellis with photography!
We also had a visit from Councillor Rohima Rahman of Green Street East ward and Community Leader for Forest Gate, who supports several community gardens in the borough. Thanks Councillor Rohima for coming to observe our efforts. We hope to see you in the garden again soon.

The last two volunteer days have been such a success and such fun too, we just can't wait for the next opportunity to get on site, hopefully to celebrate signing the lease!


Brilliant invention! The intelligence of mankind
Another ingenious way to cart away the rubbish
Ginger biscuit delivery
The morning team at Forest Gate Community Garden site, clearing rubbish and unloading donations – supported by  Councillor Rohima Rahman and Ian Martin from Newham Council
Must stop people rummaging through our rubbish ;-)
Thanks Ian Martin at Newham Council for organising the wheelbarrow!

Some of the 'rubbish' on site that we're keeping and reusing







A frosty but sunny start

Wave goodbye to the rubbish!

Donated goods from the Olympics 2012 on the lorry ready for transportation - there's that lovely bench!

The team at the end of the day

Great support from London Groundwork 

Great support from London Groundwork 


LATEST NEWS // Share the love with a love heart at Number 8 Forest Gate

Wondering how to mark the occasion this Valentine's Day? Stick a love note – for a partner, family member, friend, secret crush or even a local organisation you admire – in the window of Number 8 Forest Gate Emporium

Hearts cost just £2 (£1 for kids), plus a percentage of money raised goes to the Forest Gate Community Garden so you can share the love with us too.

Andie from Number 8 Forest Gate Emporium has loads of red hearts already cut out to stick in the window so beat the crowds and get your message up now. It's a great way to love your local too and say thanks to any local organisation or person that makes your day.

Valentine's Day also falls on a Saturday this year so it's easy to lure the recipient of your message to the window of Number 8 by organising a quick trip to Woodgrange Market (1-4pm each Saturday) or CoffeE7.

You can also buy some great heart and love-themed gifts in Number 8 Forest Gate including local honey and cards from local artists. Can't wait for the day when we start making local honey in the garden too!

FIND OUT MORE

Number 8 Forest Gate Emporium
8 Sebert Road, Forest Gate, London E7 0NQ
020 8534 3424
www.facebook.com/Number8ForestGate
Open 9am to 6pm every day






Saturday 24 January 2015

LATEST NEWS // We did it!


Four truck loads of ex-Olympic material for use in the garden made their way from Canning Town to Forest Gate today. Thanks to all the volunteers, especially the Groundwork lads who came to help load and unload. All the rubbish left on the site was also cleared by the Forest Gate team, so now the site is ready for us to get started. Great work.

Tuesday 20 January 2015

LATEST NEWS // We are growing!


At Kick - Start 2015 on Saturday we signed up 11 new members. Our total is now 185. We also talked to lots of people about our plans and got a recipe for delicious roasted carrot and garlic hummus!

Monday 19 January 2015

LATEST NEWS // Support our Planning Application // Deadline 31 January 2015

Show your firm support for the Forest Gate Community Garden by leaving a message of support on our application for Planning Permission via the Newham Planning Portal. It all helps to make our garden grow! Deadline is 31 January 2015, public consultation 4 February. Let's see how many comments we can get.

There are a huge number of tasks involved with securing land for a venture such as the Forest Gate Community Garden. These include securing a lease from the landowner (in this case Newham Council) and submitting a proposal for Planning Permission, which is up for public consultation on 4 February 2015.

Please support our cause by signing up to the Newham Planning Portal and leaving your comments on our application before the deadline of 31 January 2015. It all helps to confirm the demand we know exists for the Forest Gate Community Garden.

First visit the Newham Planning Portal and then search for 136 Earlham Grove. You can find our Planning Permission application here>

The proposal asks for: Temporary change of use from derelict site to a community garden with raised beds, paths, social open space, seating and potentially storage/covered area. | Hostel 136 Earlham Grove Forest Gate London E7 9AS

You need to register with the portal to be able to leave your comments. You can then leave a message of your support which will be filed under the proposal and emailed to you.

Have your say and be proud of the contribution you are making to a new and desirable green space in the heart of Forest Gate.

Thanks also to Jane McCarthy of the Forest Gate Community Garden Steering Group for all her hard work on the application.


MEMBER NEWS // Last urgent call for strong volunteers to help move materials into garden // Friday 23 Jan

We've secured some amazing donated items from the Olympics 2012 – via Groundwork London / Freeusables (free usable items from the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park given to viable community groups) – but we need some strong and willing volunteers to help move them. Can you help? 


This Friday 23 January, from 8.45am in Canning Town (to collect and load up materials) or 9.45am in Forest Gate (to unload and store on site). We had a great turn out last Friday 11 January to clear the site, with over 30 people enjoying their hour of New Year toil in the sunshine and marking a key moment for the garden and its Members. Help on Friday and you can say you were there from the beginning too...

Below is a list of people – Members and otherwise – who have already agreed to donate their time.
If you haven't volunteered yet (we know Friday can be tricky for workers) but can help, or your name is not on the list below, please let us know ASAP to info@forestgate-community-garden.org.uk. There's a free packed lunch in there for all willing volunteers!

We have set up two groups. One with Hugh Barnard at the Forest Gate Community Garden site at 136 Earlham Grove (opposite the Royal Mail Sorting Office) and the other with Lisa Eller at Canning Town. If you have transport, and the energy, you can follow the lorry and offer your help at both sites.

VOLUNTEERS SO FAR

Forest Gate
Hugh Barnard
Sally Day
Gillian Lewis
Don Lewis
Darren Farr
Susan Fulbrook
Tom Ellis
Peter Chauncy
Erika Robinson
Jo Tyson

Canning Town
Lisa Eller
Bill Bremner
Matthew Saunders
Les Rice
David Mow
Ruslan Zotovas

LOGISTICS

If you're with Lisa at Canning Town, please meet her outside the tube station at 8:45am.  For those of you who don't know Lisa, she has short red hair, will be wearing dungarees and has a green bicycle.  If you're held up, please ring Lisa on 07952 220103 for directions.

If you at the Forest Gate end please meet Hugh outside the Garden at 9.45am. His number is 07472 744450.

HEALTH AND SAFETY

You will need to read the FGCG Health and Safety Guidance for Volunteers and sign the Volunteer Registration Form to say you have read it (both are available on our website Key Documents page). If you worked on the site last Sunday 11 January you have already signed this form and don't need to do it again. You can email it back to info@forestgate-community-garden.org.uk or bring it with you on the day.

Please wear suitable layers of work clothes, strong footwear and tough work gloves if you have them. We can provide them if necessary. We are also hoping for press coverage so don your best smile!

There is an element of risk attached to moving these materials as some are quite large and heavy.We shall have an health and safety briefing before we start, and as long as you follow that guidance you are covered by our insurance in the very unlikely event of an accident.

OUTLINE OF WORK

The materials we expect to collect are:

1) The remnants of a plastic bottle greenhouse (partial frame and bottles)
2) Timber
3) Lengths of trellis
4) Pallet of paving slabs
5) A tonne bag of large river stones and a tonne bag of washed pebbles (if possible)
6) Sheets of corrugated plastic
7) Wooden decking squares
8) Two wave shaped benches
9) Artificial turf and underlay
10) Anything else I can think of  if we have time

PRESS / MEDIA ENQUIRIES:

If you would like to cover this story in your magazine, newspaper or blog and need more details please contact Myanah Saunders, Forest Gate Community Garden Steering Group – Acting Co-ordinator on myanah@gmail.com / info@forestgate-community-garden.org.uk
or call 07811 346722.

IMAGES OF DONATED GOODS













LATEST NEWS // Glorious sunshine for the first Forest Gate Community Garden site clear

It's been an exciting first few weeks of 2015 for the Forest Gate Community Garden. First we heard that we are nearly there with the lease and then we had an amazing turn out for our first ever site clear on 11 January 2015 – 35 people no less, most with their own tools! A magical moment for everyone who has worked so hard to try and get this garden off the ground.

For those who couldn't make it, the first ever scavenging and clearing of the Forest Gate Community Garden site at 136 Earlham Grove was a roaring success.

A brilliant 35 people turned up, most with their own tools, and there was a very good health and safety briefing from Bill Bremner.

Within just over an hour a path to the concrete was cleared, rubbish picked up, salvageable material stored, stuff for removal stacked  and hazards identified (quite a lot of these).

The sun shone and Lisa directed her troops in a very encouraging and effective manner! Now all we need to do is get enough people to move the stuff in on the 23 January.

Well done to everyone!

For more images see our website Gallery >












FEATURE // Meet some of the Steering Group

Got a question for the Forest Gate Community Garden Steering Group? Wondering who is on the team? Here's a rundown of some of the Steering Group Members, who have been working super hard over many many months to get the garden off the ground. You've probably seen some of us around, often in CoffeE7 recruiting Members or meeting about various issues

The Forest Gate Community Garden Steering Group is made up of a core group of Members. We have all gradually developed a specialism, based on our skills, expertise, knowledge and contacts. This has been invaluable in the process of setting up the garden as there are a surprisingly large and varied number of tasks required to get something like this off the ground. The great news is, we're very nearly there!

We meet fortnightly at 7.30 on a Wednesday for an hour and a half. You would be welcome to come along and see how we work, and decide whether you would like to join us. Just email info@forestgate-community-garden.org to express your interest.

THE FOREST GATE COMMUNITY GARDEN STEERING GROUP
In alphabetical order (we are very non-hierarchical). To help put a face to the name, check out our website Gallery page:

Hugh Barnard - Our IT guru and critical thinker

Kath Copnell – Takes accurate legible minutes, proof reader and can be relied on to comment on-line

Yasmine Curpen – Founder Member, can’t make Wednesdays but always responds on-line when she isn’t travelling in India

Lisa Eller – Our professional gardener, strong on planning and heaving materials about

Lloyd Jeans – Loves networking, local history, organising events and photography. IT skills developing

Isobel Matheson – Social media expert and Health Worker, services Twitter and Facebook

Jane McCarthy Wilkinson – Our Landscape Architect, has planned the garden and worked tirelessly on our planning application

Michaela O’Connor – Our utterly reliable Treasurer, can’t make Wednesdays as she teaches Circus Skills

Lucy Ockenden – Our newest member, professional events organiser

Sonya Patel Ellis – Writer, editor and designer and editor of our fabulous website and blog, is involved in numerous local events

Les Rice – The practical person who keeps us firmly rooted, can’t wait to start digging

Myanah Saunders – Admin and acting co-ordinator

Kate Spencer – an environmental geochemist, knows all about soil and bid writing, worked tirelessly on our recent bid




Saturday 17 January 2015

BULLETIN // It's not too late to join our gardening course!

Our gardening course got off to a brilliant start today. Everyone really enjoyed the session and everyone learned something, even the experienced gardeners. Do you know what 'ph' stands for in soil analysis? We do - now!
It's not too late to join. Drop into the Learning Zone before 7pm Monday to Thursday, or come along next Friday at 12.45 to enrol.

Find details on our website under Courses> 

BULLETIN // Kick Start 2015


Come to The Gate on Saturday,17th between 11am to 3pm to see a range of activities going on in Forest Gate, including us! Stalls and entertainment throughout the day.

BULLETIN // Help the Garden

Have you supported our planning application on-line? Go to the LBN Public Access Portal and search for 136 Earlham Grove in Planning Applications. Hurry, it closes at the end of January.

BULLETIN // We've Started

Sunday 11th January

The day went really well - the weather smiled on us and was bright and sunny.  At least 35 volunteers turned up (far more than we were expecting).  Everyone was friendly, enthusiastic and ready to lend a hand, lopper, saw, bin bag, elbow grease and a smile!
It was really heartwarming to see a community come together in such a positive way.  It was good for volunteers and steering group members alike to finally start work on the site, to take some ownership of the space, and to be able to see very obvious results for all their hard work. It felt as though the garden was finally coming to life after months and months of talking and planning!
Thank you to everyone.
Next task- to get the stuff moved on the 23rd.

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