Welcome to 136 Earlham Grove Blog, the online journal for the Forest Gate Community Garden...
What is the Forest Gate Community Garden?
For over a year now, a burgeoning group of Forest Gate residents, who share a love of gardening and are passionate about their local area, has been meeting to discuss the possibility of creating a community garden in the neighbourhood. A piece of derelict land, owned by Newham Council, was initially spotted by two local residents who had a vision of how it could be transformed into a community wildlife garden. With other residents who wanted to improve Forest Gate, they started the process of canvassing local support and negotiating with the Council in May 2013.
There is still some red tape to get through but, in principle, the Council has now approved use of the site at 136 Earlham Grove for a community garden. When the lease has been fully negotiated, the site made secure, insurance arranged and safety arrangements implemented, practical work on the garden – digging, planting and such – can begin.
We plan to make the garden a wildlife-friendly garden, rather than a garden for growing vegetables – we have other plans in that direction. However, we want everyone to be able to have a say. This is a community garden, created by the community for the community, a little oasis of calm and natural beauty that people can enjoy together.
Although the area is flanked on one side by the wonderful green space that is Wanstead Flats (the very bottom of Epping Forest) and relatively near to Magpie Park in Forest Lane (a lovely but much underused local amenity), West Ham Park, Wanstead Park and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park over in Stratford, there is hardly any green space in the very centre of Forest Gate itself, in which to meet, play, relax or take part in outdoor activities. Just one reason why a community garden would be such an asset to Forest Gate and its residents.
