Volunteers make Islington greener by planting 4000+ plants from the Chelsea Flower Show
BIG Alliance is delighted to have recently placed more than 70 volunteers to help transform the Packington estate in Islington. In collaboration with East London Business alliance, the volunteers came from 19 businesses within our collective alliance.
Earlier this year we were approached by our friends at ARC Community Space who were looking for people power to transform green spaces that surround the centre. We quickly mobilised our tried and tested approach to Team Challenges and found ourselves inundated with offers of support from our business partners.
Over three days, more than 4,000 plants and eight trees were planted across the estate to improve surroundings for local residents, many of whom live in flats with no gardens. Islington has the least amount of accessible green space per head of any London Borough, so the plants and trees will be of huge benefit to a community that often lacks opportunities to enjoy nature.
“I had such a wonderful experience. It was a pleasure helping create a community garden alongside amazing people. I hope I get to take part in more projects like this one. We all need to connect with nature and wildlife.”
“Working with BIG Alliance meant that we were able to get all 4,000 plants into the ground over the course of three days.”
The plants and trees were generously donated by William Morris and Ruth Willmott Associates and originally displayed at the Chelsea Flower Show, where the garden won a Gold Medal in the Show Gardens Category.
Alongside our army of volunteers were other community volunteers, local businesses, and the Islington Council Parks team — all chipping in to help make the estate greener and cleaner for the local community. It was a wonderful sight to see so many people coming together to make the huge transformation possible!
Reflecting on the volunteer days, Damien Brown, CEO of ARC Community Space said:
Despite the fact we were working against incredibly hard unprepared ground the sheer number people and enthusiasm demonstrated by the BIG Alliance team and volunteers meant the project was possible.
The level of visibility created by that many people working at once meant we were able to recruit more local volunteers who are still working with us, and inviting their neighbours to join the project as well.
The initial ARC Gardening Group & BIG Alliance volunteers have formed a solid foundation for this incredibly ambitious large scale community gardening project.
Huge congratulations to all involved for proving the power of community in action!