Trust launches project to breathe life back into nature-deprived areas
A trust has just launched a new project to help breathe life back into nature-deprived areas and is on the lookout for a “postcode gardener”.
Environmental organisation Friends of the Earth and The Co-operative Bank have joined forces to bring a postcode gardener to Notting Dale in Notting Hill.
The new postcode gardener will support the work of charity Westway Trust, which has been working in the area for 50 years.
The trust has said someone living in or nearby Notting Dale will be appointed to the new role, which is currently out for recruitment.
Once in post, the postcode gardener will work with communities and organisations to deliver gardening projects that best serve the area.
Activities will include revitalising existing planters, teaching gardening skills, growing fruits and vegetables and overseeing small, communal gardening plots.
Making green spaces accessible and inclusive will also be an important part of their remit, as well as managing a variety of competing local needs, such as creating spaces that foster play and imagination for children, alongside separate green areas for older people to relax and socialise.
The new role has been secured as part of a nationwide scheme being rolled out by Friends of the Earth and The Co-operative Bank, aiming to rejuvenate 1,000 neglected spaces across the country and bring communities with little access to nature closer to the health and wellbeing benefits it can provide.
Research by Friends of the Earth shows that one in five people in England live in nature-deprived areas, including a 1.5million children under the age of 12.
People of colour are disproportionately affected by nature loss – according to the data – and are nearly three times more likely to live in areas with limited access to green or wild spaces.
As part of the research, Notting Dale was identified as an area where the community would greatly benefit from a greener environment.
Venu Dhupa, chief executive of Westway Trust, said: “Without support and expertise from organisations like Friends of the Earth and The Co-operative Bank, we would struggle to roll out this kind of project, and people would have to organise themselves.
“By enlisting a postcode gardener, we can really bring people together to participate in activities that are joyful as well as useful to the wider community.
“I hope to see some of the neglected spaces within the postcode transformed into havens for people to relax, reflect and connect, and for wildlife to thrive. We look forward to bringing the new gardener on board and working together to better the local area.”
Pictured top: Venu Dhupa, CEO of Westway Trust (Picture: Jon Salariya/Friends of the Earth)