In June 2021 Brandon TRA decided to develop an unused corner of the playground beside the Jack Hobbs club into a Junior Gardening & Eco Club. We started off with some oil drum planters donated by WeAreWaterloo, and ran sessions led by Helene Ok, assisted by Brandon residents, Marie-line and Verity. These sessions have proved very popular with the children and involved them to be involved in seed germination, planting & watering, all the way through the life cycle, to harvest.
Following a successful CGS application and further support from Chloe Newman with Cills funding we developed a design that was built, refined & delivered by a local craftsman, Peter Balazs, who we met through the Walworth Community Garden Network. Here is Peter mid way through the build.
The raised beds are constructed using a recycled plastic material and the entrance to the area is underneath an arch which will next spring have climbing plants covering it. Helene also came up with the idea of having a bed of soft fruit bushes, which will grow into an ‘edible wall’ to provide all the playground users with a healthy natural snack option next summer.
We are super pleased with all the work and support that we got from across the community to make this happen, and are thrilled with some of the thoughtful design features that Peter worked into the overall design. Even better is that unlike traditional wooden built planters, the infrastructure will be maintenance free for 25 years. Roll on next spring when the Brandon kids can get planting!!!
