Paulet Estate Community Garden | Projects

Paulet Estate Community Garden

Paulet Estate Community Garden was once a cherished space with large raised beds dedicated to food growing and benches for people to enjoy the garden. Sadly, over the years, the garden had become neglected. The wooden raised beds and benches were rotting and falling apart and fly-tipping in the garden had become an issue.
The much-loved vegetarian brand Linda Mccartney Foods, supported the creation and expansion of community gardens across the UK as part of their 30th-anniversary celebration.
We were thrilled to have joined forces with Linda McCartney Foods, Lambeth Council, and The Remakery to redesign Paulet Estate’s Community Garden (located between Brixton and Camberwell) using sustainable and recyclable materials. We ran an online focus group “Young Earth Champions” and invited local youth groups as well as young families, on Earth Day to help create the garden.
Since the site was transformed, we’ve hosted hundreds of volunteers plus dozens of residents and Remakery members to continuously improve the site. We’ve also hosted our friends from Social Landscapes as part of their Permaculture Design Courses. We’ve got a greenhouse and vertical herb garden as well as mushroom towers producing food for all to share. And we run seasonal workshops indoors as well as out, on topics such as how to make and use your own botanical dyes and organic liquid plant feeds.

Summary

Year: 2021

Client: Linda McCartney Foods

Duration: Ongoing

Purpose: To transform the neglected space and to encourage young people to grow their own food.

The site as it was when Linda McCartney approached us in search of a public space we could transform for local benefit.
One of the concept sketches we produced during design discussions.
A broader view of the design, showing the use of pallets and other reclaimed materials, a key element of the design brief.
Volunteers planting the first ornamental and biodiversity bed in 2021.
Do you laugh when you're mulching? Our volunteers do! And why not, it's almost funny how many good outcomes a layer of wood chip provides!
We bring new seedlings three times a year to refresh edible and biodiversity planting, making perfect resources for tiny fingers.
We hosted a BBQ at the end of our first summer on site, to celebrate successes with our partners and community.
In colder weather, we move indoors for activities such as botanical dye creation and exploration.
We work with expert artists, craftspeople and artisans who love sharing their skills and passion for nature.
The Remakery makes an ideal place for us to retreat in bad weather, as well as a space to eat, drink, gather and learn together.