12/03/2026
Grow what we eat is the aim!! ππΌβ¨οΈπ―π¨βπ©βπ¦βπ¦ππΎππ»πΌ time sure flies Cococollective the journey continues!!
with Last Sunday, we were at our May Ital Community Garden for their open day. It was a great day that really highlighted the meaning of community for us. The weather even held up for the most part too!
In a city that is renowned for its anonymity, it's hard to feel a real sense of community. It takes time to build and some may even be here for years without having found a space where they feel like they can belong or just be themselves -- and be appreciated for it. Community gardens don't just grow food either, they grow connections too. Connection between people or plants and also between both people and plants.
It was such a lovely turn out at the Ital Community Garden. We might not have known everyone's name when we first arrived, but by the end of the day we sure did. It's something as easy as weeding a planting bed or filling up the watering cans that brings people together in these spaces.
It's Ray turning over the soil to help with getting rid of persisting bindweed, Comfort bringing food scraps to the compost pile, Darren asking if we need kneelers, Ariel showing us a nifty weeding technique, Carmen serving us up a delicious home cooked curry or Pat sharing how she's been a vegan for three years and never felt better for it.
These are just some of the friendly people that come to the Ital Community Garden regularly and bond over building a budding community garden together. On any given open day, you'll find them there along with founder Valerie warmly welcoming everyone onto the site and buzzing with new ideas. Her mum is sweetly helping to keep everything in order in the background too.
Everyone is always welcome to join them there and get stuck in with gardening tasks on Wednesdays and Sundays, 9.30am-4pm. On June 19, they'll be celebrating their first-year anniversary, so be sure to give them a follow so you can join in on the festivities then.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/we-are-lewisham-june-creative-challenge-food-justice-tickets-356455306417
Photo Credits: Mayya Husseini