Waterloo Street Community Garden
The aim is to create a garden for the gardenless, where everyone is welcome.
The Friends of Waterloo Street Community Garden is an association which was set up to renovate our Community Garden following essential demolition work last year. It's an ongoing project which seeks to organically garden an urban area so that friends, neighbours and visitors have somewhere to both relax and congregate - the space is also used for community events.15 GoodGymers have supported Waterloo Street Community Garden with 3 tasks.
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Previous sessions
Secret Garden beauty
Tuesday 25th June
Written by STEFANIA ROSSO (she/her)
Delighted by the lovely warm and sunny evening, yesterday’s Brighton GoodGym group session helped the Waterloo Street Community Garden, a secret beauty and well used community space between The Old Market and the Waterloo Street Arch. The Old Market opened in 1828 as a covered marketplace for sales of meat, fish and vegetables, supplying the residential development of Brunswick, which was originally independent from Brighton and Hove village. Now it is an independent mixed-arts venue under the name "TOM – The Old Market".
Last year we helped the Friends of Waterloo Street Community Garden to win an outstanding award from the Royal Horticultural Society in the Britain In Bloom competition. And this year, 11 of us were here again to timely help our friends to maintain the royal title! So, we moved all the pots to clear the area and reach every hidden corner to then join a sweeping fest with brooms and dustpans!
Best of luck, dear friends!
The palm before the storm 🪴
Tuesday 4th July 2023
Written by Carla Washbourne
5 GoodGym-ers ran 1km (a hyper-local mission!) to help out at the Waterloo Street Community Garden, a much loved community space 100% staffed by volunteers, 100% organically tended and 100% funded by donations and applied-for grants.
Shimmering with true secret garden vibes, the space is accessed through an ornate arch guarded by a statue with legendary local status. Once inside, you cannot help but be cheered by the lush tropical palms and colourful blooms nestled in an array of pots lining the secluded courtyard.
We donned our gardening gloves while the cheerful and industrious volunteers already hard at work set us to task moving and sweeping, weeding and cleaning. As we worked, the group explained more about their upcoming visit from a respresentative from the Royal Horticultural Society's 'It's Your Neighbourhood' programme. This programme supports local communities in greening community spaces through support, mentoring and connecting communities with network of other like minded groups across the country. Registration to the scheme is also incredibly useful for small, grassroots (pun intended) groups in applying for ongoing funds to keep their spaces thriving.
The brewing storm clouds finally burst just as we finished work, giving the garden a much needed water and the GG crew a refreshing run home.
Excellent pun courtesy of Philippa :)
