history
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1950s-2020s: historic use
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Eric Close had the largest of several unused yards in the housing estate. According to previous and current estate residents, it was built (along with the rest of the estate) in the 1950s, after WW2 bombs had destroyed many of the Victorian houses in the area. As well as providing washing lines at one end (that still remain), the majority of the yard functioned as a play space (apparently without any play equipment) and was fully accessible to the whole estate through two openings either side of the Eric Close housing block. After some time, tennis court lines were drawn on the play space and it was mostly enclosed in chicken wire. By the 1990s, it was used for football kick-abouts but these presumably resulted in resident complaints because one entrance was fully bricked across and the other entrance had gates installed.
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Only the residents of one housing block continued to have access but, over the decades, it became so overgrown with tall weeds and spiky bramble that even they could not safely reach the washing lines to use them. Although the gates appeared to be locked, at some point they were breached and the entrance was used for drug-taking and fly-tipping.
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​summer 2021: idea and scoping
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A local resident - Suz - had the idea to create a community space to allow for open play and social gardening on a housing estate in Forest Gate, East London. This was partly inspired by local grumbles that the estate's design did not encourage socialisation but rather anti-social behaviour, the COVID-19 pandemic which demonstrated the importance of outdoor community space, and the planned redevelopment to decimate Forest Gate's only community centre, Durning Hall. Despite having no gardening or DIY knowledge, her involvement in the local community gave her the confidence that they could and would provide the plethora of skills required.
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In July 2021, she approached the London Borough of Newham and Swan (now Sanctuary) Housing Association, who own and manage the estate respectively. Suz had a much smaller and greener patch of land in mind, but ultimately ​Eric Close was chosen as its generous size (900m2) allows the community to enjoy it in different ways at the same time, and the location makes it accessible to those who are most subject to health, environmental and financial inequalities. As at summer 2021, the GLA's environmental data showed that the area's flood risk was quite high, both heat risk and overall climate risk were very high; it had a high scale of need for access to public open space; and was in amongst the top 20% neighbourhoods for low income and high crime, the top 10% for barriers to housing and services, and the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in the country.
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In September 2021, Suz led a community consultation which received over 240 responses (higher than any council-led survey for that ward) with around 98% in favour, and over 160 respondents volunteering to help in a variety of ways. Reassured, they applied for grant funding to create The UP Garden, an open-access community space that would be designed to accommodate:
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community gardening - with a focus on edible plants. Eating more fresh food is healthier and reduces the impact on other services from obesity and diet-related illnesses, whilst gardening provides gentle exercise;
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workshops - responding to community interest such as ‘building planters' and 'balcony gardening’;
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socialisation - to help those at risk of isolation and mental health issues, and strengthen local neighbourhood networks; and
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play - but to encourage open-ended imaginative play, unlike the prescribed play dictated by typical playgrounds.
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Encouraging more local food-growing reduces transport miles and pollution, as does upcycling materials from local businesses. Increasing green cover and providing shade would shrink this urban heat island and lead to a reduction in energy use, cooling costs, and heat-related illnesses in hot weather.
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winter 2021/2022: strategy and planning
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In December 2021 (two months later than expected), the GLA confirmed that their application had been successful.
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In January 2022, the Steering and Working groups were formed:
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The Steering Group comprised stakeholders with an interest in the long-term success of the project, who oversaw its delivery, being representatives from various teams at the London Borough of Newham, Swan Housing Association, Little Diamonds nursery, and four local residents (Suz as the project manager, a resident from a bordering street who had previously founded another community garden, and two estate residents);
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The Working Group comprised a rolling membership of local residents who covered a wealth of skills and experience, prioritising those who live in the immediate vicinity and from typically under-represented backgrounds, and managed the delivery of the project on the frontline.​
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Using feedback and ideas gathered from the pre-application community consultation survey, the Steering and Working groups agreed a proposed layout based on key aims and prospective quotes.
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Unfortunately, actual quoted costs and logistics meant the lumpy asphalt could not be re-tarmacked to provide smooth and more accessible pathways, whilst the discovery of a large infestation of Japanese Knotweed meant we had to completely re-strategise. Not only did we lose a 60m2 area, which had to be fenced off to contain the Japanese Knotweed, but we were also advised not to plant in-ground within a certain distance. This ended our plans to provide shade through mature trees with large canopies, install raised beds, and have a more natural and organic shape to the layout. Instead, plans for shade had to be shelved until alternative funding could be found (the GLA would not fund structures, even green ones), and we had to replace raised beds with planters which require more materials, more labour, and 10 times more watering as the plants have no access to ground moisture. They also made our layout much more right-angled than intended! On the bright side, there were some costs savings which we redirected to increasing the asphalt excavation and installation of a new urban wildflower meadow to 160m2.
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early spring 2022: layout and groundworks
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In February 2022, two months later than expected, the grant funds were finally released to Suz so that the groundworks (clearing the site, enclosing and commencing treatment of the Japanese Knotweed, installing the turf and two gravel drainage channels, and diverting rainwater downpipes to water butts) could finally start.
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Much of March 2022 was lost to re-strategising and re-budgeting, as well as recruiting replacements for the Working Group and bringing them up to speed, as the various delays meant that much of the original Working Group would no longer be available to put the plans into action.
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late spring/early summer 2022: community power!
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In April 2022, the groundworks completed and the (replacement) Working Group finally gained access to The UP Garden. Over the following months, we held:
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community consultation events to gather feedback on our evolving layout;
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community upcycling workshops to build planters and furniture;
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community planting workshops to form different gardening areas; and
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lots of volunteering sessions to create everything else in The UP Garden!​
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Impressed by the number of local residents giving their time, energy and furniture (they donated almost all of the tables and seating), local businesses came out in force to show their community spirit. Boss Scaffolding, Strikeforce Scaffolding, Forest Recycling Project, Kingsway Stairs, Chambers Timber and The Holly Tree donated or discounted wood for our planters, mural and stumpery. J. Murphy & Sons Limited loaned fencing to help us store these and other materials. L&M Tyres donated tyres for our planter maze. Connole Brothers donated multiple items including our metal shed and vintage phone box (for our future book exchange!). Lowden Roofing & Building Supplies also donated multiple items and transported the phone box using their grab lorry. Seafood Supermarket loaned their pallet trolley and Essex & London Construction provided the muscle to get the phone box on site, which was no mean feat! The Forest Tavern and The Can Club donated tables. Sustainable Wine Solutions donated water tanks. Dulux Decorator Centre discounted paint. You Call We Clear discounted waste removal. LuLin Teas not only helped to rebuild the metal shed - a giant tetris puzzle - but made journeys almost every other week to collect and unload donations! C Scerri Architects donated administrative services for our events, and OK TO Colour discounted signage. Co-op donated refreshments for our launch event, and offered the same for future events. The UP Garden is very much a community project!
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Further afield, Lowaters Nursery, Garden Beauty and Thompson & Morgan donated lots of lovely plants, whilst Beacon CRM gave us access to an operating platform which makes maintaining our mailing lists and running our events through our website a much easier task! Other organisations reached out to help us in the future, such as providing more volunteer help through corporate giving-back-days.
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We were heartened by so much generosity. It kept us going whenever we hit obstacles (and there were many!).​
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late summer 2022: soft launch ​
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We had already committed to a 3-day practice run over the August bank holiday weekend to see how the public would use our space when, in early August, a key Working Group member left the project. The impending end of the school holidays meant that others would shortly become unavailable too, and so a lot of that month was given over to re-prioritising and re-strategising what could be delivered by: 1) the soft launch at the end of August; and 2) the full launch at the end of October.
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We welcomed 50-65 visitors each day to our soft launch, which gave us a much-needed boost of positivity. We then shut our gates again and the race was on to deliver the remaining elements of The UP Garden supported by additional visits​​ from GoodGym Newham and giving-back-days from J. Murphy & Sons Limited.​​​​​
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Starting layout
Launch layout
Starting layout
autumn 2022: launch
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On 30 October 2022, The UP Garden officially opened! Although the set-up volunteers got drenched, the weather dried up in time for our visitors... all 165 of them! It was incredible to see so much of the community turn up to support the opening, and The UP Garden teeming with activity... exactly as a community space should be! We hosted a family-friendly activity workshop to introduce children to urban nature through crafts and activities, which has since become a fixture at all of our quarterly community get-togethers, and has been extended to run during term holidays as well. We also hosted a planting workshop so that the community could put the most important finishing touches in place: our plants! We unveiled our incredible and vibrant mural, donated by local artist Andy MacManus. And we were blessed with a beautiful soundtrack from local musicians Tom Newell and David Delarre.
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winter 2022-winter 2023: our first year
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Following the launch, the Steering and Working Groups handed over management of The UP Garden to a small Committee of local residents to oversee its long-term self-sustainability. They cover a range of skills, experience and backgrounds, and most were heavily involved in volunteering during the creation and construction of The UP Garden.
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The first priority was to tick off the key tasks that had been delayed until after launch, such as the covered pergola (J. Murphy & Sons Limited donated more labour and materials); bicycle, scooter and buggy parking; wheelchair-accessible planters, and depaving a lumpy asphalt slab to turn it into a wildflower bed with support from Totum Partners facilitated by CPRE).
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​Otherwise, the approach during our first year was to try out as much as possible whilst community interest was still high, to see what worked and what did not. We ran a variety of events and in May 2023 we were proud to be chosen by the London Borough of Newham to host the official ward coronation event welcoming a minimum of 450 (estimated 600) visitors.
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We did not expect anything to top that but, in October 2023, The UP Garden won The RHS and BBC Growing Together award as the inaugural example of community gardening, and was featured on The ONE Show and Gardeners Question Time!
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winter 2023-winter 2024: our second year
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We started off our second year by welcoming Nature Builders urban forest school to The UP Garden. In April 2024, both of us were thrilled to be featured (again) on The ONE Show.
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In July 2024, we became the official "relaxed zone" for Forest Gayte Pride weekend and welcomed a minimum of 300 (estimated 400) visitors. We continued our busy calendar of events. Over the summer, several grassroots community groups used The UP Garden to host their workshops and campaigns.
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Our main achievement was winning People Powered Places funding to install a self-led nature trail, renovate a vintage K6 telephone box into a book exchange, and create a weatherproof cabinet to protect our community piano (donated by a local family and originally built a 10-minute walk away!). This project has taken up the whole year and required hundreds of volunteer hours, but we are very proud to bring science, literature and the arts to The UP Garden for all to enjoy.
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UPcycle
UPskill
UPlift
funders
