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Goldsmiths Community Garden joined: Housing Your Ideas 7 years ago
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By Goldsmiths Community Association
Our project will create a beautiful apothecary garden, filled with herbs and medicinal plants, from an underused south facing area of the community centre.
This project is preparing for fundraising. Click Like to show your support, or Follow for updates on this project's journey.
At the moment the garden area can only be accessed through the community centre. We want to enable access to the garden outside of centre opening times (bank holidays and weekends) and so will build a gate within a new 2m high green palisade. This will replace the existing 40 year old chain link fence.
We also want to replace a very elderly petrol lawnmower and a selection of garden tools including a new good quality garden fork and spade, hoe, loppers and shears would replace the existing tools.
The project's main aim is to encourage participation, enjoyment and learning by providing a beautiful, educational and contemplative space where: children and families can learn about growing, cultivation of herbs and their culinary uses; contemporary and traditional developments in plant based medicines; older people can pass on their wisdom and experience to younger people and passers-by will have their curiosity aroused!
This project is part of Capital Growth's crowdfunding initiative.
What we'll deliver:
Why it's a great idea:
There is nothing else like it in the area or the Borough. Goldsmiths has a long tradition of gardening and food growing, going back over 70 years.
The very first flower and vegetable show was held in the big hall on August Bank Holiday 1939 when the Goldsmiths Gardeners Society was established.
The Society still manage the nearby allotments, and managed 144 allotments from 1940-5 on a 13 acre open space adjoining the community centre, which was built on in 1946-7 and now houses the Excalibur Estate, the largest remaining collection of post-war prefabs in Europe.
Steps to get it done:
This project marks the start of a major fundraising initiative to bring this historic and well loved community centre into the 21st century.
Over the past three and a half years the community association, centre users and local people have got together to plan a vision for what the centre could be with the help of the Glass-House Community Led Design, Global Action Plan, Communitybuilders and the Mayor's Fund, Lewisham Council.
Our architect, Chris Harrowell RIBA NRAC, has drawn up plans, costings and specifications for a new cafe space and improvements throughout the centre with accessibility and inclusion at the heart of the plans.
A planning application is underway for the new fence. However, if it isn't successful we'll spend the money on refurbishing the community centre kitchen instead.
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We want to help you crowdfund creative projects that make your area an even better place to live
How will the money be spent?Total £3,134
Costs Breakdown
This shows how money raised for the project will be spent. Before entering fundraising these costs will be confirmed by the project's Delivery Manager and verified by the verifier.
Total £3,134
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VolunteerGoldsmiths Community Association, established in 1938, manages the Goldsmiths Community Centre in Catford, south east London. The Community Centre was purpose built with funds from the Goldsmiths Company and opened in 1939 as the largest centre in London! My name is Jane and I've been working with the Association and the centre to develop plans to refurbish the centre for the 21st century.
The development of the centre has an amazing history and in 2009 the Heritage Lottery Fund helped us, as part of the Story of London, to set up our popular and informative websitefor the local community and beyond. Here is a photo of me (in 1960s outfit) at the fish and chip supper to celebrate the launch of the website!
The Association provides space for community groups and organisations for education, leisure, health and social activities. The centre has hosted many different activities over the years, from a child welfare clinic to Mirror Dinghy boat building. political party meetings and poor man's lawyer surgeries, cycling and wrestling clubs and special interest groups. We are open to new ideas and in 2009 acted as the umbrella organisation for an affordable and accessible Wellbeing Service at the centre.
Working and volunteering with local community projects I'm always keen to find new ways of helping local people connect with one another to share interests and meet new people. The Wellbeing Service and the neglected garden struck a chord and I wondered if this lovely sunny space known as the 'pensioners' garden' could be transformed into an apothecary garden that complemented the Wellbeing Service to offer peace and tranquillity for generations on the estate to enjoy. Our plans were thwarted as the office space was rented until last year and the garden was inaccessible.
This February I rented the office myself as part of a community project to link local organisations and groups using social media. The idea of the apothecary garden was revived and I spent my lunch hours cutting away where I could - it has snowballed from there!
You can read more about the progress of the community garden on the blog Goldsmiths Community Garden.
Project Owner: Goldsmiths Community Association The Project Owner takes legal responsibility for receiving and spending the funds raised and ensuring the project is delivered.
Contractors: Aaron Fencing Ltd,B H Gregory Building Contractors The team responsible for building or installing the project.
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