Sustainable Urban Community Garden

Lovaine Community Garden is an organic growing space in the heart of North Shields town centre, a two-minute walk from the metro station, in a built-up urban area.Established by residents of Lovaine Place and Cecil St in 2010, on a previous WW2 bomb site, we aim to teach and encourage organic horticulture techniques and eco-consciousness in the local community as a means to improve the immediate environment and to promote gardening and access to nature for personal and community wellbeing.

We are a much needed central urban greenspace for people who have no access to their own garden spaces, or who may be unable to access or tend a garden because of physical or financial difficulties, housing constraints, or lack of horticultural knowledge or training.

We run coffee mornings to help combat social isolation and to help strengthen and build community friendships, and gardening clubs so people can benefit from social and therapeutic horticulture and help to improve our little part of North Shields.

We also host Live Music Nights and Singaround/Busker sessions so that people can enjoy music in nature within a easily accessible greenspace.

Other groups and charities also use the garden for art therapy sessions, holistic therapy, mindfulness and wellbeing groups and members of the public can book private slots to use the garden for quiet relaxation in the well-stocked patio garden, to meet with family or friends or to host an outdoor event of their own, such as a tea party, teddies bears picnic, BBQ or an evening round the campfire.

Alongside promoting gardening as a health benefit for physical and mental wellbeing and providing a maintained site to do so - we also distribute fresh produce and excess plants to the local community, organise and run nature, wildlife and craft activities and host open days, community get togethers and cultural events to promote nature and our local area as an inspirational space for art, music, sculpture and poetry.