The Phoenix Garden is a community-led, open access community wildlife garden, providing outdoor activities and volunteering opportunities for local people in an area with little public green space and access to nature; the garden attracts 65000 visits per year, is run by volunteers and receives no local authority funding.
The Phoenix Garden is an environmental garden, situated in the heart of London’s West End and is unique in the area. The garden is managed to be of maximum benefit for urban wildlife, and provides a home for a wide range of species: frogs, 12 species of bee, a range of bird species. The nearest alternative site with provision of access to nature is over a mile away.
The garden is maintained using and showcases sustainable garden techniques; it is a low water use garden, all green waste is recycled onsite and no pesticides, artificial fertilisers or weedkillers are used. We showcase sustainable garden practice as part of our day-to-day work.
We run workshops and volunteer sessions to promote a wider awareness of sustainable choices and to encourage uptake of these techniques; compost workshops, Christmas tree recycling, re-purposing of discarded materials for habitat provision, propagation workshops and growing vegetables in pots and window boxes.
The Phoenix Garden works with a wide range of people with differing backgrounds and experiences. Many of our users and volunteers have experienced life-challenges and periods of isolation. Working as part of the garden community can make a real difference in the long-term with improved skills, reduced isolation and social exclusion.
Through the activities of the garden we provide informal skills training supporting the development of individuals to move forward to employment through the provision of transferable skills, volunteering has been shown to increase confidence and improve the employability of individuals. We have had a number of volunteers move on to regular employment or to education in the horticultural sector and elsewhere.
