An educative Brixton greenhouse scheme has been given a £60,000 boost by a historic City of London charity.
Located in the heart of Lambeth’s prized park, Brockwell Community Greenhouses project has brought some near-derelict greenhouses back to life as a resource to improve the lives of the local community.
The money, over three years, will fund a part-time education officer to work more closely with local schools when they visit the walled gardens and greenhouse. It has been donated by the City of London Corporation’s charity, the City Bridge Trust, that can trace its history back to 1097.
Elisabeth Barber, project development worker at the greenhouse said: “This is a tremendous boost for our work and means we will be able to touch the lives of many more people of all ages. We are planning a rich variety of events and activities with the local community that will enable them to make new friends, gain new skills and better understand our local wildlife and its habitats.”
The greenhouses occupy the site of the original plant nursery designed to grow plants and produce for Brockwell Hall, when it was a private estate. In 1892 when the London County Council (LCC) purchased the site and designated Brockwell Hall’s grounds a public park the space took on the role of producing plants for the park and, in later years, a number of other parks too. However, in 1998 the greenhouses were “released from service” and took on a new charitable life designed as a local resource to improve the lives of the local community.
This is a great project. I think that restoring greenhouse and making them come to life again with plants and flowers is a great idea. And they are a great way to teach children about plants, how they grow and how the greenhouses help.