Cranbrook Community Food Garden is a flourishing community garden, creating a space for anyone to come and help out, and be rewarded with fresh food for their efforts.
Cranbrook Community Food Garden started in 2009, in the heart of Cranbrook Estate, in Bethnal Green. Before this, the land was a playground that had fallen into disuse, and was attracting antisocial behaviour. The local residents worked with the housing association to turn the land into a large community food garden, where the aim is to create a space for anyone to come and help out, and be rewarded with fresh food for their efforts.
Members of the garden are typically residents of Cranbrook Estate, or nearby residents from Tower Hamlets. These are areas with enormous diversity and income disparity, so garden membership brings people with very different lives together around a shared project and pleasure.
The Just FACT funding is allowing us to reduce our environmental impact, and increase our social impact! We are implementing a rainwater catchment and storage system to reduce our reliance on tap water, which is especially important as summer droughts increase due to climate change. We are also establishing a fruit bush area outside the garden fence, so that passersby and residents can engage with the food growing (and eating!) at any time, and also be inspired to pop into the garden for more goodness.
Find and follow us on Facebook, Instagram @cranbrook_community_garden and Twitter @CranbrookCCFG for project updates and garden news, or email us at CranbrookCCFG@gmail.com.
