Community Projects

Farmstead Road Community Garden is a volunteer-run community growing space in Lewisham created from a neglected group of allotments in 2009–2010. Local volunteers transformed the site with support from Phoenix Community Housing and organisational help from Groundwork, creating a shared garden for residents and the wider community. Current projects include a sensory garden, a developing nature trail, a small community vineyard, a food-growing project supporting a local food bank, and community outreach activities at local events to encourage participation and awareness.

Grow Lewisham is a community growing and environmental project based in Lewisham that supports residents to grow food, learn gardening skills and connect with nature. Through workshops, volunteering and community garden activities, the initiative promotes sustainable food growing, biodiversity and stronger local communities. It is part of the Right to Grow movement, which encourages communities to use unused urban land for local food production and community gardening.

The Albany is a community arts centre and cultural venue in Deptford, Lewisham that hosts theatre, music, dance, workshops and community programmes. It works with local artists, young people and residents to support creativity, cultural participation and community engagement, while also running projects focused on social impact, education and environmental sustainability.

Abbotshall Road Community Garden is a small volunteer-run community garden in Catford, Lewisham, created and maintained by local residents. The space was developed to transform an underused area into a shared green space where people can grow plants, support local biodiversity and bring neighbours together through community gardening.

Community Garden in Bellingham. Volunteering happens on Thursdays and Sundays by appointment. Contact: 07803842907

The Lee Manor Society is a local civic and residents’ society that works to preserve the heritage, character and environment of the Lee Manor Conservation Area in the London Borough of Lewisham. The organisation promotes the protection of historic buildings and green spaces, monitors local planning developments and encourages community involvement in maintaining and enhancing the area’s architectural and environmental heritage.

Creative Climate Conversations (Lewisham) are community events organised by Climate Action Lewisham that bring local residents together to discuss the climate crisis through creative activities, storytelling and facilitated dialogue. The sessions aim to create an open and supportive space where people can reflect on climate issues, share perspectives and explore practical ways to take collective climate action within the borough.

Sydenham Garden is a charitable organisation and community garden in south east London that uses horticulture and nature-based activities to support wellbeing, environmental education and community cohesion. It runs organic gardening projects, therapeutic horticulture sessions, training, volunteer opportunities and events that encourage people of all ages and abilities to connect with nature, learn growing skills, and improve mental and physical health while enhancing local biodiversity. It works with individuals, families, schools, care settings and partner organisations to foster environmental stewardship and stronger community ties.

ChART Big Local / Chinbrook Action Residents Team (ChART CIC) is a resident-led community interest company in the Chinbrook area of Grove Park, London that works to improve wellbeing, environment, youth opportunities and routes out of poverty through locally-driven projects, activities and support for residents. It evolved from the Big Local programme, a National Lottery-backed community development initiative that provided long-term funding for neighbourhood-led change.

Bold Vision is an umbrella charity covering North Lewisham. Its project include a social food delivery and social supermarket, New Cross Learning (library), grow to eat and community gardens and environmental projects

RMUK Wellbeing is a South London–based organisation delivering culturally relevant food and wellbeing support projects that address food injustice, poverty, financial hardship and widening health inequalities affecting vulnerable communities across Southwark, Lewisham and Lambeth. It is also involved in environmental initiatives and volunteering activities that support community resilience and local engagement.

A volunteer-led local action group affiliated with the Friends of the Earth network that brings together residents and activists in the London Borough of Lewisham to support, promote and generate initiatives aimed at reducing collective greenhouse gas emissions, building healthier, more sustainable neighbourhoods and responding to the climate and ecological crisis at the local level. It engages in public outreach, community events and discussions, supports campaigns such as influencing council policy and consultations, and works with individuals and institutions to encourage practical climate-friendly measures within the borough.