A group of green fingered residents in Croydon have transformed their communal space into a bountiful garden.
Gloria, a Wandle resident living in Wingate Crescent in Croydon was fed up with the amount of drug-related crime and fly-tipping that was taking place outside her home. The illegal activity went undetected for so long because perpetrators were obscured by overgrown bushes.
She reached breaking point in 2016, when her son was mugged on his way home. Already a member of Mitcham Common Litter Pickers, she reached out to her neighbours to join her in a communal litter pick of Wingate Crescent.
It was then decided that the outdoor space could be transformed into an urban vegetable patch that could encourage the local community to grow their own vegetables and improve their wellbeing.
Gloria contacted Croydon Council for funding to kick-start the project, as well as enlisting the super talented Marcus who has helped transformed the once neglected space into an incredible garden that feeds the local community. In addition, the residents of Wingate Crescent feel safer due to the decrease in anti-social behaviour and littering.
Most recently, Soul food garden won our annual Greenfingers gardening competition for best communal garden. They plan to build a greenhouse with their competition money so they can continue to grow crops throughout the winter months.
If you would live to follow Soul Food Garden, you can find them on Instagram by searching @soulfoodgarden.