Volunteers of a community garden in Hounslow are rallying for an attitudinal change towards the green spaces of London.
Heston Action Group (HAG) is restoring people’s connection to nature through its self-sustaining, volunteer-led community garden, backed by the Mayor of London.
Many corporate volunteers have helped build their reserves, such as ponds, or supply the garden with facilities like water tanks and gates.
The group began eight years ago when one of its co-founders discovered a large unused green space on Sutton Playing fields, which they thought to be a great spot for a community garden.
Chair of the group, Philip Rosser, 75 said: “We were seriously concerned about the environment so our drive was about how we could make a difference.
“We thought ‘let’s create a hub where people can love nature’.”
HAG focuses on being community run with volunteers coming from all backgrounds. These include refugees, young offenders, residents and corporate companies.
Garden facilitator, Aneel Odhwani, 45 agree that their main objective is to bring the community together.
“The area of Heston has a lot of great people but they’re not necessarily doing things together,” he said.
“Our events in the garden are there to draw people in who can support each other.”
The first move set out by the group was to begin monthly litter picking days, drawing a substantial amount of new and returning volunteers.
With their community at heart, HAG use their garden to host a variety of events that are open for everyone. These include film nights, art and construction workshops and school trips. It’s also an open space for those who just want a cup of tea or to escape the busy world around them.
The work they do with local schools is important to Philip and his volunteers as they feel it’s incredibly important to teach young people about being green.
Philip believes these events offer people an opportunity to improve their mental health.
“We believe coming here to do something is a good way of improving your mental state instead of being alone and dwelling on what is harming you,” he said.
“We’re the Heston Community Action group, we encourage people to do things.”
Following an increased social media presence and sufficient backing from Hounslow Council, HAG were invited to the London National City Parks movement, backed by Sadiq Khan. The backing from the Mayor meant that the group received a large sum of money to support their developments.
According to Philip, the support budget is now running low, but the only way they can apply for more funding is by convincing local authorities to believe in them in the form of community projects and events.
Aneel is the only contracted member of staff, but can no longer be funded.
This Sunday, HAG will host a harvest festival at their garden where volunteers will prepare meals for the community, with produce coming from their own plant beds.
A link to their funding page, backed by British Airways, can be found here.
Feature image credit: Teddie Barrett
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