Our community gardening, green spaces and climate-resilient planting have been recognised at this year’s London in Bloom Awards.
London in Bloom is a campaign and awards programme celebrating the work of communities, businesses and organisations that improve their local environment, increase biodiversity and create greener places to live, work and visit.
We’re delighted to have been awarded Silver Gilt at this year’s London in Bloom Awards, progressing from the silver award we received last year.
As part of the judging, the London in Bloom team visited Hercules Road, Kennington Road, Lower Marsh, Emma Cons Garden, Secker Street and Waterloo East SuDS, seeing how our planting and biodiversity initiatives are creating spaces that benefit both people and the local ecosystem.
Our Progress
Over the last year, we’ve strengthened community engagement through our green spaces, creating more opportunities for people to get involved through projects including our Rooted lunchtime gardening club and Edible Marsh sessions. One Rooted session welcomed 14 people, showing the growing momentum around community gardening in Waterloo!
On Lower Marsh, our urban gardener Frances has transformed one of the former Tappy Stalls into a mini allotment, growing tomatoes, beetroot, chard and kale. The project has shown how much food can be grown in a small urban space, while giving people the chance to learn about seasonal growing and creative planting.
“Winning London in Bloom Silver Gilt after a summer of real gardening challenges is an absolute thrill” – Frances Ward, Community Gardener
We’re also continuing to develop our green spaces with biodiversity and climate resilience in mind. This summer has highlighted the importance of planting that can cope with hotter, drier conditions, and across our green spaces, we’re incorporating a high proportion of pollinator-friendly plants alongside more drought-resistant varieties.
A Special Thank You
We couldn’t have done it without Frances, our urban gardener, and Jose, supervisor of our cleaning and greening team, who play a huge role in creating and maintaining our green spaces.
Thank you also to everyone who has joined our gardening sessions and helped us care for Waterloo’s planting, including regular attendees from BOST and The Old Vic. We’re grateful to local partners including The Hub Hotel, St John’s Church and Deja Vu Vaulty Vu, who kindly provided access to water to help us care for our green spaces.
Visit Us
Take a walk through Waterloo and discover the planting, gardens and green infrastructure across our streets, with spaces to pause, sit and enjoy a moment of calm.
Want to support Waterloo’s green spaces?
Join Rooted, our lunchtime gardening club, and Edible Marsh, our monthly gardening workshops, and help us care for Waterloo’s ecosystem!
