BRIXTON GETS ITS OWN ORCHARD:
A CLEANER AIR OASIS FROM SPRING 2017
We're really excited to be working with Urban Growth and Brixton BID this year to create Brixton's very own orchard.
Read the press release below + join us at the planting sessions - see the Events page for more details.
Read the press release below + join us at the planting sessions - see the Events page for more details.
The Brixton Business Improvement District (BID), a not for profit collective of 650 local businesses, is creating the Brixton Orchard, a new community orchard designed to make use of forgotten land and to provide greening and better quality air on one of the most polluted roads in the capital. The location of this site is a green space south of St. Matthew’s Church on Brixton Hill A23, at the end of Rush Common, directly opposite Lambeth Council’s Your New Town Hall development.
The project is funded by local businesses with match funding coming from the Mayor of London’s Air Quality Fund. Roughly 30 trees, producing a wide range of fruit, will be underplanted with pollinator-friendly flowers, with seating to encourage people to spend time in a beautiful, biodiverse area with cleaner air. Access to the Brixton Orchard will be provided via a new gateway that allows easy access across the site.
The BID is delivering this in partnership with Urban Growth Learning Gardens and Open Orchard, Lambeth-based social enterprises that work with a range of communities to improve their outdoor spaces, growing food, learning new skills and improving their wellbeing through connecting with nature in the city.
Brixton, a thriving destination during the day and night, has long had a problem with air pollution on the A23 in particular. As a result, the BID is delivering a variety of solutions to tackle this serious problem which affects residents, shoppers and visitors. This initiative is part of a wider strategy to promote Brixton as a destination and to raise awareness about sustainability in the city.
The BID, which is working closely with Lambeth Council and Urban Growth, has already invested in anaudit to identify more opportunities and is working alongside local stakeholders to keep Brixton vibrant, clean and safe.
“The Brixton Orchard is one of the various initiatives we are implementing to tackle the huge issue that Brixton and the rest of London is facing with air pollution. The BID is delivering various solutions including increasing the amount of green infrastructure, running no-idling campaigns, encouraging businesses to joint procure their goods and services, and influencing the behaviour of local employees to reduce the number of local deliveries to slash traffic and congestion”. – Gianluca Rizzo, Brixton BID Operations Manager
“This orchard will be an enduring community resource for future generations to enjoy. The trees here will produce literally tonnes of free fruit, to be enjoyed by thousands of local people. It provides an opportunity for people to learn about the natural world on their doorstep, and is an example of how we can design our urban spaces to be more beautiful, biodiverse and sustainable.” – Bruno Lacey, Urban Growth London
The project is funded by local businesses with match funding coming from the Mayor of London’s Air Quality Fund. Roughly 30 trees, producing a wide range of fruit, will be underplanted with pollinator-friendly flowers, with seating to encourage people to spend time in a beautiful, biodiverse area with cleaner air. Access to the Brixton Orchard will be provided via a new gateway that allows easy access across the site.
The BID is delivering this in partnership with Urban Growth Learning Gardens and Open Orchard, Lambeth-based social enterprises that work with a range of communities to improve their outdoor spaces, growing food, learning new skills and improving their wellbeing through connecting with nature in the city.
Brixton, a thriving destination during the day and night, has long had a problem with air pollution on the A23 in particular. As a result, the BID is delivering a variety of solutions to tackle this serious problem which affects residents, shoppers and visitors. This initiative is part of a wider strategy to promote Brixton as a destination and to raise awareness about sustainability in the city.
The BID, which is working closely with Lambeth Council and Urban Growth, has already invested in anaudit to identify more opportunities and is working alongside local stakeholders to keep Brixton vibrant, clean and safe.
“The Brixton Orchard is one of the various initiatives we are implementing to tackle the huge issue that Brixton and the rest of London is facing with air pollution. The BID is delivering various solutions including increasing the amount of green infrastructure, running no-idling campaigns, encouraging businesses to joint procure their goods and services, and influencing the behaviour of local employees to reduce the number of local deliveries to slash traffic and congestion”. – Gianluca Rizzo, Brixton BID Operations Manager
“This orchard will be an enduring community resource for future generations to enjoy. The trees here will produce literally tonnes of free fruit, to be enjoyed by thousands of local people. It provides an opportunity for people to learn about the natural world on their doorstep, and is an example of how we can design our urban spaces to be more beautiful, biodiverse and sustainable.” – Bruno Lacey, Urban Growth London
Since 2014 we have planted 260 fruit trees in 24 mini-orchards
In the summer and autumn of 2016 we harvested fruit and ran fruit cooking workshops in Gipsy Hill with lots of lovely locals and not-so-locals! This was part of the Lambeth Food Flagship's Gipsy Hill Project and we'll be continuing this work with tree planting in 2017. We’d love you to join us so keep an eye on our Events Page or find us on Facebook and Twitter.
Get involved!
Get involved!
We’re mapping all the public fruit trees in Gipsy Hill ward, so we know where all the yummy public fruit is. We'll be popping up at local markets so come and say hi. Do you have a fruit tree you don't pick from, or know one which goes to waste? We can add those to our map too (don’t worry, we won’t publish your contact details).
Come and get involved in making loads of different products with the fruit to extend its shelf life. Think juice, pickle, chutney, drying and jam; think recipes your grandmother used and inspiration from other food cultures. We’re going to create a collection of recipes with your help.
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We’re bringing the community together to pick as much public fruit as we can - come and give us a hand! We believe that everything that can be eaten by people, should be eaten by people. It's no secret that home-grown produce tastes better than shop-bought. We’ll be donating some to the local FoodBank to be eaten by local people who can’t afford to eat fresh fruit.
We’ll plant more fruit trees in and around Gipsy Hill. We’re on the look out for four places, each with the capacity for 10 trees. And we need lots of hands to help us plant them in the autumn.
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Help us to plant more public fruit trees in 2017. Go to our store and gift us a fruit tree- then come and be part of the planting
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Credits: Icons from The Noun Project: Mario Bieh, Nikita Kozin, Korawan.M, Liane Kirschner
