Partner Organisation for CGEL
Christchurch Primary School Community Garden (Greenwich)
Christchurch School Community Garden is a parent- and resident-led green space in East Greenwich founded nearly ten years ago. Operating as a hub for local environmental networks, the garden features an orchard, a wildlife pond, and sustainable infrastructure such as rain planters and a 900-litre rainwater collection tank.
What they’re doing:
Forest School Scheme: Launching an annual outdoor education programme that utilises the garden's Forest School area for 7 weeks, three times per year. This schedule ensures the soil and wildlife have intervals to rest and rejuvenate between sessions.
Artistic Residencies: Integrating art into the heart of the community by bringing together artists, children, and residents to collaborate, create, and beautify shared spaces.
Outdoor Workshops: Hosting a three-year series of 8 workshops per year focused on practical skills related to gardening, food growing, natural systems, and nature appreciation
Contact information: ccscommunitygarden@gmail.com
Education Links & Friends of Chandos Road Garden (Newham)
Education Links is an alternative education provider in Newham working with young people who benefit from specialist learning environments. In partnership with the volunteer-led Friends of Chandos Road Garden, the organisation supports community-led environmental initiatives that connect education, green spaces, and local engagement.
What they’re doing:
Community Rewilding: Redesigning and transforming Chandos Road Gardens through deep community consultations, resident planting days, and workshops led by a professional gardener.
Green Economy Pathways: Introducing students to environmental career options through practical, hands-on experience in landscape maintenance, seasonal planting, and running a new kitchen and flower garden on school grounds.
Neighbourhood Activations: Hosting a seasonal program of 6 public events, including friendly seed swaps, family storytime sessions, and zero-waste cooking demonstrations
Contact information: mark.mccullum@gmail.com, ben@studio-onb.co.uk and kittybach@gmail.com
Re-Instate Ltd (Bexley)
Re-Instate is a Bexley-based charity supporting adults with mental health challenges, learning disabilities, and autism. Through wellbeing programmes, creative activities, and employment support, the organisation helps individuals build confidence, develop skills, and participate more actively in community life.
What they’re doing:
Living Well Programme: Running weekly sessions that combine environmental education and wellbeing, including guided walking groups along the River Thames and creative workshops focused on local ecology.
Community Litter Picks & Eco-Art: Organising regular litter-picking sessions along the Thames. Selected waste will be upcycled into artworks for an annual public exhibition alongside original drawings, photography, and poetry exploring human impact on the river.
Pathways into the Green Economy: Expanding their Employment Service with a quarterly workshop series, including site visits to sustainability industries and talks from environmental professionals to inspire new career paths.
Contact information: gbseti@gmail.com
The Exchange Erith (Bexley)
The Exchange Erith is a community-owned arts and crafts organisation based in the historic Old Library building in Erith. The organisation creates opportunities for local people to connect through creative programmes, workshops, and events that celebrate community heritage, participation, and local identity.
What they’re doing:
The Pier Commission: Launching a three-year, community-led climate action and public art programme that reclaims Erith Pier as a space for environmental imagination and collective creativity.
Co-Design and Voting (Years 1 & 2): Developing an artistic brief through community workshops, hosting public exhibitions of shortlisted artist proposals, and using community voting to select the final design.
Installation & Learning (Year 3): Hosting 6 open studio days and workshops to assemble the installation with community involvement, culminating in a high-profile launch event featuring performances, talks, and educational activities.
Contact information: peter@theexchangeerith.com
Xenia (Hackney)
Xenia is a non-hierarchical women’s organisation that connects migrant and English-speaking women through inclusive learning, creative exchange, and community building. Working across diverse communities, Xenia supports women to build confidence, share experiences, and participate more fully in social and civic life.
What they’re doing:
Multilingual Climate Action: Weaving climate literacy into language learning, and co-creating accessible resources like video testimonies, illustrations, and zines to support non-English speaking households to engage in climate dialogue.
Xenia Kitchen Series: Conducting participatory learning sessions on sustainable food practices in collaboration with the Hackney School of Food, exploring plant routes, ancestral food knowledge, composting, and food justice.
Climate Justice Learning Circles: Hosting monthly multilingual, peer-led groups to discuss the intersection of climate change with gender, race, migration, displacement, and collective care.
Contact information: jingyi@xenia.org.uk