COMMUNITY FUND

We’d like to extend our thanks to all who applied for funding from the Brockwell Live Community Fund in 2024. We received double the number of applications compared to 2023, and it is great to support projects in such a highly engaged community. For full details on all of this year’s successfully funded projects, please read on!

Lets Grow

‘Let's Grow’ is a Lambeth based 10 week programme for survivors of domestic abuse to help process the past, heal in the present and ultimately grow in the future. This will be delivered through class and activity based sessions, focussed on building self esteem, skills and peer support. The course includes content on respect and boundaries, isolation, coercive behaviours, anger and release, physical, sexual and economic abuse. This content will be discussed during wellbeing workshops so as the participants of the course are able to take something positive away each week. Workshop sessions include breathwork for trauma, massage to reconnect with the body, art therapy and gardening for wellbeing sessions.  

Arlingford & Brailsford Road Residents Association (ABRA) 

Funding has been provided to the ABRA Community Garden, a resident gardening project to which supports 600 residents with access to a fantastic community hub. The funding will provide the space with a new tool shed and tools, additional raised beds, bird boxes and wildlife habitats, composting bays, lighting and power provision, water provision, additional seating and chess/games table, community area including a book swap, general gardening and planting including vegetables, herb, shrubs and flowers, organisation of Community days, tree planting and ongoing day to day maintenance and gardening activities.

Jubilee Children's Centre - Family Growing Classes at Brockwell One O’Clock Club

The Jubilee Children's Centre team are using funding from the BLCF to convert a disused outdoor space into an edible garden, running growing classes for local families and providing vegetables for the community. They intend to grow 30 different types of fruit and vegetables and intend to reach over 60 families in the educational sessions. The classes aim to produce and learn about the cycle of food including educating on the importance of minimising food waste via their food waste garden. 

Having also partnered with The Felix Project and City Harvest, (who collect fresh, nutritious food that cannot be sold), they deliver this surplus food to us and this with food grown here, this helps to provide healthy meals and help the most vulnerable in our community.

Brixton BMX Club

We are proud to support The Brixton BMX Club, located in Brockwell Park, who provide Training Sessions for local children, including nurturing the talents of disadvantaged young people which cannot afford sessions. 

The club has had many success stories and takes its riders who are members to Regional and National BMX RACING Events All Over the Country. 

Friends of Rosendale School

The playground at Rosendale school for 5-7 year olds contains a space that is overgrown with weeds and is inaccessible to the pupils. The funding provided for this project will be used to transform this space into a natural play area for the children. This will provide an enriching, and more diverse play experience, directly benefiting hundreds of pupils who live and go to school in the locall area. 

Parent volunteers will revitalise the soil in the area to be able to plant shrubs, a sensory wall of climbing plants and a tree. They will then lay woodchips on the ground and lay tree stumps for the children to climb on or sit on. This will provide a world of inspiration for the children’s play, enabling them to interact with the climbing plants, play ring-around-a-roses around the tree or logs, build bug hotels for insects with piles of sticks and wood. The children will get the full benefit of natural play, which has been shown to have significant mental health and developmental benefits for children. 

The work will also make this area of the school playground more climate resilient. The planting and improved soil quality will improve biodiversity and drainage. Additionally, the new plants and tree will in time provide shade and cooling to the playgrounds which can get very hot in the summer months.

Lambeth Living Streets (Effra Green Streets)

Lambeth Living Streets is a community greening project which works to extend their work across a larger part of Hanover Mansions to create an urban landscape of shaded woodland, wildflowers and flowers beds/borders offering residents improved environments and wildlife new habitat. 

Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses

This project will renovate and develop the wellbeing garden at Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses. This garden is a quiet and calm oasis that enables volunteers and members of the public to spend time amongst nature away from the hustle and bustle of London. Repairs include the wooden decking, the hub for activities in the wellbeing garden, plus its adjoining canopy which provides shade and rain cover. As well as developing the garden to include plants with calming properties such as rustling grasses and nice smelling plants, plus adding more pollinators to attract insects and wildlife. Volunteers will propagate, plant and maintain this garden in weekly therapeutic horticulture sessions; learning about the plants, why they have been selected and how to care for them, plus their importance in increasing biodiversity. These repairs will mean that the structures will be strong, safe, and able to be used for years to come. This work will also enable their team to teach volunteers useful skills such as woodworking, wood preservation and DIY. 

Jessop Primary School

Jessop Dads and Male Carers Club provide a unique mutual support network that strengthen communities and present children with positive examples of male parenting, caring and learning at a crucial point of their development, that have a profound impact on their futures. 

Launched in March 2024, Jessop dads and male carers club has grown in popularity and more than doubled attendance to almost a hundred dads, carers and kids per session. The spectrum of dads and male carers is diverse and many new connections and friendships have already been formed. Highlights are shared in assembly, and the kids themselves actively recruit participants. Dads and male carers meet on the last saturday of each month to visit the Brockwell Park play areas, nature trails and greenhouses, play a multitude of games, playground tidy ups, fix bikes, learn bushcraft skills, enjoy crazy golf and cook together. A free lunch is made together as part of the session, with high levels of deprivation in the school community and the lunch element of Dad’s club is particularly important. 

Following the success of the Jessop dads and male carers club last school year, the funding will be used to develop a year round calendar for indoor and outdoor activities. 

St Jude's C of E Primary School

Funding will be used to refurbish the St Jude’s C of E Primary School early years playground to provide a safe, stimulating, and inclusive environment that promotes physical health, social skills, and cognitive development. It will be a key resource in enhancing the wellbeing and development of young children while fostering stronger connections within the school community.

The primary objectives include promoting physical activity through varied play equipment, fostering social interaction, and integrating educational elements to stimulate creativity and problem-solving. The space will be fully inclusive, safe, and accessible to children of all abilities.

After resurfacing the outdoor area, it will be furnished with hard wearing sustainable furniture such as a sand and water station to help encourage sensory development, building blocks with ramps to encourage role play and investigations, and a peephole den to spot wildlife and observe the changing seasons. 

Youthsayers

Youthsayers will be continuing their Younger Youthsayers programme which has been running at St Margaret’s Church, Streatham Hill, for the past two years.

The programme has supported a group of 20 young people from the ages of 9 to 13 at the very early stages of musical development, learning how to play together in a group setting, building confidence, musical ability, communication and learning how to work with others. 

Cycle Together

Cycle Together is a social enterprise dedicated to making cycling accessible and inclusive by creating supportive environments for diverse communities. In Brockwell Park, the group will offer cycle training, bike mechanics workshops, and health and wellbeing sessions, empowering people to build skills, connect with their community, and address health inequalities. 

This project provides a safe space for learning and enjoying cycling, whether for leisure or active travel, focussing on empowering marginalised groups, particularly ethnic minorities and women, to participate in cycling. Their mission is to ensure equitable access and enhance both physical and mental health through community-driven initiatives, especially for the BAME community.

Herne Hill Music Festival 

The Herne Hill Music Festival is a community event which has been running for 12 years and is loved by local residents. Funding from the BLCF will go towards paying the expenses of the event, whilst ticket sales goes towards paying local venues and artists/performers.

Parkrun Juniors Brockwell Park 

Set up of a community wellness activity series of events to compliment and increase participation by a range of different groups at Parkrun juniors in Brockwell Park; increase the attractiveness of free for all volunteer led running events for children and older people with a "running backpack speaker" system, a large format racing timer clock, an inflatable finish arch, volunteer waterproof coats for winter months. Audible Course markers for blind children runners, new signage for deaf children runners. An information campaign to local schools and associations for deaf and blind children over 1 year.

Roupell Park RMO

This project will focus on revitalising gardens on the Roupell Park Estate, and on constructing more planters to grow herbs, flowers and vegetables on the estate, with the aim of improving community’s engagement in sustainable practices and developing the estate’s ecological diversity. These initiatives will not only beautify the estate, uplift morale, and foster a stronger sense of community but also contribute to the overall sustainability of our green spaces. 

The St Matthew's Project

Funding from the BLCF 2024 will be used to expand the St Matthews Project Saturday Club, which offers turn-up-and-play football coaching and small-sided games to boys aged 5 – 16. The Club is often the first point of contact young people have with SMP and serves as an exit route into SMFC’s league teams. It is also a central part of our volunteer programme, as it is part of our ethos to offer those we work with more than just the opportunity to take part in a sports project. We aim to enable young people to make the transition from basic sports participation, to volunteering and taking responsibility for particular tasks and then to assist them in accessing further sporting, educational or employment opportunities as they get older.  

As a result of our Saturday Club more young people from disadvantaged backgrounds will be engaged in positive activities which support them to break away from involvement in anti-social behaviour and other harmful behaviours. Each young person participating in SMP is supported to develop a more positive life and future for themselves. 

Tulse Hill Estate Garden Group 

Tulse Hill Estate community garden is an allotment project on the estate bordering Brockwell Park, by Purser House. The garden is open to the whole community and is managed by a small group of around 15 volunteers. We hold regular open garden days where adults and families come to learn about horticulture, improve the space and socialise with one another. The project will combat  loneliness and isolation on the part of some residents, as well as providing a natural space for children and their parents to play and learn. 

Involve 2 Evolve CIC 

The "Stronger Together: Peabody Hill Community Day" is an inclusive event aimed at fostering unity and support within the Peabody Hill community. The event will feature a community cookout, food and clothing donation distribution, and access to essential support services, creating a welcoming environment for residents of all ages. By bringing people together through shared meals, cultural exchange, and direct access to local services, the event seeks to strengthen community ties and provide much-needed resources to those in need.

Whippersnappers

Whippersnappers will be starting a weekly afternoon Elders Club in Brockwell Lido.

The focus of the club will be to improve local residents' health and well being through creating a warm and friendly environment where people can make new friends, explore their creativity, take part in group exercise and share life experiences , hobbies and life skills. The club will be focused mainly on the over 50’s but will also include cross generational activities.

Herne Hill Free Film Festival

Herne Hill Free Film Festival has a 10-year track record of delivering successful festivals to packed audiences of local residents. This funding will go towards delivering the event for the local community to enjoy for free.

All Saints Church (West Dulwich) - Over 55’s Club

The All Saints Church Over 55’s Club makes a difference to the lives of older residents on two social housing estates close to Brockwell Park. Aiming to reduce isolation and loneliness, generate a sense of connection and wellbeing among local residents, they provide a warm, welcoming, supportive environment. 

With this funding, they will provide a cultural enrichment through film showings throughout winter and the opportunity to attend theatre trips by minibus. The funds will also help enable them to continue their valuable weekly sessions and enhance their community eco garden.

Holmewood Neighbourhood Association

Holmewood Gardens residents will use funding from the BLCF to improve the central pathway which divides the park, which will be used to hold events for the local community. 

Sunshine International Arts

Sunshine International Arts will provide free workshops for the local community which aims to preserve the culture and history of carnival Caribbean and Brazilian, inspiring the next generation through the vibrant traditions of carnival and folklore. Using the concept of the Mas Camp, (the heart of Trinidad's carnival costume creation), The Mini Mas Camp (MMC) offers an engaging and educational experience for children and their families, introducing them to carnival arts and culture while strengthening family bonds through collaborative activities. 

South London Botanical Institute

xNourishing Nature is a project to further open community access to the South London Botanical Institute (SLBI) through deepening links with local estates and community groups in the area and emboldening local people to see urban nature with fresh eyes. It will involve: 3 open days for people who live locally to access the garden, library, herbarium and urban botanical activities on the streets around Brockwell Park ; a collaboration with Incredible Edible Lambeth’s Biodiversity project on 6 local estates (including St. Martins, Moreland, Palace Road Road) to support residents to deepen their relationship to nature through plant id workshops and 3 plant based community lunches with local organisations working across community, urban health and nature to meet together, strengthen connections and share and develop ideas.

Brockwell Park Community Partners 

Brockwell Park Community Partners will regenerate the pond in Brockwell Park, providing a suitable habitat in a defined region of the pond system to support the frogs and other amphibians who return to this area each year to breed. This now overgrown area, will become a space which residents, wildlife and schools can enjoy.