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Greening & biodiversity

Community gardening

Since 2025 there have been a number of community gardening initiatives on the estate. They started with OORA's Sunday morning sessions for residents. In March 2026 a Front Garden Challenge was launched, over 100 years after the original London County Council competition, where a number of houses on the estate won prizes. To support new gardeners we hosted a seed giveaway, two plants swaps and a plant sale over the summer.

a wooden planter made by the youth club from used timber has a flourishing courgette plant with two yellow flowers.

Courgettes

Planter made by youth club members, plants grown by after school club

Two Finn green chilies are growing on a plant supported by a bamboo cane in a wooden planter made by youth club members.

Chillies

A bumper crop of Cayenne (?) chillies ready for the kitchen

A plant swap stall at the Old Oak cycle fest with a tray of seedlings grown by children at after school gardening clubs

Grown in Old Oak

Seedlings grown by kids for a plant swap at the Old Oak CycleFest

Kids gardening

Our young people have been gardening at after school and holiday clubs and are becoming enthusiastic, skilled gardeners in the Family Hub and Community Centre garden.

In the spring, Old Oak Youth Club run by Harrow Club, hosted a woodworking programme and have made bug hotels and planters for the garden from used timber (with scaffold boards donated by The PURLS UK)

In summer 2026 because we now have planters and in spite of the heatwave, the children were successful in growing

potatoes
herbs (parsley, mint, basil and dill)
chillies
chard
borlotti beans

Carrots and potatoes have been started for the winter this success has encouraged us to think about developing a community kitchen garden.

Wormwood Scrubs Local Nature Reserve

We have been talking to the Wormwood Scrubs Charitable Trust on topics of biodiversity and ecology linked and how residents can engage with this significant piece of nature on our doorstep.

We are the bees knees

We entered the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs award, the "Bees' Needs Champions"

In July we went to RHS Wisley to collect our certificate. We accepted the award from the Minister for Nature, Mary Creagh CBE, on behalf of the Estate and Old Oak Primary School, who came up with the name for the Front Garden Challenge.

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