Target reached!
Continue building a sustainable future!If we reach past the target, we would like to...
Natural City Living at May Project Gardens
Morden, England, United Kingdom
Aim
Your support will help restore the garden and allow us to continue to grow as a vital hub in the community promoting #NaturalCity
MAY PROJECT GARDENS (CIC)
NATURAL CITY LIVING: Help us to transform lives through nature, community and creativity.
We're thrilled to be part of the Aviva Save Our Wild Isles campaign which is very generously 2-1 match funded.
** This means for every x1 you donate we receive x3 support! **
£1 donated is matched by Aviva and we receive £2!
£10 donated we receive £30!
£250 and above from supporters is capped at £500 match funding!
May Project Gardens is an award-winning, South London-based grass-roots organisation that seeks to reconnect urban communities with nature for personal, social, and economic transformation.
Our story - For the past 17 years, we've helped the most marginalised members of our society, including young black boys, unaccompanied refugee minors, and people with mental health challenges, to bring home practical and collective solutions to sustainable living, such as growing food, building with natural materials, and installing water catchment systems.
Why? While most Londoners agree that their lives are impacted by climate change and the cost-of-living crisis is making it harder to take action, this is especially true for people of colour and low socioeconomic backgrounds with limited access to resources and influence, and whose voices are greatly underrepresented in the UK environmental sector.
How? To address this, Ian Solomon-Kawall (KMT Freedom Teacher) founded our project in memory of his late mother by turning the large derelict garden of her council home into a recognised safe space and community education site for the public.
Over the years, the site has become a tangible example of how people and nature can come together in urban environments, with limited resources, to be healthier, more resilient, and grow in the face of global challenges.
Nature, community, and creativity are at the heart of what May Project Gardens stands for.
# LOVE MAY PROJECT GARDENS
As a community-based project, we need your support in our mission to raise 5K+ towards our flagship programme, Natural City Living.
The programme offers workshops delivered by professional tutors on wellness, gardening, and sustainable life skills which follow the seasons and the principle of working with the land and each other.
As a small project with a BIG vision, we need your support in raising funds to:
1) Restore our garden
Dozens of local volunteers have worked on the site, helping to make it into a recognised safe space and community education site in London.
Your support will enable us to repair our key growing structures that have become worn out. This includes the:
- Polytunnel and raised beds (for growing).
- Treehouse (for storage and harvest).
- Cob oven (for cooking).
(Approx Total: £1500)
It will also help us to pay for tools, materials (£1270), and experienced gardeners (£2400) to support our garden activities, workshops and other overheads.
2) Maintain and grow our Natural City Living programme
Your support will also help us to cover tutor fees, a project coordinator's salary, and other smaller renovations so that we can continue growing our capacity to deliver Natural City Living sessions.
3) Continue building a sustainable future
If we reach past the target, we would like to put the surplus funds towards solar panels and a full grey-water system which will be installed collectively at our site. Inside we also need to upgrade the decor and install retro-fitting to provide a warm hub, especially in the Winter to continue our work. This will enable us to continue inspiring and sharing sustainable solutions across our communities.
HOW YOU CAN HELP US
- DONATE: Your contribution to our cause can make a significant impact. Kindly consider making a donation - we really appreciate your support!
SPREAD THE WORD: Help us expand our reach by sharing our page link on your social media platforms. Together, we can raise more awareness and achieve our goal.
www.facebook.com/mayprojectgarden
- COLLABORATE: We are open to collaborating with you if you’d like to contribute to our campaign's growth. From hosting a fundraising event for us to offering a reward to help us show our appreciation to our donors, to donating materials or simply your time, there are lots of fun options!
If you’re interested, please reach out to Obie Pearl, our Project Coordinator, to chat about ideas: [email protected]
** Thank you for taking the time to read about our work, we hope you will consider supporting us with a 2-1 match-funded donation or by sharing our campaign! **
Save Our Wild Isles Community Fund has provided £3,402 of match funding
Aviva Employee Giving has provided £800 of match funding
This project successfully funded on 6th June 2023