Help Build the Green Barn!
Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom
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Aim
Help build the Green Barn: an all-weather space for environmental learning, wellbeing and community activities next to Edgbaston Reservoir.
HELP US RAISE £50,000 TO BUILD THE GREEN BARN!
About Us
Birmingham Settlement is a charity dedicated to tackling social disadvantage and creating opportunities for people facing financial hardship, social isolation, poor health, and other barriers to participation.
Established in 1899, our charity was founded by social reformers inspired by the Settlement Movement, which sought to tackle poverty and inequality by bringing people together to improve social conditions and create opportunities for disadvantaged communities.
More than 125 years later, we continue this mission by supporting people facing financial hardship, social isolation, poor health, and other barriers to opportunity and wellbeing.
Meet the team!
The Nature and Wellbeing Centre at Edgbaston Reservoir
One way we achieve our aims is through the Nature and Wellbeing Centre, a three-acre green space at Edgbaston Reservoir, a designated Local Nature Reserve (LNR) and Site of Importance for Nature Conservation, located just a short distance from Birmingham city centre.
Our geodesic domes and view of site.
For decades, the site was largely abandoned, inaccessible and associated with antisocial behaviour, with no public facilities or infrastructure to support community use.
Since 2018, Birmingham Settlement has led a phased programme of investment to transform the site into a safe and welcoming space, creating accessible facilities, learning spaces, community green spaces and opportunities for people to connect with nature, improve wellbeing and take part in environmental learning and community activities.
Building for the Future
We have designed almost every part of our site to show how buildings, landscapes and communities can work together to respond to global climate challenges in practical and achievable ways.
Our site features the Red Shed Community Café, powered by a ground source heat pump and built using innovative low-carbon materials including clay blocks and recycled paper insulation. Solar panels generate renewable energy, while our rainwater management systems, biodiversity areas, composting zones and on-site wastewater treatment help us work with nature rather than against it.
Together, these features help show what community spaces can become when environment and community are considered and built together.
Introducing the Green Barn
Having successfully delivered the previous phases of development and with increased demand for our spaces and a thriving community, the time is now right to complete the final phase of Birmingham Settlement’s Nature and Wellbeing Centre at Edgbaston Reservoir.
Over the past seven years, we have worked hard to transform a previously derelict and inaccessible playing field into a thriving community space that supports wellbeing, environmental learning, creativity and connection to nature.
The Green Barn has grown from years of conversations with the people who use, care for and shape our Nature & Wellbeing Centre. We have listened to local residents, community groups, volunteers, families and visitors as they have shared their ideas for how this special place can continue to grow.
The Green Barn is our response to that shared vision, the 'final piece of the jigsaw' - unlocking the full potential of the Nature and Wellbeing Centre with and for our community.
Why it is Needed
Our Nature & Wellbeing Centre has become a much-loved place for so many people to connect, learn, grow and spend time outdoors. As more residents, schools and community groups discover the site, demand for activities and events continues to grow - but our spaces are struggling to keep up!
At the moment, we don't have a permanent covered space that allows our community activities to continue comfortably all year round.
Wet weather, winter conditions and increasingly frequent periods of extreme heat can limit what we are able to offer. The Green Barn will replace temporary structures creating a welcoming, flexible space where local people can meet, learn, create and take part in activities whatever the weather.
Existing temporary structures on site.
Our Red Shed Community Café has become the heart of the site, but it is increasingly stretched. It often needs to double as an activity space during poor weather, limiting its ability to serve as a café, social space and meeting place and putting pressure on staff. The Green Barn will provide the extra room our community needs, allowing us to welcome larger groups, run more activities and create space for new ideas to grow.
We know there is a real appetite for more opportunities at the centre. Every week we receive enquiries from local residents, schools and community groups who want to get involved, but we don't always have the space to say yes.
The Green Barn will help us open our doors wider, supporting more community-led activity and creating a space that belongs to everyone.
The Solution
The Green Barn will provide a permanent, all-weather space that enables us to continue and expand our activities throughout the year.
It will respond to growing demand, allowing us to welcome larger groups, host more community organisations, deliver more workshops and events, run wellbeing and environmental education programmes, host arts and cultural activities and provide a larger home for events such as our annual Neighbourhood Futures Festival - as well as provide much-needed office space for our staff and volunteers.
Crucially, the Green Barn will make our site more accessible and inclusive.
It will provide vital shelter, increasing site accessibility for vulnerable people, children, older people, people with health conditions and those who may need additional support.
It will unlock more community-led projects, support local groups, events and community gatherings, provide an inspiring space for meetings and for the sharing of ideas and opportunities for learning together.
The Plan
The structure will comprise approximately 160m² of covered space with a larger surfaced activity area beneath, creating a flexible venue for education, wellbeing, cultural and community activities.
We will minimise embodied carbon by using materials efficiently and embracing design for disassembly, allowing components to be repaired, adapted and reused in the future rather than discarded.
The vision for the Green Barn
The Green Barn will also connect directly into the existing ground source heat network, making use of the additional capacity that was built into the site from the very beginning, and will incorporate rainwater harvesting for use around the site, integrate with the Centre’s existing solar energy infrastructure and have a natural drainage system feeding into a reed-bed pond.
The covered structure will sit within a larger surfaced activity area, creating a flexible space for community, education, wellbeing and environmental activities. Landscaping around the Green Barn will be shaped with the community, enhancing biodiversity while creating new opportunities for growing, volunteering and hands-on environmental learning.
By completing this final phase, we will create a lasting community asset that brings people together, connects them with nature and benefits thousands of people each year.
Co-building, Brick by Brick!
At the centre of the building will be a chimney made from Birmingham-sourced bricks - both a practical feature and a distinctive design statement. It will form part of our community pizza oven and provide a lasting legacy for supporters through our Green Barn Backers scheme, with personalised bricks becoming part of the fabric of the building itself.
The construction of the Green Barn will also create opportunities for local colleges, volunteers and community members to get involved in hands-on learning and practical skills development.
Through landscaping, construction and site improvements, people will be able to contribute to the creation of the space while gaining valuable experience, knowledge and confidence through community co-building.
Have a Slice of the Legacy
We want our community to be part of building the Green Barn from the very beginning. As part of our crowdfunding campaign, you can purchase a personalised brick that will become part of the Green Barn’s chimney – helping to create a unique feature for our community pizza oven!
Your name or company name will become part of the fabric of the building, creating a lasting reminder of the people who helped make this new community space possible. Every brick will tell a story of collective commitment to creating a place where people can come together for years to come.
The Offer
We have planning permission in place, architects plans drawn up - we now just need funding to make it all happen!
We are seeking to raise £50,000 through this Crowdfunder towards the construction of the Green Barn, the final phase of development at Birmingham Settlement's Nature and Wellbeing Centre.
This appeal forms part of a wider funding package to complete the project. We have already secured £111,000 through the Pride in Place Fund and are actively pursuing additional support from charitable trusts and foundations, social investment opportunities, fundraising events, corporate partners and our own charitable reserves.
There are 9 reward types available, including the opportunity to personalise a brick and be part of the fabric of the building! But there is no requirement to select a reward - please donate what you wish - we are grateful for every donation large and small.
By supporting the Green Barn, you are helping create a space where more people from across our neighbourhood can connect, learn and take action together.
Finally, A Thank You
Every contribution will help us finish the project and ensure this unique community asset can be used, enjoyed and valued for generations to come!
We are very grateful for your support building the Green Barn and creating a lasting space next to Edgbaston Reservoir and will ensure you are involved in the building of the Green Barn and reaping its benefits at completion.
Martin Holcombe, CEO Birmingham Settlement
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 17th September 2026 at 10:46am