Connecting Nature, Connecting People

Training for community gardeners, residents and volunteers in Hackney

ecoACTIVE’s Community Garden Network has been supporting resident-led community gardens across Hackney since 2019. Connecting Nature, Connecting People will deliver a programme of free, practical training to help community garden volunteers build skills, share ideas, and strengthen local green spaces for the long term.

 

This training is designed to help residents feel confident to lead activities in their gardens, with ecoACTIVE offering support to groups that can become more self-sufficient over time.

See our latest training events

Training and events

The best way to stay up to date and find out about training, events and news from our community garden network is to subscribe to your newsletter below.

What this training offers

Across the year we will run 10 training events, hosted by different community gardens in and around our network and delivered by external experts and/or our in-house team of skilled gardeners and ecologists.

Each session will combine practical learning with time to connect with other volunteers, swap ideas, and take inspiration back to your own space.

Examples of training topics include:

  • Pollinator planting and habitat creation for community gardens

  • Creating a climate-resilient garden (heat, drought, heavy rain)

  • Making soaps and scrubs using plants grown in your garden

  • Soil care, composting and circular growing practices

  • Growing for biodiversity in small urban spaces

Who it’s for

This programme is for:

  • Resident volunteers and core members of community garden groups

  • People who are new to community gardening or want to develop their skills

  • Those interested in nature connection, wellbeing, and climate-friendly growing

We’re aiming to support at least 10 volunteer “champions”, alongside other members of participating garden groups.

Our Community Garden Network

  • Group of four people working together on a garden on a rooftop, with a sunny sky and city buildings in the background.

    Community Garden Groups

    Since 2019, ecoACTIVE has supported 15+ community garden groups across Hackney — from brand new gardens needing intensive support to well-established sites looking for targeted advice.

  • Group of people working in a community garden, planting and tending to various vegetable plants and soil beds, surrounded by trees and gardening tools.

    Supporting

    45 training/consultation sessions and 19 family-friendly community events

  • A woman in a striped shirt trimming tree branches with pruning shears while a man wearing a cap and gloves stands nearby, using long-handled pruning shears; several onlookers are visible in the background in a garden.

    Community Garden Network Coordinator

    In 2024–25, our Community Garden Network Coordinator and a team of skilled gardeners worked with: 158 adults and 163 young people

Why it matters

Community gardens are powerful places to learn, connect, and thrive. Feedback from residents shows that community gardening can:

  • Build practical skills and confidence

  • Help people socialise and feel less isolated

  • Support physical health and emotional wellbeing

  • Strengthen connection to nature and local pride

“I met a lot of people from around the Estate who otherwise I wouldn't have had a chance to talk to.”

“Being in nature has a calming effect on me. Also getting some sun and fresh air.”

“I’ve tried vegetables and herbs grown by my Vietnamese neighbour.”

What support sits alongside the training

As part of ecoACTIVE’s Community Garden Network, groups have been able to access tailored support such as:

  • Installing infrastructure (planters, compost systems, practical builds)

  • Community consultation to improve access and shape the space

  • Advice and skills-building for core volunteers

  • Support to run community and family events

  • Help sourcing plants, tools, compost and equipment

  • Fundraising assistance (grants, landlord support, crowdfunding)

  • Group formation advice (policies, insurance, aims and objectives)

  • Networking and cross-network learning opportunities

Make a one-off or regular donation to support ecoACTIVE and the Community Garden Network.

DONATE

Funders and Partners

  • Group of four people working together on a garden on a rooftop, with a sunny sky and city buildings in the background.

    Hackney Council

  • Group of people working in a community garden, planting and tending to various vegetable plants and soil beds, surrounded by trees and gardening tools.

    Core Landscapes

    Training project partner Core Landscapes transforms underused green spaces to promote positive mental health and address the climate change biodiversity emergencies. It is a Core Arts project.

  • A woman in a striped shirt trimming tree branches with pruning shears while a man wearing a cap and gloves stands nearby, using long-handled pruning shears; several onlookers are visible in the background in a garden.

    Bupa Foundation

Our Community Garden Network

We are already working with some fantastic projects and engage with groups we'll be working with in years to come. We have found that extra support from the housing associations, tenant management organisations and others has helped our work take root, making it more sustainable.

Please contact us if you know a group who could benefit from this support from next year's growing season or beyond.

Contact us
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