To mark a decade of SCCG, we invited the community for a day of activities, food and entertainment.
On Sunday 10th October we were delighted to welcome people from across the community to our 10th Anniversary event. We wanted to run the event as both a ‘thank you’ for volunteers and supporters who have contributed to our work over the years, and as a chance for residents to find out about the community garden, our history, and how they can get involved.
The free event included a range of activities – our Sunday Community Gardener, Jane Sowerby, coordinated a stall where people could make their own flower garland ‘crown’ – lots of our Little Growers (and a few ‘bigger growers’!) were proudly photographed wearing their bright and colourful head pieces.
SCCG Trustee, Kate Daly, ran an apple-tasting table, offering visitors the chance to try ten varieties of apple, including some that had originated in South London. We also invited younger guests to make their own bird feeders out of toilet roll tubes, peanut butter and bird seed.
Ruth Arnott, our Wednesday Community Gardener, fired up the pizza oven and all were invited to share a delicious range of freshly cooked pizzas alongside a buffet of salads, side dishes and cakes contributed to by many Trustees, volunteers and visitors.
Mulberry tree expert, Peter Coles, who runs Morus Londinium, gave a fascinating talk on the history of mulberry trees and his project to map them across the UK. Peter discussed our 250-year-old mulberry tree as part of his presentation – he commented on how healthy it looked compared to other similar-aged trees he has seen in London.
In addition, we ran a plant sale and a raffle, which together with generous donations from visitors, helped us cover costs of running the event. The day was then rounded off with an excellent performance by the Brixton Tatterjacks. Returning to the garden for the first time since January 2020, the troop of Morris Dancers encouraged visitors to join them for a number of energetic dances – a great end to a very special celebration.
Here’s to the next ten years!