The journey from RHS to ARC
A conversation over coffee between Damien Brown (The ARC) and Joey Tabone (Sixty7.green) led to one of the most ambitious parks transformations in Islington’s history.
Ruth Willmott Associates were in search of a community partner to receive their award-winning Chelsea Flower Show garden designed for William Morris.
The ARC & Islington Parks were selected as ideal partners based on past community development projects and the nature of the green spaces available
Over three days, 4,000 plants and 8 mature trees where delivered and planted by a team of 150 volunteers made up of residents and teams from local businesses arranged by BIG Alliance.
All of which was made possible by the support of Remarkably, Sixty7.green, Octopus Community Network and Hyde Housing.
Planting was distributed across five key garden areas on the redeveloped Packington Estate, which had sadly become neglected due to lockdowns and lack of funding.
A few weeks later Zavier Kwek having heard about the success of the relocation offered to donate his RHS Hampton Court Flower Show Garden adding another 1000 plants and two trees to the project.
Humble beginnings
ARC Gardens started as a series of small raised beds built by volunteers at the start of the first lockdown. The objective was to provide fresh produce for the food bank.
The gardens have since developed into a series of garden squares and several food growing areas.
Further expansion
The garden project has expanded over the last 18 months through a series of partnerships. Our ongoing relationship with the Islington Parks team has provided access to additional green space. The project was initially aimed at solely producing food until Joey from Sixty7.green got involved. He brought in the partners required to transform all elements of the gardens and plant nearly 5,000 new plants and 10 new trees.
And onwards…
On the ground we have big plans for the gardens and hope to develop them into havens for residents and wildlife alike, significantly increasing biodiversity and using the spaces as areas to train local people in urban agriculture and horticulture.
A roof garden is also in the pipeline aimed at creating a space to grow from seed, propagate and plant high-value crops to be harvested for food bank clients.
Explore the Gardens
We currently help manage five gardens all moments from The ARC.
1 - Packington Square
Packington Square is a real asset for the community, a sunny garden square featuring a playground, basketball court and a stunning 100 year Chilean Palm (Planted by AiR). Its beds are bursting with flowers, pollinators and beautiful shrubbery.
2 - Union Square
Union Square is a traditional Islington Garden Square and by far the most established of the gardens, dating back to 1846 and operated by the Friends of Union Square Gardens.
3 - Canalside Square
Canalside Square has been transformed into a mini native aboretum now featuring close to 30 trees of varied species including stunning examples of twisted willows, white willows Hawthornes, scotch pines and over 30m of Hawthorne hedging all donated from the shows.
4 - Towpath Gardens — The Remarkably Orchard
Towpath Gardens has been earmarked as a community orchard and food growing space designed to provide produce for The ARC Foodbank and become a learning space for local residents situated on the Regent’s Canal made possible by Remarkably.
5 - Rheidol Gardens
A once under loved space which has been converted into a pocket park, featuring a scented rose garden, small Hawthorn bush with lots more to come.
Our Collective Partners
An example of what can be achieved when businesses, local authorities community lead organisations and residents come together with a shared purpose.
Want to help take the project to the next level and join our list of partners?
Remarkably
Remarkably is a creative, marketing and learning consultancy, headquartered 5 minutes away from The ARC Centre. A certified B Corp, Remarkably is committed to supporting the local community. As one of the main sponsors of this special project, Remarkably volunteered at the RHS Flower Show, got stuck in helping to replant, built this dedicated website and is lending direct financial support to the project.
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Ruth Willmott Associates
Gold Medalist winner of Chelsea Flower Show 2022 Ruth Willmott Associates, is a team of creative design, horticultural and sustainability professionals that love creating aesthetically beautiful gardens that make a positive impact on wildlife, local biodiversity and the wellbeing of the people who use them.
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Sixty7.Green
This sustainable prosperity firm is the energy behind collaborative projects that link business profitability to enhanced sustainability, improved social justice and positive action. The expertise Sixty7.Green brought to this project enabled the positive environmental impact that London and its people had on the Packington Estate area.
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Morris & Company
The political theorist, publisher, environmental campaigner, poet, as well as an outstanding designer William Morris is what inspired the award winning gardens that were relocated at the Packington Estate. Under the Sanderson Design Group, the legacy of one of the single most influential figures of the nineteenth century lives on.
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London Borough of Islington
The gardens sit on public grounds that the local authority made available for the community to improve and enjoy, fulfilling the council's vision for the borough to be a place made up of inclusive and connected communities, where regardless of background, people have fair and equal access to opportunities.
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Hyde Housing
Hyde Housing is primarily a group of 'not-for-profit' organisations headed by Hyde Housing Association. The group's mission is to provide and manage good quality and safe accommodation, at prices people can afford to buy or rent on long tenancies. The garden project demonstrates Hyde having the residents' wellbeing at heart.
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Zavier Kwek Garden
Originally from Singapore, Zavier has lived in London for 12 years, he now heads up his own garden design practice in Hampstead. In 2022, Zavier was commissioned by The Joy Club to create a garden for The RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival. Zavier was keen for his garden to have a positive legacy. He approached The ARC having heard about the successful relocation of plants from the 2022 RHS Chelsea Flower Show Morris garden. Two large Scot Pines and a large selection of bedding plants subsequently made their way to the ARC Garden Project to supplement that which had already been planted from the Morris garden.
Visit SiteResident Volunteering
Support lasting change and create something beautiful in your neighbourhood
Nothing we do at The ARC would be possible without our dedicated teams of volunteers. There’s all sorts of work to do in the gardens and the tasks will change seasonally.
If you are up for working outside, meeting your neighbours and helping us create beautiful garden spaces to be enjoyed by everyone then we have an opportunity for you.
Everyone is welcome and no experience is required.
There are small teams working on each of the spaces, you are welcome to join one or all of the groups depending on your availability and interests.
An opportunity for real life learning and skills development in horticulture, urban agriculture and community development.
There are also non gardening related opportunities available such as admin, fundraising, photography, film making, social media and more.
Corporate Volunteering
An integral part of the project
Having worked with organisations such as Macquarie Bank, NHS Property Services, Stripe, Go Cardless and many more, team away days have become key to the success of the program.
Teams of up to 100 can be accommodated and catered for with a small per head contribution required to cover staff time, materials and project development.
If your organisation or a company that you know of is looking to create real lasting change in the community, assist residents into accessing green space and develop areas that will attract and support native wildlife in the heart of the city then please get in touch.
Donate
Help us create, develop and maintain beautiful garden spaces that everyone can enjoy produce fresh food for the food bank, create areas that support and foster native wildlife and support local residents skills development.
Contributes towards tools and gloves enabling us to work with large numbers of volunteers to create maximum benefit in the gardens.
Could buy a tonne of good quality, peat-free compost to enable us to regenerate the soil to make it more productive and support more life.
Goes towards supporting us to hire a part time Grounds Keeper and Community Development Lead. Having someone on a salary who can focus solely on the gardens and be there daily will be a game changer for the project.
The ARC Community
The ARC is a grassroots community space in Islington, designed by locals, for locals.
The ARC Food Bank
Volunteers are the heart and soul of The ARC, running everything from our Food Bank, which feeds 300 vulnerable people in our community each week, to our vegetable gardens, where we grow fresh produce for local families.
Yoga at The ARC
Our spacious venue is home to our Weekly Programme, where people can join yoga classes, bond at coffee mornings, and get their creative juices flowing at art and drama workshops. We are also open to hire for events, meetings, family celebrations and more.
Coffee at The ARC
Our Coffee Shop focuses on youth employment, giving young local people the experience and skills to work in the coffee industry and beyond, or start a business of their own. Stop by for delicious food and drink from sustainable local suppliers!
About ARC
Help us create, develop and maintain beautiful garden spaces that everyone can enjoy as well as producing fresh food for our food bank and creating areas that support and foster native wildlife.