Our mission
There is a small area of garden by a gym at the Lillie Road Recreation Ground that has long been neglected, and a group of local residents started nurturing it as a Community Garden. This was the beginning of a voluntary project which has enormous potential to enhance an area of the Rec for the enjoyment of all. But importantly, this park is uniquely placed across the road from the Creighton Centre, which caters to many vulnerable people, including those with dementia and other disabilities, and near to local bases of Action On Disability and Age UK.
The Better Gym is also associated with the NHS and provides access and support to disabled individuals.
The Rec has long catered to mainly able-bodied individuals but the space at the rear of the gym, facing the recreation ground, is perfectly placed to become an accessible natural space for those who are more vulnerable to meet in.
It has been suggested by carers that it would be wonderful to know that there is an outdoor space where they could meet and talk with other carers and where people with dementia felt comfortable to talk to one another. Exploring their surroundings within a Community Garden is a way to bring them closer to nature, give them joy and shift their focus away from infirmity.
We are delighted to have been able to name the planned garden after an extraordinary person from our local community,
Dr. Jenny Rosemary Vaughan OBE.
To read more about our mission [chk], click here.
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Phase 3: Project design and funding drive.
Phase 4: Building the garden.
There has been much enthusiasm for this project, including from a range of local organisations - including the Creighton Centre, The Hammersmith and Fulham Dementia Action Alliance, the Better Gym and the borough's Parks Manager and Sports and Leisure Development Manager
at Hammersmith and Fulham council - for a sustainable, well-designed space that will capture the imagination and raise up this neglected area for the community. Hammersmith and Fulham has
a long history of community gardens so has built up considerable expertise which will help to advise on the project.
We are delighted to have been able to name the planned garden after an extraordinary person from our local community, Dr. Jenny Rosemary Vaughan OBE.