Acorn Case Study: Mabley Green

BACKGROUND

Mabley Green is an eleven hectare parkland in the London Borough of Hackney surrounded by resident housing and the busy A12, but it is also just a couple of streets away from the serenity of Lee Valley Regional Park.

woodland gem’. Damian Rafferty, Chairman of the Mabley Green Users Group, says, ‘it’s a failing public space and sticking football pitches on there when we have lots already is not really good enough’.

The vast open space currently houses eight football pitches, including an all-weather football pitch, but there are exciting plans to turn the ‘vast, empty, boring space’ into the world’s largest edible woodland with fruit and nut trees, herbs and shrubs.

FUNDING

The football pitches were relocated from East Marsh when it was paved over to create an Olympic coach park, with a promise by Hackney Council who own the site to move these back after the Games, unfortunately four of the pitches were retained without community consultation.

The Mabley Green Users Group has been meeting over recent years partly fighting the unwanted sports pitches, but also to advocate for an edible park. The group is composed of 4 committee members, around 20 volunteers, and have around 450 people on their mailing list. The volunteers mostly do gardening and clean up work and usually meet at least once a month.

Damian Rafferty says their group is motivated to get involved to ‘make this area more diverse naturally and positively engaged socially’.

In response to this issue the Mabley Green Users Group was formed, the group are campaigning to replace the pitches with what could be a new ‘national

In 2008, £100K was put aside to develop Mabley Green and its users group raises additional funds for community activities from various award bodies.

VOLUNTEERING

ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY

ACTIVE WOODLAND MANAGEMENT

CHALLENGES

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE

Involving the local community is an important part of the users group’s activities, Damian Rafferty says, ‘it’s a way of getting the community together and getting the area to blossom’. The group publicises events using social media and posters, and they have special events for local schools. They also have a gardening club that is regularly attended by small children.

The users group have challenges getting people along to meetings and involved in general maintenance. There is also concern of creating a Management Board for the group beyond the Chair.

A serious issue with the site is the amount of dog waste because it detracts schools and other groups from using the space. Damian Rafferty says, ‘there are areas of real need. We would like to get the kids down there involved in planting, eating healthily and having a bit of fun, but that does require quite a bit of organisation’.

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There is existing secondary woodland and a row of mature London Plane Trees on the fringes of the park, which is managed by Hackney Council’s Parks Department. As the edible park is still in the development stages the users group has not yet undertaken regular ‘Active Woodland Management’, but are eager to learn more about it.

The users group has ambitious plans, Damian Rafferty sums it up when he says, ‘the world’s largest edible park is in Seattle and is the size of five football pitches, this could be beaten by Mabley Green, which is about the size of 10 football pitches’.