Showcasing London Undergrowth: Nicky Dunlop’s learning journey
Nicky’s learning question:
How can we create a regenerative culture of community sharing, restful green spaces and collective agency in and around Crescent Gardens in Wood Green?
My experience:
I had intended for this experience to be about the place I live in, Wood Green in London — which unexpectedly I have spent more time in over the past 2.5 years due to the pandemic and suffering from Long Covid, which meant I was restricted with my movements across London. I was eager to get out of my restricted space, expand my ideas and meet people to learn from to take back to my local area.
It has turned out to be more of a personal journey as I navigated out of my own lockdown and I’m very grateful to have been part of it. It has given me more understanding about Wood Green and all of its nuances — it isn’t all about what it seems on the surface. I quickly realised there are lots more positive things happening, you just need to look in the right places and speak to the right people. And maybe it’s about helping to amplify them, rather than reinventing. Especially when my condition restricts my energy levels!
This journey is a jumping off point. I think with all of the knowledge and inspiration, I hope to add a little more community spirit to a very much ‘pass and you miss it’ corner of Wood Green. And maybe put a little more green back in Wood Green.
How my question evolved:
I started this journey with the question: ‘How can we create a thriving, regenerative high street and community in Wood Green which benefits people, local business and the environment?’
During the journey I adapted and narrowed the scope to the question above.
My project:
My local green space, Crescent Gardens, has already been given a sustainability overhaul by the council 3 years ago with sustainable plant beds introduced, so that as surface water runs off the road the impurities and toxins are removed via certain plant types.
This is fantastic in theory but unfortunately money has never been designated to maintain it. Many local residents are unaware of the sustainable plant beds and for their eyes, the park looks unkempt and not ‘pretty’. There is often litter and many use the park to walk past rather than to sit in.
From another angle, along our road I saw the start of some community sharing as flats would put out items they no longer needed and others picked them up. I saw potential in the idea of combining this overlooked green space and community connection and sharing. Could the green space be a communal area for people to gather, to use, to connect, to share? Would this mean more meaningful sharing amongst residents and less vacuous buying on the high street?
Some past and future actions:
- Attended local Parks forum to understand the challenges faced in the borough
- Co-set up Friends of Crescent Gardens
- Our first volunteer litter pick and digging up intrusive plants
- Co-working space workshop which covered community action and sustainability, testing out content for future workshops
- Coming soon: our next bigger volunteer event and local community celebration day (10th Sep)
- Local recruiting of volunteers and generally getting the word out
- Further down the line, I hope to bring in a community ‘library of things’ and host free climate workshops with local residents, in conjunction with an initiative I set up: ActionAble.
The chapters of Doughnut Economics that felt most relevant to my learning question:
Three things I learned:
- It may not always first seem like it, but very often people are already engaged and invested in their areas but maybe don’t know how to get involved, where to start or who to even speak to. Connecting people is a good starting point.
- Often people will hear the word ‘’economics” and switch off, believing it to be way over their heads. Work out how to communicate, or even better — show what you’re doing without bringing that word up!
- To begin with, it’s about incremental tweaks rather than big dramatic changes. Start small and work up from there. You don’t know where one conversation might lead you! (I had to keep telling myself this one.)
A question I’m leaving with:
How can we bring in more voices? How can we make it feel like something anyone can join in with and feel like they have ownership? How can we make this something that lasts?
