Ladbroke Grove Secret Garden: Summer Workshop Series

From June to October 2025, the Ladbroke Grove Secret Garden has been buzzing with creativity, conversation, and community connection. The programme was developed by Energy Garden in collaboration with a collective of local artists — with BrownBaby as a project partner — and made possible through RBKC’s Future Neighbourhoods funding, supported by the Mayor of London. Together, we hosted a series of free workshops celebrating nature, culture, and climate action in the green space behind Ladbroke Grove Station.

Each event invited people of all ages to get creative, learn, and connect, showing how community gardens can nurture both ecological awareness and social belonging.

Unmasking the Exotic: Exploring Global Fruits & Food Justice

With Isis Amlak, participants explored global fruits and the stories they carry, from tamarind and papaya to soursop, connecting local growing to food justice and cultural resilience.

It was an incredibly interactive, intergenerational session, with attendees sharing family memories, recipes, and local knowledge about these fruits, including how they are grown, named, and prepared in their own communities. In this workshop, food is not just nourishment but also a powerful connector between people, place, and culture.

Guerrilla Crochet & Yarn Bombs

Eco-artist Ilaria Di Fiore led a series of vibrant, hands-on workshops in June, teaching participants how to create crochet art and yarn installations using recycled materials. Together, they transformed the garden with bursts of colour, turning it into a living canvas for creative expression.

Community art projects like these have been shown to foster a sense of ownership and belonging, when people physically contribute to a shared space, they are more likely to care for and protect it. The garden now proudly displays handmade crochet pieces that symbolise care, creativity, and collaboration.

Pathway & Plant Tiles

Toby Laurent Belson guided participants in crafting handmade clay pathway tiles, inspired by the plants and textures found in the garden. Participants scored, pressed, and printed natural patterns into the clay before adding colour — each tile a unique expression of the maker’s creativity and connection to nature.

These community-made tiles will line the paths of the Secret Garden, creating a mosaic that reflects both individuality and collective effort, a lasting reminder that sustainability thrives through shared care.

Pans Out Presents: Forest School Activities

Educator and artist Pan Pradere brought a playful spirit to the garden through Forest School-style activities, inviting families to reconnect with the outdoors. Participants created solar prints using turmeric, arranging natural materials into shapes that captured the light and texture of the garden.

We also welcomed Jan and Pan’s Storytelling and Percussion Caravan twice over the summer: once at the season’s start and again to mark its close. Their drumming, rhythm, and storytelling filled the garden with energy and laughter, encouraging everyone to move, listen, and imagine together.

Through these sessions, participants explored rhythm, ecology, and creativity, proving that climate action can be joyful, hands-on, and deeply human.

A Buzzing Community Space

The Ladbroke Grove Secret Garden has become a gathering place for creativity, learning, and belonging. Each session brought together people of all ages to share skills, swap stories, and celebrate the power of community care and greening.

For more information and to get involved in this garden, please email callum@energygarden.org.uk

These events are supported by the Mayor of London, Transport for London, and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.