SET is delighted to share that our Community Garden and DIY Food Growing Project within SET Social, our arts and social club in Peckham, has received support through Southwark Council’s Cleaner Greener Safer (CGS) Fund 2025-26.
The funding will support the next phase of the garden’s development, helping make the space more accessible, functional, and sustainable for local residents and volunteers.
Tucked just off Rye Lane, the garden is a small, open-access project shaped by the people who use it. What began as a small collective effort has gradually grown into a weekly gathering centred around food growing, shared learning, and spending time outdoors together.
A garden shaped by community
Launched in August 2024, the SET Social Community Garden quickly became a regular Sunday fixture. Around 15 to 20 participants now join weekly sessions, with many more passing through during the summer months.
The project has developed organically through dedicated volunteer spirit, small donations, fundraising and community-led workshops, including fermentation, cyanotype, natural dyeing, clay sculpture, and sign painting, alongside weekly gardening.
A core group of volunteers, including SET Social members and participants from local organisations such as KeyRing, help facilitate sessions. Together they grow vegetables, share produce, and sometimes cook meals using what has been harvested.
For many neighbours, the garden has become a rare opportunity to reconnect with green space close to home.
What the Cleaner Greener Safer funding will support
The CGS funding will allow us to make practical improvements that help the garden welcome more people and continue growing sustainably.
Plans include:
- Levelling the ground and creating accessible walkways
- Building additional raised beds and planting areas
- Completing the garden shed for storage and shelter
- Installing bike locks to encourage safe cycling access
- Creating a small community library resource
- Expanding sustainable systems such as rainwater use and on-site composting
These improvements will help transform what was once a disused urban space into a greener, cleaner and safer environment that supports biodiversity, community wellbeing, and shared learning.
Why this project matters
Through conversations with local groups and outreach to more than 200 residents, we learned that many people wanted access to a community garden but didn’t know one existed nearby. Others were interested in spending time outdoors but faced barriers such as distance, mobility, or lack of confidence.
The garden offers:
- A local green space for those without access to one
- Opportunities to learn how to grow food and care for plants
- A relaxed environment to meet people across generations and backgrounds
- Time outdoors, which supports wellbeing and mental health
Empty or overlooked spaces often become barriers rather than assets. This project aims to show how small, collective actions can turn them into shared places of care and activity.
How to get involved
With support from the Cleaner Greener Safer fund, the next phase of the garden’s development is now beginning. As plans take shape, we will be sharing more updates over the coming months, including new ways to get involved in the build and help shape the future of the space.
If you’d like to join our community garden as a volunteer, please feel welcome to drop by during one of our sessions every Sunday 2-4pm. You don’t need experience, tools, or prior knowledge to join.
You can also join the SET Garden WhatsApp group to hear about upcoming sessions, plant swaps, and ways to help out.
Follow along on Instagram at @set_social_community_garden for more updates and glimpses of what’s growing.
Learn moreWith thanks to Southwark Council for making this work possible.