Meanwhile Gardens Community Association

Meanwhile Gardens Community Association is a charitable organisation based in North Kensington, London, that manages and stewards Meanwhile Gardens, a community garden created on former derelict land. The gardens were founded in 1976 by Jamie McCollough, an artist and engineer who led the transformation of a fenced-in, derelict plot owned by the local council into a shared green space for the whole community. The name "Meanwhile Gardens" was chosen as an act of defiance: the council had no current plans for the land but might want to use it in the future, so McCollough was told he might as well go ahead "meanwhile." The association now oversees a site that includes an accredited arboretum with around 300 individual trees representing about 50 species and subspecies, a Moroccan Garden and ponds, a wildlife garden project run with Kensington & Chelsea MIND, and a skate park. It runs community programmes such as gardening for wellbeing sessions, the Playhut Stay & Play for under-sixes, Nature Explorers sessions, and Fork to Fork kitchen gardening sessions for residents of Kensington & Chelsea. The gardens have hosted cultural events and groups, including the Metronomes Steel Pan Orchestra since 1989 and a live concert and album recording by Aswad. In 2017 the association received The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service. The organisation remains rooted in one of the poorest areas of the country, less than two miles from Grenfell Tower, and continues to serve local families and residents through free and low-cost activities.

Meanwhile Gardens was founded in 1976 by Jamie McCollough, an artist, engineer, and visionary who transformed a derelict, fenced-in plot of land in what was then North Paddington into a garden for the whole community. The land was owned by the local council, which had no current plans for the plot but indicated it might want to use it in the future; McCollough was told he might as well go ahead "meanwhile." The name was chosen as an act of defiance. The project took shape during a period of national hopelessness in 1976, the year of the IMF bail-out, black-outs, rising inflation, and unemployment. The area around Meanwhile was, and remains, one of the poorest in the country. McCollough wrote a book about the transformation, documenting the tensions, effort, victories, and disappointments, and the power of the vision to bring a community together. A few years later, Channel 4 commissioned a film titled "A Year in the Gardens," which showed the gardens continuing to bring people together through building, dancing, sledging, biking, and seasonal festivals. Over the decades, the gardens have hosted cultural groups and events: the Metronomes Steel Pan Orchestra has been based there since 1989, and Aswad's Live and Direct concert and album were recorded at Meanwhile Gardens. In 2017, the association received The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service. The gardens remain less than two miles from Grenfell Tower, and much of the immigrant and working-class community devastated by the fire has roots and family in the estates around the gardens. Today the association manages an accredited arboretum with around 300 individual trees representing about 50 species and subspecies, a Moroccan Garden and ponds, a wildlife garden project with Kensington & Chelsea MIND, a skate park, and the Playhut, which offers Stay & Play sessions for under-sixes. It also runs gardening for wellbeing sessions, Nature Explorers sessions, and Fork to Fork kitchen gardening sessions for residents of Kensington & Chelsea.

• 2024

  The Gerry's Pompeii Alternative Village Fete 2024 held on 17 July.

• 2017

  Received The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service.

• 1989

  Metronomes Steel Pan Orchestra begins residency at Meanwhile Gardens.

• 1976

  Meanwhile Gardens founded by Jamie McCollough on former derelict land in North Paddington.

A community-led green space and charitable association providing free and low-cost gardening, play, and nature activities for residents of North Kensington and Kensington & Chelsea.

• Meanwhile Gardens

  Community garden with accredited arboretum, Moroccan Garden and ponds, skate park, and wildlife garden.

• The Playhut

  Stay & Play sessions for under-sixes, free for families living in RBKC.

• Fork to Fork

  Kitchen gardening sessions for residents of Kensington & Chelsea.

1. 1Homemeanwhile-gardens.org.uk
2. 2Historymeanwhile-gardens.org.uk
3. 3Who we aremeanwhile-gardens.org.uk
4. 4Meanwhile Gardens Community Associationwikidata.org