Coram’s Fields is a children’s charity that serves as a safe place for all children to play, as well as offering an after school and holiday programme and youth centre for 13-29-year-olds, in the heart of London.

On the opposite side of the site to our original wildlife garden and apiary, an area of neglected space was identified for a second nature area. 

Because of Covid-19 restrictions, the Youth Centre had been unable to open to the young people it serves. So, working with Coram’s Youth Centre members, the Bee Friendly Trust led a holiday project in the summer of 2020 to transform this space with raised planters, bug hotels and plenty of pollen-rich plants.

For many of the children involved, such manual gardening work was new; not only did this project result in a space for them to enjoy, it also resulted in new skills and added confidence.

As a result, this garden received a Defra Bees’ Needs Champions Award in November 2020.

An inter-generational gardening club now tends to the garden every weekend.