After a year and a half of applying for and securing funding, planning and designing the rain garden, the day finally arrived where we put the finishing touches to Thornville Street’s newest plot of greenery. Over 20 local residents volunteered their time on Saturday morning to put the plants in the ground and the weather held off and made for a wonderful community event, attended by two local councillors and representatives from Lewisham Council. Glendale also helped us out remove some waste from the site as they were working at Friendly Gardens next to the site. 24 boxes of plants were generously donated by Sarah Raven and planted over the course of three sun drenched hours in the morning before the heavens opened and put the rain garden to the test!
The rain garden can now start functioning as a sustainable drainage asset and important home to wildlife, increasing biodiversity in the area. Rain gardens can absorb around 30% more water than a lawn, and much more than the tarmac that was there previously, helping to reduce pressure on the local drainage infrastructure during periods of heavy downfall.
We will keep a close eye on the plants over the coming weeks to make sure they’re bedding in and ensure the garden is well kept and litter free.
Thanks to everyone who helped make this happen; Alex from Friends of Friendly Gardens, Marcus and Martin from the Climate Resilience team at Lewisham Council, Stephen from Thames Water and of course everyone who turned up to help on the day. We’re certain that this will be the first of many! Enjoy the photos.
