Cultivate Create

North Kensington
Since 2022
Photograph of three children posing for a photograph holding hand-painted wooden planks, next to raised garden beds in an urban garden, outdoors.

Now in its third year, Cultivate Create is a creative growing project for North Kensington families with a focus on wellbeing and emotional resilience. It provides a safe, non-judgmental space for families in which to be creative and connect to nature at ACAVA’s Maxilla Walk Studios and secret garden.

Photograph of a child holding a wheel barrow full of compost and looking at the camera, smiling.
Cultivate Create, 2022

Families meet twice a month and work with community gardener Maria Cabrera to learn about ecosystems and biodiversity, how to grow from seed to harvest, and play freely in the adjacent forest school.

ACAVA often receive visits from other local growing associations, share and cook their produce in nearby community kitchens, and take trips to other creative and growing spaces nearby.

2024

Join us from February 2024 to build on previous work done to the Maxilla Walk Studios yard and forest school garden through creative-making sessions.

Learn more about our plans for the programme this year here.

If you and your children would like to get involved, please fill out this form.


2023

The evolution of our family growing programme Cultivate Create has been wonderful in 2023, kicking off with the construction of a polytunnel in our kitchen garden. This meant families could experiment with growing a wider range of fruit and veg including ginger, chilli, aubergines and limes, as well as grow a glut of delicious tomatoes – of all shapes, sizes and varieties.

The donation of wood to build several raised beds was a welcome gift from building contractor DUK. Thank you to everyone who has supported the project this year.

A group of children hold cucumbers freshly picked from a garden bed in an urban garden
Cultivate Create. Photo by ACAVA
Programme participants gathered around a raised bed and planting seeds.
Cultivate Create taster session (April 2022). Photographed by ACAVA.

2023

Families will continue to work with artist gardeners Romany Taylor and Mattie O’Callaghan over the winter months to grow winter vegetables, prepare the soil for spring, record and enhance seasonal biodiversity and build on the continued improvement of both the Maxilla yard and Forest School garden through creative making sessions.

 

2022

The participants worked with creative gardeners Gal Leshem, Mattie O’Callaghan and Romany Taylor to create raised beds, sow, plant and nurture an edible garden and the bio-diversity of ACAVA’s Maxilla Walk Studios yard and the adjoining Maxilla Forest School Garden. In the second half of the season, the group harvested, cooked, and ate edible produce together with the wider North Kensington community.

Cultivate Create is a partnership with the NHS North Kensington Healthier Futures with support from Ernst & Young.

Would you like to take part in this programme?

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