The Green Growers volunteer on community garden projects across the borough. Contact us if you have a project in need of help.

Next events: Thurs 15, Friday 16 and Saturday 17 February

The Friends of Goose Green Primary School have raised funds to install a ‘Green Screen’ of pre-grown ivy to provide the school playground with a barrier against air pollution and help protect the long-term health of the children.  The Green Growers will be helping parents and children to plant the screens at the three community planting days during half term: Thursday 15, Friday 16 and Saturday 17 February. No experience needed. Children welcome. Please RSVP for full details.

Green Screens are made of living ivy and have a dual effect, both blocking pollutants as a barrier at vehicle exhaust height and capturing them on the surface area of the leaves. The pollutants captured are then washed away by rain, allowing the ivy leaves to repeat the process.  A Green Screen can reduce street-level concentrations of nitrogen dioxide by as much as 40% and up to 60% for particulate matter (PM).  Because the ivy is pre-grown and full height the impact will be immediate and, as it matures and thickens, the benefit will increase. 

Goose Green School is one of 1,148 schools in London within 150 metres of roads carrying 10,000 or more vehicles per day. Details here. The school playground is right next to Grove Vale road. In 2017, volunteers from Southwark Green Party measured nitrogen dioxide levels outside the school and found they were 58.83 micrograms per cubic metre, well above the EU legal limit of 40 micrograms per cubic metre.