Grow2Know
What is it: “The healing power of nature in the community”. Grow 2Know is a not-for-profit based in the community of North Kensington aiming to make horticulture more inclusive, by inspiring, supporting, and educating young diverse gardeners through greening disused spaces across London.
What you need to know: In the aftermath of the devastating Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, local semi-professional footballer Tayshan Hayden-Smith who had lost friends in the fire turned to nature for healing, greening the spaces in the surrounding community as a form of therapy. With other community members in North Kensington, he founded the Grenfell Garden of Peace, a sanctuary and a symbol of resilience. Now with Danny Clarke aka The Black Gardener (and the first black gardener to be given a TV show, The Instant Gardener in 2015) and Ali Yellop a local agriculturalist, all of whom have Jamaican heritage, Hayden Smith has started Grow2Know. Through designing, building and collaborating on community gardens, Grow2Know aims to shift the narrative of who gets to garden and who gets access to green spaces.
Projects have included taking over a discussed green space at Morley College, transforming it into a place of tranquility with the help of members, staff and students. This year, Grow2Know will participate in the RHS Chelsea Flower Show creating a garden centered on the Caribbean community, and inspired by the now closed North Kensington Caribbean restaurant The Mangrove which in the 1970s was frequently the target of police. Future projects also include a Calisthenics exercise garden to reinforce the physical benefits of green spaces and a collaboration with Steel Warriors, who use salvaged steel from melted down confiscated knives to build outdoor exercise gyms.
Why we think it matters: This pandemic has made overt the connection between nature and our mental wellbeing, but persistent social inequalities mean that not everyone has access to those benefits. As Grow2know has noted “if you live on the 20th floor of a tower block what reason do you have to currently get involved in gardening?”. Gardening pulls together disparate threads all impacted by racial justice, from environmentalism — the quality of the air we breathe and who feels most the consequences of climate change — through to food insecurity (having access to fruit and vegetables through urban farming initiatives). Grow2Know aims to shape the conversation around gardening by mitigating some of these issues. Their approach takes a broad view, diversifying who has access to green spaces while showing young people the mental health benefits of gardening, and the connections between nutrition and growing food. The benefits of gardening here are far-reaching, experienced personally as therapy and support, and more widely, making communities more conducive to mental wellbeing and connection.
In their own words: “Grow2Know aims to heal, inspire, empower & educate using horticulture – planting seeds in the minds of young people & giving them the necessary tools to make a positive impact in their communities. We aim to change the narrative & break the mould on the stereotypes of what it is like to be a gardener & what a gardener may look like, & in turn, create a more inclusive industry. We feel that gardening is a pretty cool thing to do & it is our mission to exhibit just how cool it is.”
Something to do: Follow one of Mind’s tips for getting into nature wherever you are, such as bringing nature inside, helping the environment, and growing your own food.
