At The Meadows in Hounslow, our Green Spaces project installed a natural play area, and youth and environmental facilities. We're now working closely with local residents to deliver a range of activities aimed at sustaining the new green spaces.  

These include wildlife gardening, youth inclusion activities, children and family play sessions,  community arts programmes as well as horticultural and volunteer training programmes.

The project has delivered community events to over 1000 local residents and young people and supported by 17 local volunteers.

Creative Café

Feedback from residents of The Meadows highlighted the importance of positively engaging local young people. This resulted in the delivery of the Creative Café, an innovative project delivered in partnership with local community organisation, Bounce Theatre.

This initiative supports young people to express themselves through dance, drama and film. The Creative Café takes advantage of the accessible and improved green spaces to provide an alternative venue for performances and film making.  

A number of approaches are being adopted to ensure the project is sustainable after completion of the BIG Lottery grant, including:

• Supporting young people on the project to work towards an accredited Arts Award qualification for 11-25 year olds aimed at developing creativity and leadership.
• Building volunteering capacity amongst local young people. The project will eventually be fully youth led.
• Working with staff from Bounce Theatre and Places for People, the project leaders have already managed to raise £300 of funding to keep the project running, and a further £2000 has been secured in principal, dependent upon project performance.