Be Part of Something Bigger

Maude’s Volunteering Story

Maude Estwick has been volunteering with LJAG for several years. She has now retired from her work as a nurse, human resources officer, and fashion designer/dress maker. She now devotes her time to community volunteering and being a governor of the local primary school.

Maude has a wealth of experience working with the local community. She helped set up and run the Milkwood Estate Tenants and Residents Association and the Poplar Youth Association for 15 years. She and her committee raised £500,000 for Milkwood Community Park and transformed it from a derelict dumping ground for old cars and junk into what it is today – a peaceful, tranquil community place where families can enjoy the outdoors and children can play.

Maude now helps run LJAG’s Craft Workshops, which are held every Friday during term time at the Grove Adventure Playground, where she teaches people how to use a sewing machine to repair and make new clothes.

“I like being involved with LJAG. It keeps me busy, and I get a lot of satisfaction from contributing my skills and giving something back to the local community. If it was up to me, there would be a lot I’d change about the area, but most importantly, I’d really like to see it becoming the centre of the community. We are not the edge of Herne Hill!”

Walter’s Volunteering Story

Walter Reed is a garden designer who has been volunteering with LJAG since it started in 2008. He first became involved when he was asked to make a documentary about We are Loughborough Junction (link) – a photographic project featuring people from Loughborough Junction. The idea for the 7 Bridges project started to come to him while he was doing this. “I wanted to do something to improve Loughborough Junction and the bridges are such an obvious feature of the area it made sense to focus on these,” Walter said.  “Cambria Bridge seemed the easiest one to start with as there is no traffic going underneath it. I met Anthea (Masey, the current Chair), she liked the idea and so I joined up with LJAG on the project. This has made it easier for us to secure funding.”

The second bridge over Loughborough Road was completed as part of public realm improvements outside Wyck Gardens in 2018.  The orange bridge has become Loughborough Junction’s landmark feature.  Walter worked with ten local artists, and the theme was that all our mitochondrial DNA could be traced back to one woman in Africa.  The bridge bears the logo Loughborough Junction and the African proverb

Walter has also been involved in artwork commissioned by the housing association Metropolitan at its SW9 development in Barrington Road, which includes a number of architectural trees linked to a new orchard in Wyck Gardens.

“As an artist I believe that art can transform. LJAG has an ability to make changes and I like to make things happen. I love living in Loughborough Junction; it’s a great creative community and is full of hidden gems. If I had to choose my favourite thing about Loughborough Junction, it would either have to be the Whirled Cinema on Hardess Street or Arch 269, near Shakespeare Road.

Walter’s dream is to see Loughborough Junction become a place people are proud to come from.

Winston’s mission for the planet

Winston was immediately impressed by the depth of knowledge at Loughborough Farm. Former Coordinator Emily, with her expertise in soil, inspired him to attend sessions that continued safely throughout the lockdown.

“I don’t like slugs though,” Winston laughs, referring to the slug traps made by volunteers using plastic bottles, hops, sugar, and water to ward off crop-destroying pests. “They stink…”

It was Winston’s GP who first introduced him to Wish You Were Here – the farm’s social inclusion and informal social prescribing project. He remembers feeling welcomed immediately, thanks to Farm volunteer Mohammed, who gave him a tour. Since then, he’s become a regular at the Tuesday sessions and has started attending on Saturdays too. “Alice, the Farm Coordinator, and the others are very friendly and encouraging,” he says.

Now 66, Winston was born in Tooting, South London, to Jamaican parents who arrived in the UK before the war. He’s lived in Loughborough Junction for many years and has four younger sisters. Winston started working in gardens at 19 and has been a lifelong gardener, although his career also included jobs on building sites and as a mechanic on the Underground. Coming to the Farm has reconnected him with the joy of gardening and helped him meet new people.

His health conditions, including memory loss and diabetes, mean he hasn’t worked in years and receives support from Carers. But the Farm supports his wellbeing—and his connection to the natural world.

“I’ve always been interested in caring for the planet and notice how pollution has changed the weather. We used to have bitter winters and baking hot summers. Now the winters are warmer…”

“You have to remember,” he adds, “our ancestors in Africa prayed to the trees before the Christians arrived.”

Eloise’s Therapeutic Venture

Eloise is looking forward to warmer weather and to visiting Loughborough Farm more often. She fondly remembers the days of 2014, when she first started volunteering, when the site was much more expansive. Space matters to Eloise, who developed Tourette’s syndrome after being hit by a motorbike in 2002 and has often been excluded from activities because her involuntary noises can startle people.

Despite frequent pain and sometimes experiencing fits alone at home, Eloise finds the Farm a welcoming place. “I love nature and being in the fresh air,” she says. The calm, mindful act of watering brings her joy, and she especially enjoys learning about unusual vegetables like Jerusalem artichokes and different types of lettuce. The cheeky resident robins always amuse the volunteers,” she smiles.

Eloise brings a wry sense of humour and determination to everything she does. She also attends craft workshops run by Maude and Hazel when she can. Her involvement in the Farm led to her participation in the Garden Museum’s Sowing Roots: Caribbean Garden Heritage in South London exhibition. She appears in the Roots journal alongside her friend and fellow allotment-holder Sylvia, and she will feature in another upcoming display, Black Gardening in Britain. Her poem about the Farm, celebrating its nature and birdlife, is among the featured works.

“In my opinion, Loughborough Farm is a therapeutic venture,” she says. “It’s close to a main road, so easily accessible, surrounded by council flats and private homes. The Farm offers people of all ages and abilities the chance to connect with nature, learn how vegetables grow and are prepared, participate in outdoor activities, and make friends. It’s a community space, a source of education and, for many, a rehabilitation.”