Streatham MP Chuka Umunna to open Palace Road Nature Garden

Designed to show local residents the recently completed grant funded environmental works at the nature garden, visitors can, explore the new pond and wildflower meadow, take part in the Children’s Tree Finding walk and enjoy the complimentary homemade refreshments and entertainment.

The site contains many native tree species such as oaks, sycamore, ash hazel and willow as well as Swedish white beam, Lebanese cedars and some rare North American Sequoias. The Gardens were once the grounds of a large Victorian house, number 36 Palace Road London SW2, which had fallen into disrepair and was demolished in the early 1980s.

Fortunately Lambeth Council had the inspired idea of preserving the garden as a community asset for rest and recreation. Some changes were made including the installation of a pond and provision of new paths. Since then the garden has been allowed to develop in a semi wild fashion.

The Palace Road Nature Garden is an important site for Nature Conservation in the city, an urban oasis of Nature and a haven for a rich variety of wildlife, containing woodlands, wildflower grassland and ponds.

In 2012 the charity; Friends of Hillside Gardens Park and Palace Rd Nature Gardens were awarded a grant of £10,000 by Groundwork UK from the Western Riverside Environmental Fund for environmental improvement works at Palace Rd Nature Gardens.

This Biodiversity Project was administered by the London Borough of Lambeth’s Parks and Open Spaces team (LBL) on behalf of the Friends of Hillside Gardens Park and Palace Road Nature Garden through a mutual partnership agreement.

The Conservation Volunteers (TCV, www.tcv.org.uk) was selected as the main contractor through an open tendering process based on a project specification, and London Borough of Lambeth acted as the financially accountable body and client to TCV.

Based on information by Friends of Hillside Gardens Park and Palace Rd Nature Gardens