Words by Blyth Brentnall
A community in Walthamstow, North East London, gathered together to plant thousands of sunflowers over the weekend.
The sudden bloom of yellow flowers across the neighbourhood marked the first round of solar panels installed in an exciting achievement for community energy.
Lovely! Tell me more.
Mums, dads, children and everyone from the local area had a fantastic time planting sunflowers in Lynmouth Road, in The Grange housing estate, at a youth project called Project Zero, at Frederic Street pre-school and local school Barn Croft Primary as well as other locations in the surrounding area.
The collective planting session celebrates the progress so far on Power Station, a project set up by the family of Netlix documentary maker Daniel Edelstyn. Their aim is to fundraise through selling artistic banknotes, called GreenBacks, and through other means, to install solar panels across buildings in the area.
The first wave of solar panels went up in June with the help of green energy company Octopus Energy.
The project is a collaboration with Organic Lea, who encourage community growing around urban neighbourhoods.
Charity check-in
At Smiley Movement, we like to elevate the work of charities across the world. Here are three charities whose causes align with the themes in this article.
Rewilding Britain. They aim to tackle the climate emergency and extinction crisis, reconnect people with the natural world and help communities thrive. Find out more here.
Devon’s Wildlife Trust. DWT is the only local charity dedicated to protecting wildlife and wild places across Devon – on land and at sea. Learn more here.
Climate Reframe. Climate Reframe is committed to supporting the climate and environment movement in its transformation towards greater justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI). Find out more.
