Bankside has received top honours at London in Bloom 2025, celebrating the dedication of local people, partners, and volunteers who help our neighbourhood’s green spaces thrive.
Bankside Open Spaces Trust has been awarded:
🏆 Gold: Urban Community, with Better Bankside and Southwark Council
🏆 Gold: Walled Garden, Crossbones Graveyard & Garden of Remembrance
🏆 Gold: Environmental Challenge for Marlborough Sports Garden | Bankside Open Spaces Trust
These awards are more than recognition for beautiful spaces: they celebrate community resilience, environmental care, and the shared effort that makes urban nature possible.
Growing nature and wellbeing in the heart of the city
In a densely populated area like Bankside, where many residents have little or no access to private gardens, green public spaces are vital. They offer places to breathe, connect, and restore. Every flower bed, planter, and pocket park contributes to urban biodiversity, supports pollinators, and brings mental and physical wellbeing benefits to the people who live and work nearby.
Our projects show what can happen when community, creativity, and care come together. From Crossbones Graveyard, a place of remembrance and reflection, to the Marlborough Sports Garden, where sport and sustainability meet, each site is looked after by people who believe green spaces belong to everyone.
Young stewards of the environment
The Environmental Challenge Award highlights the inspiring work of Drumbeat Specialist ASD School students, who adopted planters at Marlborough Sports Garden as part of their learning and wellbeing activities. The students are now planning the next phase of improvements like adding gravel mulch to retain moisture, installing bird boxes, and planting for pollinators, butterflies, and bees. Their efforts show how inclusive environmental education can help build the next generation of nature champions.
Why it matters
In areas of high deprivation and limited access to green space, every community garden makes a difference. It cools the air, supports wildlife, reduces pollution, and strengthens social bonds. London in Bloom’s recognition helps raise awareness of the importance of investing in urban greening and community-led environmental action not as luxuries, but as essentials for a healthy, thriving city.
We’re deeply thankful to every volunteer, partner, and supporter who makes these spaces flourish. Together, we’re proving that when people and nature grow side by side, the whole community blooms.
If this resounds with you, click here to get involved in our work or click here to donate.