Aldgate in Bloom

At Merchant Land we encourage all staff to find things that are interesting and purposeful with a built environment focus; and to use this as a way to contribute time to local community causes and develop wider working relationships outside our usual course of business. 
 
This week, in my role as Co-Chair of the Public Realm Steering Group for Aldgate Connect, I had the pleasure of helping host the judges who came to see Aldgate in Bloom.  Alongside Zoe Barwick (the BID Manager) and Fr Jarel Robinson Brown (the rector of St Botolphs) we spent time walking through Aldgate with the judges to talk about our community’s history,  greening efforts and our ambitions to build on this for the future.  The breadth of people who got involved was very Aldgate – from local bakers Benk + Bo who provided refreshments to BT whose building manager Alex gave a fantastic overview of their improvements to Brahams Park.  The tour also included the London Festival of Architectures Petticoat Land Arboretum and the Middlesex Estate Community Garden.

The awards are announced later this year but part of the benefits of entering is that we will also get feedback and suggestions from the judges who can draw on other examples of community greening being deployed across Greater London and Beyond.