Addressing climate emergency, creating local food solutions & benefiting the community

Our Mission

Action for Local Food is an Islington-based project aimed at developing a movement for residents to create practical solutions to help address climate change and benefit the community by growing food, managing soil, harvesting water, preventing food waste and sharing surplus food.

A Collaborative Community

Action for Local Food is a partnership project between Octopus Community Network, Global Generation and Islington Council. The project is funded by The National Lottery Community Fund, as part of the ‘Climate Action Fund’ programme.

Take Action

Get involved and help create a greener Islington, which grows more fruit and veg locally, builds healthy soils and doesn’t waste food.

Our Demonstrator Sites

  • The Story Garden

    Run by Global Generation since 2019, this is a 1.1 acre urban garden nestled behind St Pancras and the British Library.

    We’ve been focusing on increasing our growing space and water harvesting capacity, improving our composting systems and managing soils for better water retention and productivity.

  • Octopus Community Plant Nursery

    In late 2018 Octopus took over a derelict sports pitch on Tufnell Park Estate, and with the local people transformed it into a community growing space.

    The site acts as the Octopus Learning Hub drawing people together from across Islington, providing plants for use in green space improvements and producing food for Islington’s Community Food Hubs.

    Watch the CPN video.

  • Highbury Quadrant Community Gardens

    Set up in January 2020 as a partnership project by Octopus, Elizabeth House Community Centre and Islington Council it has transformed three underused and unloved green spaces on Highbury Quadrant Estate, turning them into climate resilient gardens.

    Designed with improved biodiversity and access to nature opportunities in mind, the gardens are looked after by local people on permaculture principals.

    Watch the Highbury Quadrant video.

  • Brickworks Rooftop Garden

    The Rooftop Kitchen Garden and Living Learning Green Spaces was set up in November 2020 by Octopus in partnership with Brickworks Community Centre to create a model kitchen garden in a difficult unused urban space.

    As well as looking at how to maximise growing capacity, incorporate water-harvesting and make a green space in a sea of urban concrete, it’s also a place to for local people to learn the value of growing fresh food for themselves and for the environment. 

  • Caledonian Park

    In 2014 Octopus took over two 'garden squares ' in 'Cally Park' and started the Bloomin' Gardeners group - a gardening project mainly for over 55's that has created a pollinator garden and a bird/wildlife garden.

    As well as Cally Park being a rich source of established fruit and nut trees, with projects such as Herbs for All run in partnership with Friends of Caledonian Park  we are together developing the potential for it to be designated Islington’s first Edible Park.

    Watch the Bloomin’ Gardeners video.

    Watch the Market Road Gardens video 1.

    Watch the Market Road Gardens video 2.

Taking Action

Octopus Community Network

Octopus Community Network is a recognised Social Action Hub. Being a Social Action Hub means we:

  • Promote the values, principles and methods of community organising.

  • Use a comunity organising approach to help people listen, be powerful and take action.

  • Support networks of people who are involved in taking action for change.

  • Build relationships nationally and locally to help people transform lives and their neighbourhood.

If you are passionate about having the Right to Grow in urban environments and are keen to join the movement of ‘Urban Soil Farmers’ or want to set up your own Community Composting Hub, join the movement of people already doing their part by contacting us.

Global Generation

Global Generation have been running two Ambassador programmes for Action for Local Food - one for young people and one for adults. The programmes are designed to upskill Islington residents of different ages in food production, low impact technologies and permaculture, covering topics like composting, building soils, water harvesting and retention as well as site planning and development. 

Both groups of Ambassadors are also supporting and initiating movement building events across the borough as well as visiting a range of other local growing spaces to strengthen their networks, learn from others and share approaches, skills and perspectives.

Click here to hear from some of the people involved in making change happen in Islington.

Resources

Impact

Action for Local Food is all about making a difference to urban growing and food in Islington. The project involves places, people and programmes of activity, which, starting in October 2020 was tracked over the 18 month lifetime of the project.

You can read the full Evaluation Report here.

During the lifetime of the project:

140 square meters of food growing was expanded

342 square meters of biodiverse habitat created

1500kg of food and green waste diverted

12,300 litres of rainwater harvested

See the full data here.