Celebrating sustainability, creativity and community spirit, the South Woodford Society will join the Mayor’s Community Weekend this September with free events for all ages. Louise Burgess reports
Taking place over the weekend of Friday 12 September to Sunday 14 September 2025, the Mayor’s Community Weekend encourages Londoners and communities to come together to celebrate the city and our local groups and spaces. The South Woodford Society will be holding a number of events over this weekend to showcase our local initiatives, particularly related to the greening and sustainability of our area.
The South Woodford Society is one of several organisations in Redbridge to receive a grant from The National Lottery Community Fund to enable us to host free workshops over the weekend. The last Mayor’s Community Weekend took place in 2023, with 184 organisations receiving £250,000 of grants between them. This year, £385,000 was made available to voluntary or community groups, each being awarded up to £2,000 to host activities that celebrate and support building strong community relationships.
Our events begin on Saturday 13 September at the South Woodford Community Orchard (on the corner of Primrose Road and Mulberry Way), when we will be running two free workshops to create mosaic stepping stones to use in your garden. You will achieve a splash of colour and a playful mix of patterns, insects, birds or animals, which will energise your garden space. There will be two sessions, from 10am to 12 noon and then from 1pm to 3pm. We can only accommodate 10 people per session, so please make sure you book early.
On Sunday 14 September, you can spend more time in the orchard and help us tidy up after our dry summer. We will also be checking our fruit trees and picking any ripe apples. We aim for low-maintenance planting and follow the forest garden philosophy of permaculture, attempting to create a space where visitors can enjoy time in nature and harvest the fruits of their labours.
We’ll also be running one of our regular litter picks, a strangely addictive activity, which children are particularly good at!
Both of Sunday’s events will be running from 11am, and all equipment will be provided, but if you have your own gardening gloves or favourite tools, please bring them along. All ages are welcome, and even our four-legged friends, but children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.
Other local events happening as part of the Mayor’s Community Weekend include a cricket tournament and BBQ at South Woodford Cricket Club and nature-inspired activities at ELHAP adventure playground in Woodford Bridge.
For more information on the Mayor’s Community Weekend events, visit swvg.co.uk/mcw25
For more information on South Woodford Society events, visit sowosoc.org
