Hackney community action
The aim of this page is to recognise, celebrate and encourage the self-empowerment of community agency networks (CANs) and community groups' activism for climate, environment and many other sustainability topics across Hackney.
News
Rewilding sees animals rebound in Hackney Marshes, BBC News (Feb 21, 2025) - ‘I call it botanarchy’: The Hackney guerrilla gardener bringing power to the people, theguardian.com (Sep 28, 2023)
- ‘Real’ public engagement must be prioritised for path to net zero to succeed, climateoutreach.org (Sep 05, 2023) — the UPPER Coalition Reports include examples of successful co-designing and collaboration with local citizens, including Camden Think & Do’s programme, Kendal’s Climate Jury, and initiatives in Hull and Hackney
Video
Networks and sustainability initiatives
- Sustainable Hackney
- Transition groups in Hackney sustainablehackney.org.uk, added 15:52, 10 September 2021 (UTC)
Community resources
- Dalston Library of Things, added 21:48, 30 December 2021 (UTC)
- Hackney Wick Library of Things, added 21:48, 30 December 2021 (UTC)
- Community Lover's Guide to Hackney
Food activism
- Made in Hackney, pioneering eco-community kitchen that offers food growing and cooking classes to groups such as young carers, low-income families, people in care and people with long term health problems. Since launching in October 2012 the team have worked with a number of national and local organisations such as Action For Children, Off Centre, Inspire!, Catch 22 and Hackney Social Services to offer courses to their service users in healthy, affordable cookery skills.
Made in Hackney offer classes which include bread making, healthy baking, preserving, raw foods, family meals for £3, localised versions of international cuisine, home herbalism and even how to make non-toxic natural cleaning products and cosmetics.
Made in Hackney is an eco-community kitchen, all food waste is composted and taken to a local community garden, cleaning products are made from scratch using natural materials, shelves are made from reclaimed scaffold boards and counter tops are made from melted plastic vending machine coffee cups. They also use an ethical bank and renewable energy provider....Made in Hackney Press Release 3rd February 2014
Hackney City Farm
Hackney City Farm is a city farm and independent alternative school in Haggerston in the London Borough of Hackney. It is situated at the junction of Hackney Road and Goldsmith's Row.
The farm was established in 1984 as a community and educational resource and to give borough residents, particularly young people, experience of animals. The facilities at Hackney City Farm include a farmyard, area for grazing, garden and a tree nursery with butterfly house.[1] The amenity encourages children to learn about the natural environment, growing vegetables and caring for animals. The farm is home to a range of animals, including poultry, sheep, rabbits, bees, pigs and a donkey. Animals can be adopted at the farm, and free range eggs are for sale.
Hackney City Farm is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee. It runs educational projects, exhibitions, courses in crafts and farm trails, and operates a café, Frizzante, which won a Time Out award for best family restaurant in 2004. In 2008, the cycling shop Bike Yard East opened in the farm, selling cycle products and offering repairs.
In 2015 Hackney City Farm registered with Ofsted as an independent alternative school. The farm has places for up to 10 pupils aged 13 to 17.
Other Food initiatives
- Growing Communities, social enterprise run by local people
- Butterfield Green Community Orchard
Climate action
- Zero Emissions Network, zeroemissionsnetwork.com, "multiple award-winning air quality business liaison initiative... helps businesses and more recently, residents in London's City Fringe area save money, reduce emissions and improve local air quality.", added 15:25, 11 March 2022 (UTC)
Biodiversity
Woodberry Wetlands is a nature reserve and designated Site of Metropolitan Importance on the site of the East Reservoir in Stoke Newington, Hackney. The site opened to the public for the first time in 200 years on 1 May 2016. Covering 4.5 ha (11 acres) and situated close to the Lee Valley, Woodberry Wetlands was acquired as a nature reserve in 2014. The site is owned by Thames Water and run by London Wildlife Trust.
Open spaces
Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Hackney, (category)
Communities online
Cycling activism
- Hackney Bike Workshop
- Wheely Tots safe cycling for families, adults and children. Start up charitable social enterprise based in North London
Hackney has the highest rate of commuters travelling by bicycle in London as of the 2011 census.
Cycle routes in or around Hackney include National Cycle Route 1 Due to the increase in cycle commuting since the 2005 London Bombings and increasing environmental awareness, the Regent's Canal's towpath has become a busy cycle route for commuters. National Cycle Route 1 includes the stretch along the canal towpath from Limehouse Basin to Mile End. British Waterways has carried out several studies into the effects of sharing the towpath between cyclists and pedestrians, all of which have concluded that despite the limited width there are relatively few problems.
Reduce, reuse, repair and recycle
Recycling and Waste, information from Hackney Council
Sharing
see: Community resources
Social inclusion
Xenia, Connect, share, learn, added 17:14, 21 February 2020 (UTC)
Every ward remains among the 10% most deprived in the country, with 47% of children living in low-income households.
Sustainable transport activism
- Footways, network of quiet and enjoyable routes for walking in London. Free printed maps or follow routes on your phone. Maps include Central London Footways, Camden Green Loop, Hackney Central Footways, and London Nature Trails. added 08:36, 16 July 2023 (UTC)
65% of households in Hackney are car free.
The Lea Valley Walk is a 50-mile (80 km) long-distance path located between Leagrave, the source of the River Lea near Luton, and the Thames, at Limehouse Basin, Limehouse, east London. From its source much of the walk is rural. The walk was opened in 1993 and is waymarked throughout using a swan logo.
Regent's Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London. It provides a link from the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, 550 yards (500 m) north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in east London. The canal is 8.6 miles (13.8 km) long.
Urban sustainability
About Hackney
The London Borough of Hackney is a London borough in Inner London. Hackney is bounded by Islington to the west, Haringey to the north, Waltham Forest to the north-east, Newham to the east, Tower Hamlets to the south-east and the City of London to the south-west. Hackney was one of the host boroughs of the London Olympics in 2012, with several of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park venues falling within its boundaries.