My name is Vinnie O’Connell and I am a gardener, plant historian and
youth worker, I founded new Leaf in 2006. Using wasteland either side of the platforms at West Dulwich station, new Leaf is creating a garden as a resource for the local community to enjoy.

We hope it will become a place where local people of all ages can come and learn about the plant and insect life on our doorstep in Dulwich and Southwark. If we can find some funding,

We would like to run gardening workshops for locals and children. Based on the simple fact that the more you know about the environment,,,the more you will care for it.

new Leaf is a voluntary community group that depends on the generosity of local people and businesses to survive. new Leaf won the South London Press’s Community Project of the Year 2010.

We work with young offenders and teach them new skills and hopefully help them to realise that they are part of the environment and not apart from it.
Some of them have gone on from new (L)eaf to find careers in the environmental sector.

We also work with and encourage vulnerable adults to volunteer at our project. We have helped ex streetdrinkers and volunteers who have suffered head injuries to gain the confidence to rejoin the job market.