Inner City Seeds

Organisation Bio

Inner City Seeds is a community-led, place-based initiative rooted in Keyham, Plymouth, developing a medicinal garden and teaching space where people can reconnect with nature and with each other. Through plant knowledge, mindfulness, and shared green space, it delivers preventative, nature-informed activity that supports mental health, reduces social isolation, and strengthens community resilience. By combining land-based learning with collaboration, Inner City Seeds is growing a sustainable local wellbeing asset - nurturing both people and place together.

About our climate journey

My climate journey hasn’t been rooted in policy or carbon metrics, but in people.

For the past few years, I’ve focused on reconnecting people with nature in urban spaces across the city - often working in concrete environments where access to green space is limited. Through workshops, planting sessions, and shared learning, I’ve seen how reconnecting with plants and local ecology can spark curiosity, care, and ultimately a deeper sense of responsibility toward the environment.

What I’ve learned is that climate action often begins when people feel connected to nature. When they feel connected they are more likely to value it, protect it, and advocate for it.

That’s why the expansion of the project in Keyham feels so significant. For the first time, we have soil to work with - not just containers or temporary spaces, but land that can be nurtured, restored, and developed as a living, breathing example of urban resilience.

For me, climate work is about cultivating long-term cultural change through accessible, community-rooted engagement with the natural world.

Our climate journey

COMMITTED TO NET ZERO?
CARBON FOOTPRINT CALCULATED?
CLIMATE ACTION PLAN WRITTEN?
MONITORING IMPACT YEARLY?
PLAN TO BE NET ZERO BY...?

2030


Biggest climate achievement to date

One of our biggest wins has been creating a small wildlife corridor behind the Village Hub in Stoke.

The space was an abandoned alleyway that had become a fly-tipping hotspot. Working with the local community and Inner City Seeds volunteers, we cleared the waste and transformed the space using moveable wall-mounted planters and ground planters designed specifically to support biodiversity. The focus was on educating residents about the importance of wildlife corridors - especially in urban environments where fragmented habitats make survival more difficult for pollinators and small species.

We prioritised plants that provide food for both wildlife and people, whilst also creating shelter and habitat in an otherwise concrete-heavy space. Alongside the physical transformation, I ran workshops with young people on how to build bug hotels and taught about understanding how small interventions can strengthen urban ecosystems. We also held creative plant swaps to improve access to plants and encourage shared stewardship.

For me, that project demonstrated how even small, overlooked urban spaces can become part of a wider ecological network - and how climate action at community level often begins with visibility, participation, and ownership.

Most difficult climate challenge faced

One of the biggest challenges in this work is that urban green projects often sit within short-term funding cycles, while ecological and community change require long-term commitment.

In some spaces, we’ve experienced practical challenges - plants being removed because people don't recognising a space as a shared garden. I’ve learned that this isn’t usually hostility, but a sign that ownership and visibility haven’t yet been fully embedded. It reinforces how important local stewardship and community buy-in are from the outset.

Another challenge is sustainability beyond the initial momentum. When projects are time-limited, spaces can lose their sense of purpose once structured activity ends. That’s why longevity, partnership, and layered local support are so important. For this kind of climate and wellbeing work to thrive, it needs long-term planning, strong community engagement, and backing from larger organisations alongside grassroots energy.

These challenges have shaped my thinking: climate resilience in urban areas isn’t just about planting - it’s about creating systems of care around those spaces so they can endure.

Best climate advice or tip for others

If I could share a few things I wish I’d known sooner, they would be these:

First, start with relationships, not projects. The physical transformation of a space matters, but the real sustainability comes from who feels connected to it. Invest early in local relationships and shared ownership - it saves so much time later.

Second, build for longevity from day one. Short-term funding cycles are common, but ecological and community change are long-term processes. Think about stewardship, partnerships, and succession planning before you even plant the first seed.

Third, make it visible and understandable. In urban environments, people don’t always recognise a green intervention as intentional. Clear signage, storytelling, and education are just as important as soil and plants.

And finally - don’t underestimate small spaces. Even an alleyway or neglected corner can become part of a wider ecological network.

Inner City Seeds posts & projects

Inner City Seeds has not created any posts or projects yet, please check back soon.

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