Triple Win for Abundance London Projects
Three commended at this year's Ealing Biodiversity Awards
Barney doing his D of E award, now with a new award for his mantlepiece
August 4, 2026
Abundance London is celebrating a remarkable hat-trick after all three of its nominated gardens won honours at the Ealing Biodiversity Awards 2026. The recognition, given by Cultivating Ealing (formerly Ealing in Bloom), highlights the growing importance of small urban green spaces and the volunteers who nurture them.
The organisation, which looks after nearly forty pocket parks across Hounslow and Ealing — most of them in and around Chiswick — described the awards as a welcome acknowledgement of years of community effort. Support from Ealing Parks, the Ealing Housing team and local councillors has been central to the success of these projects, many of which have transformed neglected corners into thriving habitats.
Abundance London says these small patches of biodiversity have become essential refuges for wildlife and vital sources of optimism for residents.
Plane Tree Garden, at Southfield Road/Acton Lane corner near the railway bridge, received a Commended award. Just two years ago it was a fly-tipped wasteland. As part of his Duke of Edinburgh Award, Barney Kynoch began clearing the site with help from his parents and a neighbour. Today it is a shady island of biodiversity beneath its towering plane trees.
Meon Garden, on the corner of Meon Road and Acton Lane, was named Very Highly Commended. Led by Ian Pritchard, the project began last year when half the street turned out to reclaim a neglected, anti-social hotspot. What had been a dumping ground is now a welcoming garden, shaped by residents.
Beaconsfield Gardens, the largest of Abundance London’s spaces, received a Highly Commended award. Once dismissed as a “neglected grassy verge,” it has become one of the organisation’s flagship projects. Under the leadership of Jen Thorndycraft — who serves both as volunteer Head Gardener and Head of Community Projects for Abundance — the space has been transformed into a flourishing small park. Spring brings a sweep of wildflower colour, and throughout the year the garden offers bee columns, a stumpery, a meandering path and a strong sense of community ownership. What was once a magnet for fly-tipping is now a haven of biodiversity.
Left: An Abundance London event at Beaconsfield Gardens. Right: the Meon Road project led by Ian Pritchard
Abundance London emphasises that while these three gardens have taken the spotlight, every one of its pocket parks is tended by volunteers who give their time, energy and care — even in the current heat and drought. The organisation’s fruit-picking team is also working at full stretch, collecting several hundred kilograms of apples and plums over the past fortnight and distributing them to local food banks.
The celebrations will continue on Saturday 5 September at the annual Big Apple Day at Chiswick Library, where Abundance London will showcase the full breadth of its work.
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