Say hello to our amazing new benches!

Sculptor Gary March has been chain-sawing, sanding, polishing and varnishing our spectacular benches over the last couple of weeks. So if you've been watching them take shape below the underpass, now you can head into the meadow for the full bench experience. Gary put all three benches in place a couple of days ago, and they look INCREDIBLE.

The official unveiling will happen at the daffodil bulb-planting on Saturday 17 September. So come along and get acquainted with our beautiful, one-of-a-kind benches - and you might even get your photo in the paper too!

Almost there!

The incredible Gary March has almost finished carving our equally incredible benches! Take a look at his almost-finished masterpieces!

Bench building with Gary March - Sunday 14 August

If you've been by the meadow in the last week or so, you'll have seen sculptor Gary March turning some local Ash logs into a set of beautiful, one-off benches for us. And on Sunday, we can help put the finishing touches on them, and start getting ready to put them in place.

So come to the meadow anytime from 12pm - 5pm on Sunday 14 August to get a carving lesson from Gary, and help make the meadow even more amazing!

And now on a more political note, the last week has seen the looting of London's communities - not least of all in Hackney. But while it only takes a small few to destroy, it takes an equally small (but much more powerful) few to build up our neighbourhoods and make them stronger and more cohesive, so that the riots never happen here again.

The meadow has always been about improving Hackney for the people who live here. But the last week proves that every action that we take to make our area better and our community more connected can be more than a good deed. It can be a highly political act too.

So whether you like sculpture, wildflowers, green spaces or just getting stuck in, come along on Sunday to prove that the positives in our area will always overcome the negatives. And we can all make a difference in our neighbourhood.

Our soon-to-be benches have arrived!

If you've taken a wander below the flyover next to Mabley Meadow lately, you might have spied two gigantic logs. But these aren't just any logs - they're sculptures in the making. Yes, over the next two weeks, sculptor Gary March will be carving them into incredible, one-of-a-kind benches for us. He'll be working on them below the flyover, so feel free to stop by and say hi. And if you come along on the August 14th, you can help him put the finishing touches on them before we install them among our wildflowers together.

Thanks for the soap carving workshop Gary!

The weather may have been thundery and wet, but Gary March's soap carving workshop was brilliant. And as we were safe and dry below the flyover, it gave everyone plenty of time to settle in and get creative. Gary will be our very own artist in residence in August too when he sets up his studio below the flyover to carve benches for the meadow. So stop by and say hi, and if you ask nicely, he might even let you have a go!

As well as thanking Gary, a big thank you goes out to muf for organising and funding this fantastic event.


Then after the rain and thunder, the sun came out - so it was the perfect day for our flowers too!

Free all-ages carving workshop - 12pm, Saturday June 18

In August, the amazing Gary March will be sculpting a set of three unique benches for us. But before he gets started, he'll be teaching the carving basics in a free workshop on the meadow (or below the flyover if it's raining).

As we'll all be beginners, we'll be carving in soap rather than wood. And Gary's had loads of experience teaching sculpture newbies, so we'll all be in good (and very patient) hands.

Organised by muf art+architecture, the workshop will run from midday - for more details, take a look at their flyer below.