This talk, from Chair and cofounder of the Gardens, Nathan explores how a small group of local residents, emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, created a long-term vision for the site and developed it almost entirely through volunteering, partnership working and grant funding. It charts the garden's evolution from its first flower beds and willow structures through to becoming a registered charity with a 99-year lease, expanding educational facilities and an increasingly diverse programme of activities.

The presentation reflects on what has worked, the challenges of managing a shared community space, balancing people and nature, and the opportunities that lie ahead as the garden seeks to become an important local centre for environmental education, biodiversity enhancement and community wellbeing within Sheffield.

Nathan is a chartered landscape architect with over 25 years of experience, a university teacher in the School of Architecture and Landscape and the current chair of the Sheffield Street Tree Partnership. Nathan lives and works in Woodseats.