April News from the Garden
It's been a busy few weeks, with students from Ravensbourne and City St George's visiting St John's Garden, eDNA soil testing (a Mother's Day treat!), bee hotel installations taking place along the Clerkenwell Pollinator Path, the launch of the Pollinator Toolkit and a wonderful Family Pollinator Day this week, which saw children and their families from COLPAI school come together with ecology students from QMUL to make bee hotels, plant catmint and go on a bee safari round SJG with Konstantinos from Pollinating London Together. It was a joyful morning and we hope that the children will be looking out for bees all summer long!
Photo by Hilary Barton
2026 AGM Round-Up
The Friends of St John's Garden AGM was held on 21 March and saw current committee members re-elected, with Liz stepping back after 2 years of fantastic service and Chantelle and Sunday elected to join the committee. Biodiversity Lead (Susanna), Culture Lead (Sunday) and Community Lead (Claire) also shared updates with the group and we were especially pleased to reflect on the diverse range of people welcomed to the garden in 2025, from student groups and local businesses, to visitors on walking trails, artists, bird watchers, wildlife experts, environmentalists, U3A history groups, Friends of Parks groups from across Islington, and lots of children and families connecting with Nature. We're excited for the year ahead, with lots to look forward to and enjoy!
What's happening in April?
Next Saturday 11th April, 10am-12 noon, is Community Gardening in SJG. Everyone is welcome and no special tools or skills are needed :)
Alongside mulching beds and installing pollinator-friendly planting, we'll be making hoverfly lagoons from milk cartons. These are simple, fun to make and highly effective habitats for hoverflies such as the footballer hoverfly, one of the 10 Priority Pollinators identified by the Clerkenwell Pollinator Toolkit.
If you'd like to see how hoverfly lagoons fit into the bigger picture, The Clerkenwell Pollinator Toolkit has now launched and is attached to this mail or downloadable on the SJG website here. The toolkit includes beautifully illustrated data from 2025 ecologist surveys and a 2026 Action Plan for how we're helping hoverflies, bees and butterflies thrive in our neighbourhood. As well as providing actual data, actionable advice and practical resources for individuals and green spaces, the toolkit is a beautiful document in its own right. The stunning Blueprint Pollinator Garden was created by upcoming illustrator @L1barty and the toolkit itself was designed by the multi-talented Analisa - sit down with a cup of tea and enjoy!
You might have noticed the burgeoning plant nursery next to the toolshed - including wild strawberries, lavender and tree mallow cuttings. That's because Jess is leading the charge on growing more of our own plants from seed and cuttings across SJG and the Pollinator Path. It's a blooming brilliant initiative and if you'd like to get involved, Jess is leading an informal Seed Sowing Session on 8th April, 1-3pm in St John's Square. Having been to the last one I can say with confidence that drinking coffee x sowing seeds + sunny spot = a very relaxed time indeed!
If you're wondering what to do with an unloved pot on your balcony or would love to have a fragrant planter by your showroom door but don't know where to start, now's your chance to get some expert advice from acclaimed author (A World Without Bees; The Good Bee - and How to Save Them) and founder of Urban Bees, Alison Benjamin, who will be giving a talk and leading a workshop on How to Create a One Pot Pollinator Paradise, taking place in the Goldsmiths Centre, Britton Street on Monday 27th April 12-2pm. We're incredibly lucky to have Alison with us as she's not only a renowned urban bee expert, she's a successful urban landscape gardener, who specialises in balconies and roof terraces, so she can recommend plants that are good for pollinators and look great too! Please RSVP by responding to this mail if you'd like to attend and if you would like Alison to make recommendations for your own outdoor pot/balcony during her talk, please add details of your space to Jess's spreadsheet here :)
One more garden happening for your diary! On Friday April 24th, 1.30-2.30pm The Garden Classroom will be leading a Wellbeing Walk in St John's Garden, helping us move from screen to green and quietly reconnect with nature. Do join if you'd enjoy a gentle, sensory walk around the garden, stopping to take in the sounds, scents and sights of our woodland garden in spring. Forest bathing on your doorstep :)