Article by Luke Upton, Localgiving

“Across Birmingham, many neighbourhoods face severe green deprivation, with people having little or no access to safe, inclusive green space. Small charities like Martineau Gardens quietly fill that gap, offering places of welcome, reducing loneliness and helping people reconnect with their community.”

For our next article spotlighting a recent recipient of a Community Matters Fund (Green Spaces 2026) grant from National Grid, we’ve travelled to Birmingham to find out about a fantastic project from Martineau Gardens. Luke Upton chatted with Juliette Green, their Environmental Education Lead and Fundraiser, about the gardens’ long history, their therapeutic horticulture programme and how new raised beds will help volunteers of all abilities garden side by side.

Luke Upton (LU): Thanks for your time today, Juliette. To start, could you tell us a little about the origins of Martineau Gardens and how the organisation has evolved over the years?

Juliette Green (JG): Martineau Gardens has its roots in the 1950s, when the site was part of the Martineau Teachers’ Centre, created to support and retain teachers in post-war Birmingham. By the 1960s it had become an environmental studies centre, offering schoolchildren hands-on learning across its rich mix of habitats.

Read more: Community Story: Martineau Gardens