Beautify Balham collaborates with the residents and businesses of Balham to be actively responsible for their shared outdoor environment through tree planting, gardening, litter picking and campaigning for a greener, cleaner and more beautiful Balham.
Beautify Balham was founded by Jean Millar in 2020. Jean has been a Balham resident for over 40 years and is passionate about gardening and about the quality of her local environment.
Jean started Beautify Balham to directly involve the community in improving the area that affects them the most. She has successfully lobbied councillors, involved local schools and businesses and heads the volunteer team of Balham’s beautifiers. For this achievement Jean was awarded the Community Award from BATCA.
Jean was then introduced to Justine McNeil who had been planting tree pits locally with residents, setting up ‘Balham Street Gardeners’ – @balhamstreetgardeners. Jean and Justine worked together during the pandemic and decided to join forces.
The wider committee was then recruited from volunteers who came along to the litter picks and wanted to be more involved. They brought their own skills to the campaign and each had a focus on a different aspect of beautifying Balham:
- Graffiti
- Clean air
- Flytipping
- Guerilla gardening
- Communal gardening
- Obtaining sponsorships
- Website design
- Social media
- Community liaisons
We have monthly committee meetings to keep each other informed and prioritise our next steps.
Beautify Balham is an apolitical and non-profit organisation and is recognised and supported by Wandsworth Borough Council .
Help Beautify Balham and make a donation today!
