
Good causes shine as Waitrose visit KCCF grantees
- Environment
- Social Inclusion
Earlier this week, 12 Partners from Waitrose joined the KCCF team to visit two of our grantees and learn more about how the partnership between KCCF and Waitrose is transforming lives and building sustainable communities.
We started the day at London Wildlife Trust’s (LWT) Camley Street Natural Park, near Kings Cross. This nature reserve is one of 36 free-to-enter urban nature reserves across the city, and has been working for nature’s recovery in London for 43 years. It was wonderful to see how the Park provides a rich habitat for birds, butterflies, amphibians and plant life, together with opportunities for members of the public to connect with nature.
London Wildlife Trust is one of 46 independent Wildlife Trusts across the UK and a member of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (RSWT). Ian Stevenson, Land Advice Services Manager from RSWT also shared more about how they are supporting nature’s recovery beyond the Wildlife Trust sites, working with farmers and other landowners to care for land in a way that benefits wildlife.
We then visited Southwark and London Community Kitchen in the afternoon. Established in 2014 by Mike Donovan in response to local community needs, the organisation delivers cooking classes including City and Guild levels 1 and 2 professional courses alongside food hygiene training levels 1 to 3 for 18–40 year olds who are not in employment, education or training.
KCCF funding through a small grant is supporting cooking classes for young people aged 11-25 with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). The classes teach young people how to cook healthy nutritional meals on a budget, improve their health, well-being and confidence, and improve their team working skills.
It was a fantastic day to showcase the work of these hard working charities and see first-hand how they are creating lasting improvements to people’s lives and our natural world.
We are thrilled that our partnership with Waitrose through sales of Duchy Organic products continues to transform lives and build sustainable communities. Learn more about our partnership here.