‘I used to be scuffling with my psychological well being till the Postcode Gardener dropped by’
On a tiny patch of land by a church hall in a part of Swansea named after St Thomas, a sea of gardeners dressed in pale blue t-shirts are hard at work.
The green-fingered members of the CanDo Hub – which supports adults with additional learning needs – are watering a raised bed of red onions and cabbages with red watering cans, nurturing window-boxes, and tearing up weeds. “It’s all because of Ollie,” Emily Jones, 32, tells me. “If we didn’t have Ollie we wouldn’t be gardening.” 25-year-old gardener Joel Oates, a local celebrity with over 100k TikTok followers, agrees. “He’s put his faith in us.”
Across England and Wales, a quiet movement is taking root, one abandoned churchyard, front garden, alleyway, planter, plastic pot and postcode at a time. Ollie Lister is St Thomas’ own Postcode Gardener, or Garddwr Cod Post in Welsh. But this is just one postcode of many in a scheme dedicated to greening some of England and Wales’ most nature-depleted neighbourhoods.
Over the last two years, Friends of the Earth have partnered with The Co-op Bank to transform over 924 public spaces and plant over 170,000 pollinator-friendly plants, engaging over 6,000 local people. “It’s a massive privilege to work here,” Ollie says. “St Thomas is often classified as an area with high deprivation, but it is truly rich in community spirit.
“We’re not only creating nature-friendly spaces, but we’re also using this project to recognise peoples’ contributions to the community by giving their front gardens a well-deserved makeover. Whether they’re struggling with health issues, or have been recently bereaved, it’s been heartening to see the community rally together to do something kind for their neighbours, while also creating a happier, healthier place for everyone to live.”
As well as Swansea, Postcode Gardeners are transforming grey spaces in areas from Hull to Bristol. They’ve helped create wildflower meadows and fields of wheat at four schools in Tyleri, Wales, run eco-therapy sessions in Manchester’s Wythenshawe, and transformed the back of a local chippy into an award-winning community allotment in Rhyl, North Wales.
The pilot project for the Postcode Gardener, now known as Hackney Buzzline, was so successful that its manager and Community Ecologist, Gerry Tissier, recorded more than 50 pollinator species. Ollie’s aim in St Thomas, and neighbouring Port Tennant – like all Postcode Gardeners – is to create 50 new nature-friendly spaces. In practice, this means working with local people to green – or sometimes re-green – their front gardens, increasing people’s well-being and pride in their area, as well as bringing back pollinators.
For Tina Brown, who struggles with her mental health, the project has been transformative. “I’ve got nasturtiums which are good for butterflies and bees, forget-me-nots, foxgloves, iris,” she says, giving me a tour of her tiny front garden. “The daffs have gone now, but they were lovely.
“I’ve learned to tell the names of different plants, and now my grandson has got involved. The nasturtiums are his. We used seeds from last year to plant flowers for the butterflies – I do try to look after the honeybees and biodiversity.” She shows us an apple tree growing in a pot. “My grandson planted an apple seed himself and it’s grown into this,” she says. “These daisies are all his too.”
Ollie says Tina is his ‘premier volunteer’. “I met Tina at the warm hub at St Thomas’ church,” he says. “We started with a windowbox-making session at the church, and this became our first of 50 nature-friendly spaces in St Thomas.” Tina, 50, laughs. “Well it’s helped me with my mental health,” she says. “When you’re working in your front garden people chat to you. And then, when I’m walking my dog I can see all the gardens we’ve helped transform. I’m a lot more sociable than I was.”
The gardeners drift off talking about the apple tree and last year’s aphids. “The Postcode Gardener has given me a sense of worth for myself, and a sense of purpose,” Tina says. “It’s an opportunity to be outside with other people, walking past, being together, talking to each other. It makes you realise being in nature doesn’t need to be up on the hill.”
Friends of the Earth says that its Postcode Gardeners “aren’t your average horticulturists – they are part environmental stewards, part community organisers and part mental health allies who green spaces, foster community connection, and cultivate a stronger sense of wellbeing in places too often overlooked.”
As we go around St Thomas, Ollie points out an apple tree on a patch of waste ground. “We’ve been able to give it a haircut and get it back to fruit production,” he says. “Hopefully that will be providing apples for lots of local people now.” Then we pass a bank of flowers in Jersey Park, where his gang of volunteers planted drifts of snowdrops, daffodils and bluebells that are still just visible on the slope below the community centre.
“My front garden only gets a few hours of sunlight a day,” Jodie, 39, another St Thomas resident, says. “Time and time again, I had planted flowers and plants in my front garden but nothing survived. Thanks to the postcode gardener, I’ve now planted more appropriate plants that don’t need much sunlight and are safe with cats – and, only a year later, they’re growing beautifully. From what was once a mud pit, I now get to open my front door to a beautiful serene and calming sanctuary.”
As we get further east, the streets and their tiny front gardens get a stunning view of the green hills beyond. But it was a view denied to disabled couple Patricia and Robert Rodriguez – known locally as Paddy and Rod – until someone suggested them to the Postcode Gardener.
“I’ve not really left the house for five years,” says Paddy, 80, who has osteoporosis. “Rod’s not able to do much either, so our garden was empty really.” Ollie helped fill some planters with colourful flowers to create a welcoming space to take in the evening sun, as good for bees as as it is for Rod and Paddy.
Rod, 81, who served in the Royal Engineers and is wearing a Wales-Portugal pin badge, says it’s been lovely in the rare Welsh heatwave. We’ve been married 60 years,” Paddy laughs. “We struggle together, don’t we Rod?” Ollie says the green spaces are not measured in metres but in how much they increase people’s connection to nature. “It ultimately comes down to how good people feel, trying to make them feel better,” he says.
The Rodriguez’ aren’t able to get out to the bench today, as Paddy’s pain is too bad. “But we will, tomorrow,” Paddy says.
