Hornbeam: Still standing strong

The Hornbeam centre is a space with its roots in local environmental action. A derelict council building was refurbished by community activists in the early 1990s and opened as the Hornbeam Centre in 1992.

The centre is named after the hornbeam tree, the closest thing to a native tree for London. The hornbeam's grey, sinewy trunks form dense stands in many older woodlands and is locally famous in Epping Forest and in patches of woodland across Waltham Forest. Here it was historically managed as a major source of fuel wood for London before the age of cheap coal, and much valued for its charcoal, which burns hot enough to smelt iron. The Hornbeam’s heavy wood has been prized for its strength and used to make tools, including mill-wheel cogs and in building construction.

Three Hornbeam trees were planted along Baker’s Avenue in 1992 when the centre was opened.

The Hornbeam Centre is volunteer led – it is run by the people who use it. Hornbeam’s projects are organised by four groups known as "collectives" and offer wide-ranging opportunities for the community to take action on environmental and social issues. Each project holds regular planning meetings which all can participate in.

These projects are open for all to be involved in their work, planning and activities.

A ‘coordinating group’, currently drawn from the collectives, keeps an eye on the overall functioning of the space. This includes legal and financial responsibilities.

This group meets monthly and the minutes of meetings are on display in the Centre. The centre relies on volunteers to keep it open. All welcome to lend a hand. Is there something that you’d like to do? New ideas keep this space open

The current collectives are: Café collective: organises the running of the café on Saturdays and occasional catering for events. See café details

Environmental outreach: involves people and organisations aiming to promote action on the environment through practical and arts based outreach and education work. Projects include Cann Hall School wildlife garden

Low Energy Waltham Forest: with the impending peak in oil production and threat of climate change this collective is working on transforming Waltham Forest from a high energy consumption borough to a low energy one. Activities include a bi-monthly film/talk/workshop, developing practical projects such as a car share scheme and meetings to develop an ‘energy descent plan’ for the borough.

Local food hub: a group interested in creating opportunities for people to grow more organic food in Waltham Forest and supporting the local food economy. Activities are numerous so to find out what’s going on check out the sections on Local Food (this is the umbrella for all the work around the distribution, processing and education work) and Beyond the centre (which details the various initiatives to ‘grow more growers’).

If you’d like to be involved or contact any of the collectives, please get in touch.