Alistair Hardaker | Image: An early look at the Horniman Museum and Gardens’ new nature-themed play area and cafe © Feilden Fowles
Horniman Museum collaborates with NHS on new community garden, opening May 2026 as part of a National Lottery-funded transformation.
The Horniman Museum and Gardens has partnered with the NHS to offer its new Community Garden as a location for outdoor social prescribing, as part of a transformation project opening in May 2026.
The Community Garden is one of seven new attractions opening on 21 May 2026 as part of the Nature + Love project, supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. The garden will be used for nature-based wellbeing activities for adults, alongside sessions for young people and families.
Other attractions opening include a nature-themed play area, family-friendly cafe operated by Colicci, improved access to the Nature Trail, a web-based AR trail developed with Smartify, and a nursery glasshouse.
The AR experience, titled Animals Everywhere, allows visitors to interact with 3D animated creatures from the museum’s collections without downloading an app or paying fees.
The Community Garden will host activities including planting, creativity and art for adults receiving social prescriptions. Young people will participate in seed bomb creation and sessions on growing, caring for and harvesting plants. According to the museum, the garden has been developed with local community partners to create a space for respite and reflection.
Peronel Craddock, director of content at the Horniman Museum and Gardens, said the new play area “starts with the idea of connecting children with nature through play, in particular the wildlife in our local area.
“We hope it will encourage families to make the most of our 16 acres of beautiful Gardens, and also act as a gateway into the Museum for anyone who might not otherwise think a museum is fun, free, or for them.’
The play area, named Kusuma Nature Play, features a wooden jetty with slide, climbing webs, and equipment themed around local species including robins. It includes log steps, timber balance beams, den building frame, collecting table and basket swing.
Errol Fernandes, head of horticulture at the Horniman Museum and Gardens, said: “There are so many ways to be sustainable in the way we approach gardening – from choosing plants that are right for the local conditions, to reusing waste building aggregates for planting, creating habitat piles from garden prunings or making your own compost. I hope what we’re doing in the Horniman Gardens will inspire visitors to get in tune with nature in their own green spaces.’
Information on sustainable gardening practices including rainwater harvesting, micro forest planting and xerophytic gardening will be installed across the gardens.
The museum’s natural history gallery will reopen in early 2027 following refurbishment. The gallery will display both existing and new objects exploring humankind’s relationship with and impact on the natural world.
The openings mark the start of the Horniman’s 125th anniversary. The museum first opened in 1901 as a gift from tea trader Frederick John Horniman.
Museums Minister Baroness Twycross said: “I am delighted we have been able to provide increased support for the Horniman to help deliver their Nature + Love project. It is a great example of how our cultural institutions can connect communities with the world around them.”
The Nature + Love project has been funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Kusuma Trust, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport’s Public Bodies Infrastructure Fund, the Wolfson Foundation, Oak Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation and The Foyle Foundation
