How a temporary Belfast garden supported a lasting community legacy, improving wellbeing, enhancing biodiversity and bringing people and nature together.
What happens when a temporary community garden outgrows the site it was created for?
In Belfast, the answer can be found in the journey from The BUG (Belfast Urban Garden) to Annadale Community Garden. What began as an experiment in transforming vacant urban land became a thriving community asset, demonstrating how nature-based projects can improve wellbeing, strengthen communities and create lasting environmental benefits.
Today, the garden stands as a powerful example of what can happen when local people are given the opportunity to shape and care for the spaces around them.
Turning Grey Into Green
Originally established on a vacant site at the corner of Kent Street and Union Street in Belfast city centre, The BUG was created through a partnership between Belfast City Council and The Conservation Volunteers (TCV). Developed as a demonstrator project, it explored how an underused urban space could be transformed into a social growing garden that benefited both people and nature.
The project emerged from a recognised need for more green space in Belfast city centre and formed part of wider efforts to create a greener, healthier and more welcoming city.
From the outset, The BUG was designed to be more than a garden. It became a shared space where residents, volunteers, community groups and organisations could come together to grow food, learn practical skills and connect with nature.
As Dave Morton, then Assistant Director of TCV Northern Ireland, explained at the time:
“The BUG is such a fantastic resource for Belfast! This little urban gem offers individuals, groups and businesses from our neighbouring communities the opportunity to engage with a city garden, and come away feeling the wonderful benefits of being active and connected to nature.”
Growing More Than Food
As the garden developed, so did its impact.
Volunteers took part in community growing sessions, Green Gym activities, educational workshops and practical conservation tasks. Participants gained hands-on experience in food growing, biodiversity, gardening and habitat creation while helping to shape the space itself.
The BUG also became a place where friendships flourished alongside fruit, vegetables and flowers. People from different ages, cultures and backgrounds found common ground through shared activities and a collective sense of ownership.
The garden’s welcoming atmosphere attracted a wide range of visitors, including volunteers trying community gardening for the first time, local residents looking to meet new people and organisations seeking opportunities to support environmental action across the city.
What the Evaluation Found
An evaluation carried out in partnership with Belfast Healthy Cities highlighted the significant value that community-led urban growing projects can deliver.
Key outcomes included:
- Almost 3,000 visitors engaged with the project.
- Hundreds of volunteering opportunities were created.
- The project supported some of Belfast’s most vulnerable individuals and groups with reported improvements in wellbeing and reductions in social isolation.
- Volunteers developed practical skills in growing, biodiversity and community gardening.
- The garden acted as a social connector across different ages and backgrounds.
Participants described the garden as an “oasis” within the city centre, offering something different from a traditional park because people could actively participate, learn and contribute.
One participant said:
“Even if I was having the worst day, I always left The BUG feeling like a weight had been lifted.“
Reflecting on the wider health benefits of the project, Jacqueline O’Hagan, Healthy City Coordinator at Belfast Healthy Cities, said:
“The BUG showed that even temporary interventions can reduce isolation, build on a sense of community, and support mental and physical health.”
From Temporary Project to Lasting Community Asset
Like many meanwhile-use projects, The BUG was never intended to remain on its original site indefinitely.
When redevelopment plans moved forward, the project entered a new phase rather than coming to an end.
The raised beds, tools, infrastructure, volunteers and community knowledge that had been developed at Kent Street were carried forward to a new site on Annadale Avenue in south Belfast. There, elements of the project were re-established as Annadale Community Garden, ensuring the momentum, relationships and learning built through The BUG could continue to grow.
The transition demonstrated one of the project’s greatest successes. Rather than being tied to a single location, the community that had formed around the garden proved resilient and adaptable, taking the project’s values and purpose with it.
A Thriving Space for People and Nature
Supported by TCV and local volunteers, Annadale Community Garden has developed into a flourishing community space.
Using donated and repurposed materials, like raised beds and whiskey barrels, volunteers have created growing areas, a pond, composting facilities and a polytunnel. Fruit and vegetables grow alongside colourful wildflowers that support pollinators and enhance local biodiversity.
The garden provides opportunities for learning, volunteering and community participation, while helping local people develop practical skills in food growing, propagation, woodworking and site management.
It also offers opportunities for children and families to learn more about nature through hands-on experiences with pollinators, native plants and wildlife.
What was once a vacant or underused space has become a valued community resource that supports both environmental improvement and community wellbeing.
Recognition for Community Action
The impact of Annadale Community Garden has been recognised through both regional and national awards.
The project was recognised at the BBC Make a Difference Awards and was also named runner-up in the Health & Wellbeing Champions category at the TCV Hero Awards.
These accolades reflect the dedication of the staff and volunteer team whose vision and commitment have helped create a welcoming space for people and wildlife alike.
Sharon Crainey, TCV Operations Leader, said:
“We are so proud to work alongside Lynsey and her community group as they create a welcoming green space for people and nature. Their work is enhancing biodiversity, strengthening community connections, and transforming a hidden haven into a valuable environmental learning and social hub for everyone to enjoy.“
Lessons for Urban Greening
The story of The BUG and Annadale Community Garden demonstrates the lasting value of community-led urban greening.
What began as a temporary project on a vacant city centre site created opportunities for volunteering, learning, growing and social connection in another part of the city.
As Councillor Joe Duffy, Chair of Belfast City Council’s City Growth and Regeneration Committee, said:
“The BUG far exceeded our expectations as a ‘proof of concept’ for city centre greening. The BUG proved to be a powerful social connector across ages and backgrounds – and particularly with those at the greatest risk of health inequalities. It offered an inclusive, safe shared space where, regardless of social or cultural differences, friendships grew alongside the fruit and veg.
“Along with The Conservation Volunteers, Belfast Healthy Cities and the Public Health Agency, we’ve shown how a city centre development site can be successfully used for community benefit in the interim – and hope that we can share our learnings to inspire our city partners to open up further opportunities.”
And that’s exactly what was achieved. The benefits continued after the original site was lost because the project successfully nurtured something more important than physical infrastructure: a community of people committed to improving their local environment.
The legacy of The BUG is not simply a garden. It is a living example of how communities can transform underused spaces, connect people with nature and create positive change that continues to grow long after a project moves on.
Keep up to date with the latest news and activities from The Conservation Volunteers by following us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, BlueSky and YouTube.
You can also sign up to receive TCV’s Greenzine e-newsletter for more ways to get involved.
