Partnerships with a mission
The Westfield London Nature Reserve: creating a community hub and finding opportunity in a previously unloved space
In 2019, the ever-industrious Westfield Rise team, noticed a section of disused brownfield site within the Westfield London, hidden from view and left to the winds and the weeds. What began as a passing conversation at the coffee machine, set the wheels in motion to turn this unloved, yet promising part of a retail behemoth, into our very own nature reserve in the heart of London.
The ambitious project to regenerate the area into an environmental hub for the local community, including two local SEN schools, was completed in 2020. The Westfield London Nature Reserve proudly hosts a variety of different areas including a wildflower meadow, insect hotels, beehives, fruit trees, vegetable beds and a pond which is home to host of animals and insects. The nature reserve has become a physical representation of Westfield’s commitment to sustainability and community outreach. The children from the SEN schools spend days at the site, learning to grow and eat their own vegetables, tending to the plants and enjoying moments of calm amongst the chaos of everyday life.
Westfield Rise created a unique commercial sponsorship opportunity, allowing brands equally committed to making sustainable positive impact to support and align themselves with the project. We quickly secured Timberland as the Nature Reserves’ inaugural brand partner, bringing their dedication of solving problems for their communities, urban greening and helping to close the skills gap in professional trades, whilst also tackling bigger issues like climate injustice and responsible manufacturing. On top of the brand using the space for education and workshops for our communities, the partnership also included branding presence, media and experiential allocations to showcase their eco-conscious core, the sustainability of their material and supply chain, and their free instore cleaning and repair service for Timberland boots.
As URW employees, we’re lucky to have spent days volunteering in the reserve, swapping our keyboards for trowels and getting to grips with the difference between a weed and a wallflower.
With the success of the project felt acutely throughout the business, community and brand partners, we’re excited that Westfield Stratford City is following suit and we’re currently in planning stages of the Community Orchard opening later this year. Watch this space on our Linkedin!
Get in touch with the UK team hello_uk@westfieldrise.com to get more details on what we can offer you and how we can find inspiring, meaningful activations in creative spaces.
