This beautiful 'secret garden' is a lush, vibrant and calming oasis growing in the very heart of Waterloo. However, rather than guarding the secret, the volunteers who tend this garden want everyone to know about it.
In fact, this space is less a garden and more a scaled down version of an urban forest where wild flowers grow alongside huge fungus spores, vegetables, fruits and ancient trees. Secluded dens and shelters line the paths and centre around fire pits and misshapen wooden stools - hinting at untold mysteries and storied nights. It's no wonder the space is so popular with families.
Indeed, the Waterloo Community Forest Garden is a sanctuary for nature and people in the local community and beyond - bringing a touch of wonder and magic into its visitor's lives.
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This area of land has been part of Victoria Park since the official opening in 1902. Now known as the Waterloo Community Forest Garden, it is an initiative set up by local residents in an effort to make use of neglected local parkland on Somerville Road in L22.
However, before Somerville Road (and Somerville Grove) were built, this vital green space was actually a part of the much larger Victoria Park until it was split in two by the approved residential development. This was not to be the last threat to the green space in the area.
As part of the Draft Green Space Study in 2009 Sefton Council began consulting over proposals to sell the plot of green space and use the land for housing. However, members of the local community rallied and put forward a concerted campaign to save the green space and protect it from further