Wimbledon Rooftop Farm's story
Wimbledon Rooftop Farm is part of Wimbledon Quarter. A new neighbourhood space in the heart of Wimbledon, repositioning what used to be Centre Court Shopping Centre. Sustainability has been at the heart of this project from the start and the rooftop farm is one element in a wider set of initiatives that include measures around embodied carbon, recycling, rainwater harvesting and much more.
Our new urban farm utilises your waste coffee grounds and turns them into fresh mushrooms making eating out more local, more sustainable and lower carbon. We're also producing 100% hyper local honey from our three rooftop hives home to more than 5,000 bees and growing a range of kitchen garden produce for local restaurants. This is all part of creating a circular economy in Wimbledon and reducing waste across in the local area.
Useful learnings from Wimbledon Rooftop Farm
Before starting the project, the team researched ways to make better use of waste products created in commercial buildings and discovered the potential to grow mushrooms from coffee waste.
They also completed an online course in recycling coffee grounds into oyster mushrooms and worked with the Cayley Bros, an established mushroom farm and growers in Surrey.
It was not that easy to find a team, and meeting people who had done it before was key. They learned that lots of people working in this space are happy to share their learnings. It was easy to start with limited equipment, but much harder to sell into restaurants.
The team has been amazed by the local response and positive feedback when sharing their story; which has shown them it is really important focus on local engagement.
Wimbledon Rooftop Farm's Metrics
kg of coffee saved from landfill
Number of jars of honey produced
Amount of mushrooms harvested
