If you look over the back of Bunyan Court, to the right of the car park ramp which runs up by the former YMCA building, you will see the ‘Barbican Wildlife Garden’. The garden has a wildflower meadow, two ponds, and a bird hide. It was created in 2003 on an empty site whose buildings were destroyed by bombing in the Second World War. (Apparently, the basements of destroyed buildings still remain under the garden.)

The wildlife garden is tended by the Barbican Wildlife Group (BWG), made up of volunteer Barbican residents, who have put in a lot of work to create and maintain this garden for wildlife. They are helped by an assigned gardener from the City Gardeners department.

The garden is dedicated to the encouragement of biodiversity and wildlife. The volunteers of the Barbican Wildlife Group are not merely doing gardening; they are involved in serious research and data collection. They have recorded more than 300 species of wildlife in the garden – including species under threat in London, such as house sparrows and stag beetles. Their work has received widespread recognition.

If you have a Barbican key, you can access the garden at any time. The garden is open to anyone who wishes to visit on Wednesday mornings between 10 AM and 12 PM – the times of the Barbican Wildlife Group’s weekly sessions. (Members are there in all weather conditions.)

The garden is open to the public at certain times of the year. Usually this includes the London Squares Open Gardens Weekend in June, the Golden Lane Estate’s Spring Fair and Open House Weekend.

Barbican Wildlife Group produced this Barbican Wildlife Garden Flyer in 2022 which provides a lot of helpful information. It is well worth reading before your visit – otherwise there is a lot you may miss.

There are two means of access: an (accessible) entrance on Fann Street, and via steps at the bottom of the Bunyan Car Park ramp.

Barbican Wildlife Group has its own website – www.barbicanwildlifegarden.org – where you can find much more information, details of their Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts, and their contact details.