Hello and welcome to Newington Green Action Group!

Newington Green Action Group is an all-volunteer, grassroots charity. We were set up in 1997 and played a key role in reviving Newington Green, conserving the area and its history and running events.

As the area has changed, so has our focus. We are now prioritising our community cohesion work and concentrating on making Newington Green a good place to live for all - especially our most vulnerable residents.

We have always felt strongly about the ‘Action Group’ part of our name, and when Covid started and we set up community support measures and a Food Hub, we were delighted to have an incredible response from local residents.

We are now trying to transition this strong local engagement into longer-term, sustainable projects to support the community.

We support people within a 15 minute walk of Newington Green: this generally covers the Mildmay ward of Islington and areas of Hackney within 1/4 mile of Newington Green.

Earlier Progress

1997

Formed to regenerate the historic Newington Green through local community effort
Received grant from English Heritage and worked with Islington Council to introduce traffic calming measures, widen pavements, reduce high hedges, add children’s playground and new street lights

1999

Became a UK registered charity - number 1087866
Ran annual events Jazz on the Green, Open Garden Squares Day

2006

Won first of many Green Flag Awards sponsored by Keep Britain Tidy

2008

Published historic book ’The Village that Changed the World’ by Alex Allardyce (won Walter Bor Award in 2009)
Ran ‘Plastic Bag Free Newington Green - London’s first plastic bag free zone, with over 30 shopkeepers agreeing to promote reusable organic sacks vs plastic. This was supported by 94% of residents and was launched at Jazz on the Green with 16ft wicker whale - to show the damage done by plastic to marine wildlife.

2012

Set up subcommittee to raise funds for a statue to commemorate Mary Wollstonecraft
Oak tree planted in southwest corner to commemorate Diamond Jubilee (plaque added in 2020)

2013

Drove expansion of the local Conservation Area to current boundaries
Supported opening of kiosk - Lizzy’s on the Green

2014

In December we started our annual Carols on the Green event.

2020

Mary on the Green statue unveiled on Newington Green

Who We Are - A Warm Welcome from our NGAG Team!

Jenny Kay

**Co-Chair** (she/her)
Jenny has lived in Islington since 2012. She is especially interested in expanding NGAG’s community empowerment and organising work.
She works in research and strategy consultancy. She is a school governor, sits on the board of two foundations and co-founded of a migrant charity.
Jenny has been a Labour Councillor since 2014 (although we try to not hold that against her).

Dianne Stewart

**Trustee** (she/her)
Dianne moved to Newington Green in 2014 after life in rural Buckinghamshire where she was a trustee of a large educational chairty for 5 years.
She was born and raised in Canada and has a background in business planning and consultancy. She brings her project management to all of NGAG’s work.
Dianne manages the alumni and graduation deparment at a university. Dianne has been an NGAG trustee since 2015.

Alison Ball

**Co-Chair** (she/her)
Ali is a teacher and therapist. She works at a Pupil Referral Unit.
Ali moved to Islington over twenty years ago and has lived in social housing in the Newington Green area since 2003.
She is particularly interested in environmental issues and in supporting local children and families with mental health and wellbeing.

Maria Chiara

**Trustee** (she/her)
Maria or more commonly known as MC, moved to Newington Green in 2017 from a little village in the Northeast of Italy. She is a personal and business coach and works in the field of learning and development, with a strong focus on inclusion and diversity. Enthusiastic and passionate about unleashing untapped potential, she loves enabling personal and professional growth.
Maria is a dedicated advocate for improving mental health and contributes by offering a listening ear to those in need.

Lizzy Bassham

**Trustee** (she/her)
Lizzy has been a member of NGAG since 2013 and is the driving force behind NGAG’s annual community events- Carols on the Green and Jazz on The Green. She runs NGAG’s social media channels and events team.
Lizzy believes in the power of community and is always looking to connect people in the area. She owns a small cafe in Newington Green park called Lizzy's On The Green.

**Diane Marshall**

**Membership Secretary** (she/her)
Diane works for a workplace mental health and wellbeing platform and is passionate about empowering people to measurably improve their mental health.
After school she went straight into working in hospitality in her native Aberdeenshire. She retains an interest in food services which she put to use as one the coordinators of the Newington Green Food Hub. She now leads on NGAG’s food justice projects.
Diane has rented a room in a house share in Newington Green since 2018.

**Lynn Pasterny**

**Lead Volunteer- Equalities** (she/her)
Lynn moved to Newington Green in 2019 and has enjoyed getting to know the community and organising events in the neighbourhood since.
Lynn has Masters in Law and many years of experience working in the charity and human rights sector.
Lynn is not a trustee but she assists with communications and policy as well as working on the community support project.
Lynn is from Germany and a big Borussia Dortmund football supporter.

Sarah Jones

**Trustee** (she/her)
Sarah moved to the Newington Green area with her family from Brooklyn, New York in 2021.
As a former Director of Communications for a New York City non-profit, she has a background in partnering with local community organisations to tackle issues such as access to greenspace, mental health awareness, educational resources, and food insecurity.
Sarah is pursuing an MA in Psychotherapy and Counselling and hopes to provide her services within the Hackney and Islington communities.

David Adams

**Treasurer** (he/him)
David has lived in Newington Green area for over 30 years.
For the last 20 years of his career as an Architect he worked from home and enjoyed living and working in the community. He is the vice-chair of governors at Samuel Rhodes School.
For the last four years he has been volunteering with The Felix Project, rescuing and redistributing surplus food to other charities and food banks. David was a regular volunteer at the Newington Green Food Hub including the dreaded 7.30am pickup from Morrison’s. He is key to NGAG’s continuing food justice work.