How it works
A new way to care for places
PATCHWERK turns crowdfunding into something you can explore.
Instead of simply giving to a campaign, you can wander through an illustrated map of a real place, discover the stories within it, and choose a little patch to care for.
Your contribution helps the project as a whole. Your patch gives you a place within its story.
01 — Find a place
Discover community gardens, city farms, woodlands, wildlife spaces and other places people are working hard to protect, improve and bring to life.
Every PATCHWERK begins with a real place and a real project.
Take a wander. See what you find.
02 — Explore its stories
Every place is full of stories.
The old orchard being brought back to life. A pond that needs restoring. A barn becoming a community workshop. A patch of ground waiting to become a garden.
Explore the map to discover what's happening, why it matters and what your support could make possible.
03 — Choose your patch
Found somewhere you care about?
Choose one of the available patches on the map. Every patch has its own two-word name — something like dragonfly–hawthorn or robin–clover — making your little piece of the project uniquely yours.
You're not buying or owning the land. Your patch is a connection to it.
04 — Help make something happen
Caring for a patch makes a financial contribution towards the project.
Some places may be raising £5,000. Others £50,000 or more. But PATCHWERK isn't about whether one person can make a huge contribution.
It's about what happens when lots of small acts of care gather around a place.
05 — Every patch counts
Not every project needs to hit 100% for something good to happen.
A project hoping to raise £10,000 might be able to start planting at £2,500, restore its pond at £5,000 and complete new paths at £7,500.
So rather than simply showing how far there is left to go, PATCHWERK helps places show what each milestone makes possible.
£500 raised isn't a failed £10,000 campaign.
It's £500 that can make something happen.
For projects that genuinely can't proceed without reaching a minimum amount — buying a piece of land, for example — we'll make that clear before you contribute.
06 — See what happens next
This is perhaps the most important bit.
The funding chapter ends. The place stays.
Once you've cared for a patch, the relationship doesn't have to end at checkout.
Projects can share photographs, stories, milestones and updates from the place, so you can see what your contribution became part of.
And when there's another chapter in its story, you can come back.
Small patches. Bigger stories.
PATCHWERK is built around a simple idea:
The more attention we give a place, the more meaningful it becomes. And the more meaningful it becomes, the more likely we are to care for it.
So choose somewhere.
Take a wander.
Find your patch.