Advertising & PR Graduates Sow Seeds of Joy in West Ealing
University of West London team launches community growing project
WE Grow offers free potted plants outside Mahaba Cafe
October 13, 2026
A group of Advertising and Public Relations graduates from the University of West London have brought a burst of colour to West Ealing, launching a community project that began life as a student assignment and has now grown into a real-world initiative supported by a Knowledge Exchange Seed Fund grant.
The project, WE Grow, was unveiled last month during Ealing Climate Week. It marks the culmination of work by Azelys Moellec, Alexandria Dudziuk, Iyesha Gayle and Lorenzo Di Bene Rufini, who developed the concept in autumn 2025 as part of their final-year Agency module at the London School of Film, Media and Design. Their idea — a brand campaign designed to strengthen community identity and improve the local environment — was pitched to community leaders, developers and businesses, and received such enthusiastic support that Course Leader Kristin Brewe applied for and secured funding to bring it to life.
The launch event centred on a simple but powerful gesture: giving away flowering plants. Students and volunteers from Mahaba Café, a West Ealing social enterprise, spent the day handing out hundreds of plants to residents, businesses and cultural organisations. Window boxes, shopfronts and communal spaces across the neighbourhood were brightened with new bursts of colour, while larger bundles of plants were delivered to institutions keen to green their public areas.
For Kristin Brewe, the project’s strength lies in its immediacy. She described the concept as “something positive and tangible”, noting that the act of distributing plants gives people a direct role in improving their surroundings. She said the initiative “seeds positivity in our community” and praised the graduates for creating a brand rooted in empowerment rather than promotion.
Graduate Alex Dudziuk, who helped shape the original concept and volunteered at the launch, said seeing WE Grow come to life was deeply rewarding. She spoke about the joy of watching residents embrace the idea and the importance of celebrating West Ealing’s diversity. “I hope this helps the community come together and livens up people’s physical spaces,” she said. “There’s a lot to celebrate here.”
The WE Grow team sees this as just the beginning. The flowering plants distributed in September are intended to spark longer-term improvements, with new community gardens already emerging as a direct result of the launch. The graduates hope future phases will include street art and other creative enhancements for West Ealing.
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