A Space 2 Grow Project Overview St Peters Community Garden Durham Diocese DAC March 5 th Email: [email protected]A Garden Blessing God of creation, we meet you here In colour and scent, texture and pattern, The humble perfection of all that grows. Out of our restlessness we come, To still our minds and open our senses to beauty. In your name we cherish the web of life, Light and shadow, bee and butterfly, The shy birds that return when we leave. Andy Raine - the Northumbria Community
Transcript
A Space 2 Grow Project Overview
St Peters Community Garden Durham Diocese DAC March 5th
God of creation, we meet you here In colour and scent, texture and pattern, The humble perfection of all that grows. Out of our restlessness we come, To still our minds and open our senses to beauty. In your name we cherish the web of life,
Light and shadow, bee and butterfly, The shy birds that return when we leave.
St Peters Church – The roads around it create a sense of it being an island of green between two communities (residents and university)
Residential area. And School The busy A1018 (Dame Dorothy Street) effectively separates residents from the church
A Space 2 Grow – Context Beginnings and Vision
For nearly 2 years a group from the parish of Monkwearmouth have faithfully met weekly for contemplative prayer that draws inspiration from the rich spiritual heritage of the site.
Out of this an idea grew to find a means of connecting the different local communities that geographically are very close but rarely would have contact with each other.
From this exploration came the concept of a community garden that would create an area of land where individuals from the university, parish and local residents could work together – A Space 2 Grow.
The Garden would combine both an area for quiet termed the prayer garden and an area for growing vegetables, herbs and fruit. Each area would reflect aspects of a monastic garden without necessarily trying to historically replicate a saxon garden. Each garden section could include information illustrating key facts about a typical monastic garden and its relation to the monastic lifestyle at that time. In addition each section could be used to inform and provoke thought about contemporary issues relating to food, the environment and wellbeing.
The location and communities of Monkwearmouth
The University of Sunderland St Peters Campus
The National Glass Centre
Community Garden
Residential area. And School
Proposed community garden siteNB Areas in pink denote council land
Consultation period
As the concept of a community garden took shape it became clear that local stakeholders would need to be involved in its development, so during 2013 a process of consultation and research was embarked upon.
This started with meetings with the parish, local clergy, university staff and students union, local residents, staff at Centre Point homelessness project, local councillors with links to residents groups and council staff overseeing the St Peters landscaping vision project. At each stage the projects concept and plans met with approval and support.
The social and educational merits of the project were recognised by the city council and it became part of the overall plans for the re-landscaping of St Peters.
Location
In discussions with the council a suitable site was identified within council owned land. It was seen to be suited for a number of reasons:
It is south facing and elevated area not thought to be archaeologically sensitive
A substantial stone wall along its side created shelter and separation from the church grounds
Its proximity to the road and footpath meant it could be fully accessible for wheelchair users
It is near to a route to the National Glass centre offering an additional point of interest to visitors walking between the two sites
Wall separating site from church grounds
The Garden Design Concept
Both the senior project manager Ian Parkin and landscape architect Kevin Johnson have been involved in the realisation of the concept based on initial sketches provided by Rob Hunt. In meetings the plans have been discussed with local stakeholders.
A
Initial sketch showing different areas of the garden based on typical areas found in a monastic garden:
Sacrista or Paradise – area of flowers used for adorning an alter Physic/ Herber - herb garden, a resource used for medicinal
treatments Kitchen Garden – food produced for sustaining the monks but also
providing hospitality Fruit trees – orchard Bees – located in an observation hive within the shed (used for wax,
honey and mead)Current Designs - CAD plans and technical drawings Sunderland City Council
Front fence and pergola
The fence will create a barrier but also a potential growing space for espalia fruit bushes
Trellis fence for prayer garden
Trellis
Trellis fence creates a
partition
Shed offers area for general use by volunteers, but also an observation hive as an
educational resource about pollination and the importance of bees
Rustic pergola entrance offering wheelchair
access
Composter
Raised beds for growing vegetables
(kitchen garden)
Fruit trees
Rustic Pergola Entrance and ‘hobbit
gate’
Greenhouse or poly tunnel offers extended growing season and activity on site
Prayer garden / contemplative space
Herber / Physic
Garden
between vegetable garden and prayer garden and is also used for creeping plants such as sweet pea and/or honey suckle.
Raised beds
Space 2 Grow - Project management and accountability
To ensure the project is both accountable and sustainable a constitution for the project was created and adopted by the projects working group on the 10th February 2014.
This constitution details the projects aims and objects as well as the group’s powers and processes by which decision are made.
The constitution requires that at least one representative of the parish and from the university are on the management committee
The next steps will be to put in place financial systems that will allow the group to raise funds for associated costs.
Currently the management committee currently has 8 members including:
Rob Hunt (acting chair and secretary)
Rev Paul Childs – curate to parish
Cllr Julia Jackson – local councillor
Adam Gawne - The student union environmental officer
Barbara Burdon – Bedes Bakehouse
Graham Jobes (acting treasurer)
Other members include 3 university staff
Partnerships
The project is developing partnerships and links with a range of local, regional and national groups and organisations:
Monkwearmouth Parish
Local residents groups
Students Union
A Rocha – Christian environmental organisation
Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens
Sunverland VCAS (Voluntary Community Action Service)
