NOTES FROM A SKETCHBOOK

DAY ONE: ENTERING THE STORY GARDEN

I was very excited about joining the Global Generation team for my year 10 work experience placement. Throughout my childhood I have been following the progress of each temporary garden, starting with The Skip Garden at the top of Kings Cross. Joining Global Generation (GG) was the first time I felt the importance of the beautiful Story Garden within Somers Town. The walk to the garden is surrounded by big urban sites, and hundreds of people rushing through Kings Cross stations, so walking into the Story Garden felt like entering a peaceful, quiet oasis, despite the buildings towering over it. I was immediately met with the colours and plants that were growing so abundantly across the site, and several families looking after their allotment plots which brought a strong sense of care into the garden. I felt very lucky to become part of the space and meet all of the gardeners and people who had clearly worked so hard on making the garden such a special place.

DAY TWO: SHAKE MAKING WITH JACK & NICK

My first task was making wooden shakes which are wooden walls and roof tiles, for a building on the new Triangle site. I was introduced to the shake makers, Jack and Nick, who taught me how to split logs into individual pieces ready to be made into shakes. They taught me how to use a draw knife and a workhorse bench. The shake making required a lot of skill and determination and as I hadn’t done carpentry like this before it took some perseverance to make my first shakes. Jack and Nick were so patient and eager to teach, they made a very positive environment in the woodwork area which made it a pleasure to go back and make more shakes and woodwork.

Above is a photograph of the wood that I helped split before they were made into shakes, Story Garden 17th July

DAY THREE: ROOTS AND SHOOTS AWAY DAY

Lunch at Roots and Shoots, A Garden on a Plate

On the third day of my placement, I was invited to join the GG team for their annual away day at Roots and Shoots in Vauxhall. I was interested to meet more members of the team, and there were a lot of new faces. Alice, Jack and Nick kindly introduced me to many other very nice, diverse people who worked in GG gardens across London. Seeing such a strong, enthusiastic team talk and work together on tasks such as picking apples and looking after the apple trees in the Roots and Shoots Garden was inspiring. What is really amazing about GG is that teamwork is given so much importance, which was evident in the conversations at the away day. It gave me a new perspective on how important it is to have a friendly, constructive workspace.

DAY FOUR: PAPER GARDEN

Wall of windows drawings, Paper Garden

An apple tree, Paper Garden

On Day 4 I travelled to the Paper Garden in Canada Water. There I helped with the children's workshops and watering the plants. I loved the buildings, with its multiple windows and the views out, so I made a series of drawings on the site to show them. The Paper Garden team were very welcoming and showed me around the unique garden.

DAY 5 & 6: DRAWINGS FROM THE GARDEN

Days 5 and 6 were spent working on the new Triangle site learning about earth building and making shakes.

Trees in planters surrounding creating a social space, Story Garden

DAY 7: STORY GARDEN BIRTHDAY PARTY

My final day coincided with the Story Gardens 5th birthday party, where local communities celebrated the garden and activities taking place such as a plant sale, live music and food that was shared, made by the Story Gardens chef. It was very nice to see what a big impact the garden has had on local communities since it opened 5 years ago, and I’m sure that the same atmosphere will be created on the Triangle site. 

A very big thankyou to Alice (Hardy) and to Connie, Emma, Jack, Karari, Lillie, Malaika, Nadire, Nick for making my first work experience both so happy and interesting.

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Notes from the Garden