http://worldpeacegardencamden.org/garden/
garden next to hampstead overground station
i have been to this garden a number of times as i knew someone living in the area and volunteered nearby at camden arts centre. upon viewing the website and other pages about the garden i hadn’t realised about the music and meditation events that happen there. i thought it was interesting that this space is not just open to the public as a garden but also has an ethos behind it of ‘what would contribute to world peace’. there is a list of patrons above and the garden has largely been created and maintained by volunteers of gardeners, landscapers and designers/artists. as seen in an account on the website by nick evans, volunteer, ‘I soon found there was so much more to it than just plain soil: the glass, concrete, pipes, cans, shoes, clothes, plastic bags, antique crisp packets and the occasional toilet seat I excavated were all indicators of an unloved patch which had suffered decades of neglect. By engaging with the ground in such a simple act as digging, you cannot help but ponder such subjects as human activity, for good or for bad,how it affects your immediate environment, the simple passage of time, and the impermanence of everything…I have enjoyed the many opportunities that working in the garden has provided for me to talk with my neighbours, or people in the community whom otherwise I would never meet, and for the simple pleasure of being able to raise a smile on a stranger’s face. And, to tell you the truth, I am not much concerned about the finer details of the way this garden will look and what the “user experience” might be, as long as the message for Peace comes across loud and clear.’ within a busy area, a place where you can be submerged in trees, plants and artworks seems all the more necessary and required. i think of how lucky i was to be living in the suburbs with a garden when the pandemic hit, planting vegetables and attempting to build my cat her own house, while my friends were in flats near caledonian road, where it felt risky to go outdoors due to too many people walking around, the biggest threat of the time. acknowledging how we fit into the environment felt all the more important; how important it is to have access to parts of the environment for sustenance and well being.
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