East London Peace Garden
This was a joint programme between The Earth Champions® Foundation, Catalyst in Communities and Ainslie Wood School.
The project
This was a joint programme between The Earth Champions® Foundation, Catalyst in Communities and Ainslie Wood School.
The Programme worked with the 60 Year 5 pupils. It included a mixture of therapeutic sessions, skills and hands on gardening. The group received sessions from a range of expert trainers in classes such as organic food growing, garden design, mindfulness, a trip to Kew Gardens and took part in a week long ‘Resolve’ Peace course.
The 60 children come from 18 different cultures and backgrounds.
Many of the children do not have their own gardens or balconies so this was a great opportunity for them to learn how to garden and get into nature. The area of Ainslie Wood itself has a high rate of Child Protection cases and has had several high profile media stories of potential terrorists growing up in the area and so the project supports children with a range of social and emotional issues as a result.
The creation of a Peace Garden is a wonderful space for the children to converse with each other and to enjoy nature. The Garden has been redesigned with the support of pupils, parents, friends and the community and created a space which the children can use every day.
