Green Spaces Project of
the Month
July
2003 - Story Garden,
East London
Contact:
Vick Cave, Creative Director
Tel. 0208 536 5542, General enquiries 020
8536 5555
“Once upon a time, there was a
piece of waste land in East London. It
was contaminated with chemicals, and was
a dump for old bicycles, sofas and
fridges. Now it's the Discover Story
Garden for 2-7 year old children.”
Discover asked local children what
they would like to see in a play garden,
and they said they wanted a monster with
a tongue you could slide down. They
wanted a free play space where they could
express themselves and let their
imaginations run wild. Their Mums wanted
a learning environment where the children
could develop ideas and improve their
communication skills – important
because there are over 100 community
languages spoken among the children in
Stratford. So sculptor Andy Frost and
landscape designer Vanessa Barker worked
with local school children and volunteers
to design and create a garden to make
these dreams come true. The Story Garden
is open every day except term-time
Mondays, it's free, young children and
their families are very welcome, and
there are people called Story Builders to
help kids explore ideas, act them out and
have great fun!
Benjamin Zephaniah, poet, local
resident and Patron of Discover, says
that “providing time and space for
children to use their imagination cannot
be overestimated. Discover offers real
benefits.” This is the story of how
Discover consulted with its ethnically
diverse constituency to create the kind
of green space young people and their
families really want to share.
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