Following an award of a Winston Churchill Travel Fellowship 2016, I travelled to Germany, Canada and the US to explore innovative participation in public urban green space in 2016. The research crossed over areas of interest and work: social arts, urban green space, people and nature.
My research focused on urban parks and green space in relation to public engagement through social arts practice, design and planning, urban farming and gardening; I visited projects in Berlin in June 2016, and Vancouver Canada and Portland US in September and October.
Read and download my research report from the WCMT site.
At the time of the Fellowship, alongside my work as an artist, I was working as the Community Projects Manager for the South West London Environment Network supporting friends of parks groups, producing partnership biodiversity projects and nature focused events. A supporter of the early work of London to be the world’s first National Park City, I was part of the London Friends of Green Spaces Network. Returning to live in the Somerset, I worked as the Community Ranger at the Heritage Lottery funded Sydney Gardens park restoration project.
Watch a video introducing the research:
Posts on this blog documenting my visits to the parks, green spaces, projects and organisations:
Berlin – June 2016:
Impossible Forest – Jared Gradinger’s garden at UferStudios, Wedding
Princezzinnen Garten – urban commons, learning and growing
Langer Tag der StadtNatur – The Long Day of Nature
Intercultural Gardens & Urban Farming
Vancouver, Canada – September 2016
Iris Film Collective at the Falaise Park Fieldhouse – a meeting with Lisa G
Artists in Fieldhouses Programme – an interview with arts programmers Cyndy Chwelos and Danita Noyes, Vancouver Park Board
Moon Festival at Renfrew Ravine and Park and the return of the Salmon – a conversation with Carmen Rosen about environmental action and the arts
Mr Fire-man at the Maclean Park Fieldhouse – a Tuesday night wood carving
Bike Power at Hadden Park Fieldhouse – bike inspired making with Publik Secrets
The Bird Project, Queen Elizabeth Fieldhouse, Vancouver – a meeting with Jesse Garbe
Portland, Oregon, USA – October 2016
Psst – a Portland State University Social Practice presentation and discussion about public urban green space
Creek College – an art – environment education programme
‘Hard’ Parks in Portland – Pioneer Courthouse Square:
Houseguest – an artist residency in an urban park
City Repair – a meeting at Sunnyside Paizza
Portland Ecologists Unite! – a presentation and a conversation
Signal Fire – UnWalking the West
A list of other organisations and individuals relevant to my research in Portland, Oregon.
Sue Palmer - artist, maker, producer 