Connecting Roots and Future Hopes is a community led landscape regeneration project at The Burton that celebrates both the success of our past and sows seeds for the next 75 years. This project intends to deliver a holistic approach to the landscape design around our building by prioritising biodiversity, climate change, sustainability and community action, creating a natural ecosystem to protect and promote both habitat and species and health and wellbeing, and leave a landscape legacy for future generations to enjoy.
As a North Devon Biosphere Business Partner, The Burton at Bideford is committed to promoting the preservation of wildlife, habitats and landscape; facilitating knowledge exchange and supporting a better understanding of local and global climate change issues; and fostering a sustainable economy and society. We are a registered member of the Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC) with a view to becoming an active member as we measure our carbon emissions over the next 12 months, and we are working towards Carbon Literate Organisation certification following Carbon Literacy training earlier this year.
Key to the project is the connection between the planting scheme and a sense of place, rooting the design in The Burton’s heritage, as well as creating a sense of the people and places that will define our future, and providing a space where hope prevails.
Phase one of the project is nearly complete, which has involved the ground preparation and landscape design. All the excess soil has been removed around the building to expose the air bricks and a 200mm wide border back filled with stone, held back with gravel boards, has been installed around the whole perimeter of the building. This will keep the soil away from the brickwork, maintain air flow through the air bricks to ensure the building can breathe properly, and allow access to the walls so they can be repainted white. This prepared ground has created a blank canvas for us to ‘paint with plants’ over the coming months in phase two.
Phase 2 has commenced with Lizz Dobinson working on the planting scheme to identify the type and number of plants we intend to purchase. Lizz manages the Little Green Town, a community driven project formed in 2019 working across Bideford to create a town that is full of plants, edible crops for picking, flowers for wildlife and ultimately to bring people together, and share the joys of gardening .
The plants will be designed and purchased using a phased approach in sections that circumnavigate the building:
Area 1 – East – Pollinators (plants that attract bees, insects, butterflies)
Area 2 – North –Woodland (plants that cope with less sun and more shade such as ferns)
Area 3 – West – Structural (hardy planting that creates structure and form)
Area 4 – South – Forest School (planting to the area where our Art Box is sited to create a community outdoor learning and engagement area)
We’re aiming for Phase 2 to start soon and this will be funded by the Arts Council England Capital Project. The planting will be supported by the establishment of a Community Gardening Group that we are recruiting volunteers for – so if you would like to get your hands in the soil, meet new people and help make The Burton a greener and more beautiful place to visit then we would love to hear from you.
