It may be cheap and cheerful, but a picnic bench can give people a personal stake in an outdoor space, argues Emily Mangles
A park bench is for reading a book, resting halfway up a hill, or contemplating the view. A picnic table, meanwhile, can be the place for a meeting, a spot to host a party, or even just somewhere to eat your lunch with relative ease and comfort. More than this, they can involve a community in their space and give them a personal stake in it. If this sounds like fanciful, highfalutin stuff, then let me tell you about one picnic bench in particular.
One day a picnic table appeared outside Pembroke House, a community space in Walworth, south London. It had been left over from a nearby party which had spilled onto the grass outside. Mike Wilson, Pembroke House’s manager, tells me that shortly after the table arrived, things began to happen: “Dog walkers who had passed each other every day without speaking started to sit down at the table for a chat. People waiting for events in Pembroke House to start would sit down to wait together.” After seeing what a difference it made, the bench’s original owner decided to leave it there for everyone to use.
Continue reading...from Gardening blog | The Guardian http://ift.tt/2to6w9I
No comments:
Post a Comment