We did it
On 25th December 2023 we successfully raised £4,461 ( + est. £202.50 Gift Aid ) with 58 supporters in 42 days

Through the construction of a Peace Garden, we aim to develop a culture of peace-building and conflict transformation among the participants

by Mark Birkett in Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

 New stretch target

Any extra money will be used to meet the full estimated costs of the project and kickstart new Peace Gardens across different communities. 


A Peace Garden for South Edinburgh

Help four charities grow in community and create a shared Peace Garden in south Edinburgh.  

Bridgend Community Farmhouse, in partnership with Multi Cultural Family Base, Home Link Family Support and Peace & Justice are planning a small Peace Garden developed with the local community for the benefit of people in Craigmillar, the Inch and the surrounding area.

This is a collaborative project. Our vision is to bring together a group of people from diverse backgrounds with a project that explores three questions: 

1) What does Peace mean for each of us?

2) How can we build a culture of peace locally, in Scotland and the wider world?

3) How can we have fun bringing people together, learning from each other?

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Through shared meals, open to anyone in the local community to attend, we are developing a core group who meet together to develop the peace garden.

We shall bring diverse interests, talents, and skills into the process to create something altogether new.  We welcome participation and are focused on the learning journey as much as the destination.

Each of us comes to this project from different backgrounds and with our own stories.  We have grown up in different countries, speak different languages, have different accents, come from different classes, and believe in different things. We are here to learn from each other's stories in a welcoming place. 

A new way to engage individuals young and old 

These are difficult times and the future is often scary.  Every day we hear stories of violence and conflict, both close to home and in other countries.  The chaos of the world demands that we come together for strength.

In creating the Peace Garden, we’ll create a new story - one that offers an alternative to violence.  We’ll explore and share skills in cooperation and connection.  This new story - like the Peace Garden - will be created with the project participants and will be grounded in a culture of peacebuilding and resolving conflict. 

Your donation will help realise our dream!

All the funds raised will be used to run a collaborative project running into 2024:

  • Paying for expert sessional staff already associated with the charities 

  • Horticultural design advice from people who know local growing conditions 

  • Travel and related expenses for volunteer participants 

  • Hire of community space and cost of simple shared meals

  • Hand tools to create the garden and leave with Bridgend to maintain it

  • Plants and shrubs to create a year-round display

  • If we raise enough funds we hope to install a Peace Pole too!

The Lasting Legacy

All four partner charities hope that this project will start a process of sharing good practices in growing skills in conflict resolution and peacebuilding.  

We shall start with a simple chat with participants to see how they sort out difficult situations - a baseline survey.

We shall then later evaluate how getting involved in creating the Peace Garden - discussing different ideas and working out ways forward - has built on both interpersonal and inter-community understanding.  

Peace & Justice will then publish some rules of thumb/tips and hints on how working together on something can help build community cohesion, develop friendship and improve understanding about the different lives people lead.  

With match funding from the Aviva Community Fund, your donation will be matched and help us even more!

£250 will give us £500 towards sessional workers to lead the programme

£100 will give us £200 to pay for installing a Peace Pole in the garden

£50 will give us £100 toward essential tools for the garden

£25 will give us £50 toward some of the planting for the garden

£10 will give us £20 to pay for refreshments for our volunteers.

Our project is being coordinated by Mark Birkett, Peacebuilding Coordinator at Peace & Justice - Building a Culture of Peace in Scotland (SC026864), along with Bridgend Farmhouse (SC048396),  Multi-Cultural Family Base (SC027644) and Home Link Family Support (SC001360).  

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We're grateful to Crowdfunder for hosting our appeal page.  If you'd like to help cover their costs, you can give a 'tip' when you donate; but this is optional.  You can choose not to tip, once you're on the payment page, by clicking 'other amount' under 'Optional tip' and entering £0.

Rewards

This project offers rewards in return for your donation.

£20 or more

Invitation to our Summer Garden Gathering

In the summer of 2024, the project will have a Garden Gathering to celebrate the creation of the Peace Garden. A pledge of £20 will get you an invitation to the event.

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