West Hendon‘s Urban Tree Festival
West Hendon, situated at the junction of the A1, M1, North Circular, A5 and A41, is not known for its urban trees. Rather, motorists, impatient to keep the momentum of their journey, speed by. Those thwarted by roadworks and forced to grind to a halt are unlikely to see many trees. More likely is litter, bus stops, construction work of all types and bedraggled retail outlets.
It’s forgettable place, but behind the drabness, people, enthusiasm, and vision live there. The vision is that West Hendon, situated close to the Welsh Harp reservoir, becomes somewhere where people want to feel they belong and where they can live, and thrive, in a safe and pleasant environment. Barnet Council is putting money, murals, and meetings into birthing this vision. So there’s support and intention there.
To take this further, local people with enthusiasm are essential. Here’s where the newly formed West Hendon Arts and Culture Society steps forward. We started in February this year with a plan to run one community evening event a month from March. The aim of these is to ‘Bring joy. Bridge cultures. Gel communities. Give understanding of different cultures.’
West Hendon is a culturally diverse. 41% of the population was born in the UK and multiple countries and ethnicities are represented. There is a lot of rented accommodation and a fairly transient population.
To attract the broadest possible range of residents we planned themed events: March was St Patrick’s Day, April was Eid, May was the Urban Tree Festival, June is to be the Summer Solstice. A core team of 6 people, who’ve never worked together before, are forming, storming and (almost) norming and performing to get the events launched.
Fast forward, to the Urban Tree Festival on 17 May. It took place outdoors on what is grandly referred to as ‘The Plaza’ but which is a pedestrian-only short street flanked by 2 10-story blocks of flats, between the Co-op Supermarket and Double Seal Frames. (No trees on it – but we live in hope, and perhaps action).
Because our neighbourhood is extreme urban, not trees, the event was less about trees and more about the natural environment and sustainability. Our eco show-and-tell champion raised a wonderful turnout of 12 stallholders to come with info, samples, plant swaps, seeds, and other enticements to encourage interaction and learning.
Stalls included Barnet’s Tiny Forest Team who are turning Henley’s Corner on the North Circular into a small pocket of quality green space for benefit of people and wildlife. London National Park City, a grassroots movement for people making our city greener, healthier and wilder, NW7 Foodbank Community Garden, and Friends of the Earth.
Stallholders
Creating additional buzz were the 250+ adults and children who came along. As well as cruising the stalls some were planting up terrariums in an activity workshop, other making chalk drawings on the pavement, and throughout convivially chatting over local restaurant, Paro’s, delicious pizza. Aiding the event, weather held good and the jazz duet provided great music for the duration of the evening.
The feedback was heart-warming, typical was, ‘We all felt it was a really great event,’ and ‘I was there. It felt like it was a huge success!!!’ The eco champion reported, ‘The stall holders were very happy with the footfall, we managed to have loads of meaningful conversations about nature, climate change and sustainability. We definitely achieved our purpose, we are truly happy and had a great time.’ And Barnet Council tweeted ‘It was a great event with stalls showcasing their environmentally friendly products and live music!