People and Planters

Collaborating with Sandwell-based artists Bostin’ Arts, Green Roots Wednesbury aims to inspire people to consider and engage with the natural environment around them. Through the introduction of planters in the town centre, and workshops with local community groups, there have been opportunities for people to get involved with nature through planting and other creative activities.

As part of the first phase of the project, Karl Lewis of Bostin' Arts designed and constructed, with the help of volunteers from a group run by Ideal for All, bespoke planters for independent traders, shops and businesses in Wednesbury town centre including: the Ukrainian Sunflower Bistro, The Orchard Coffee Lounge, South Staffs Community Hub, O’Connells/The Eat Well Cafe, Sue’s Traditional Sweets, All Sorts, and Blue Sheep Books.

Following individual conversations with each shop and business owner about their preferences, a mix of wooden and metal planters have been made and placed on Union Street and at Market Place. We worked with local florist owner Bridget from O'Connells and her sister Vicky who is a horticulturalist, who provided the plants, as well as the plans for what was to be included in each planter; their invaluable advice and expertise means the planters will be full of life all year round, ensuring each local business and independent shop will benefit economically from this project. Together, Multistory, Bostin' Arts, Vicky and local volunteers helped plant-up the planters; to learn more about the planting day, click here.

Plants vary from flowers, herbs, vegetables and fruit trees, with an aim to reflect the businesses and bring more biodiversity to the streets of Wednesbury. With the planned introduction of more green spaces in the town centre through the Levelling Up fund, the planters will align with the goals to make the town a greener place.

Alongside the commissioning of planters, Bostin’ Arts delivered a series of workshops for three local community groups: Crafternoon, Way 2 Wellbeing and Centre for Oneness. The workshops have engaged with themes around greening, nature and memory, with activities like observational drawing of plants and seeds, creating natural dyes from vegetables, printing and small-scale planting. As well as art-making, we captured stories from members of the group about their experiences with nature and the environment. The work produced and stories captured from these workshops have been incorporated into a small booklet designed by Bostin' Arts artist Ruby. You can download the booklet via the link below.

GR-Wednesbury-People-and-Places-booklet