In June 2023, UP Projects held a series of free walking tours around Edgware as part of our Edgware Centenary Programme that celebrated 100 Years of Station Road.
The walks took place during the London Festival of Architecture (LFA) and were led by practitioners who explored the LFA’s theme of “In Common”. The Walk Leaders looked to inspire grassroots activity in Edgware by highlighting inspiring examples of guerrilla greening and community-led activism, whilst raising awareness of forgotten public plots, green spaces and lesser-known walking routes across the neighbourhood.
Events
A Guerrilla Gardening Reconnaissance with Richard Reynolds
Friday 16 June, 16:30 – 18:00 BST | Start location: Stonegrove Community Trust, 5 Hayling Way, Edgware HA8 8BN
See Edgware through the eyes of guerrilla gardeners with Richard Reynolds! After a briefing at Stonegrove with images of transformations elsewhere, you will be taken on a walk through the neighbourhood to find public places with potential for more beauty, biodiversity and fun. You will be placing QR-coded pot plants along the walk to become living markers of intent for more permanent improvements. As well as looking for potential, you will be invited to pause and discuss how change might be initiated. The event will also include a chance to meet a local guerrilla gardener who since 2018 has adopted several patches around Edgware.
Neighbourhood Commons with Torange Khonsari
Sunday 18 June, 15:00 – 17:00 BST | Start location: Stonegrove Community Trust, 5 Hayling Way, Edgware HA8 8BN
Join designer and academic, Torange Khonsari as she explains and explores the notion and power of “commons” and “commoning” and the role they can play in community organising to bring about social change in their local neighbourhoods. Hosted at Stonegrove Community Trust, the workshop will discuss the opportunities and challenges of putting in place commons structures through a series of case studies before exploring how commoning could be applied to Edgware. The session will end by creating a walk that could re-enact the beating of the bounds in Barnet, a centuries-old tradition, which celebrates the town’s landmarks and creates a mental map of the town’s boundaries.
Re-enchanting the Edg[e]ware with Becky Lyon
Sunday 18 June, 17:30 – 19:00 BST | Start location: outside Edgware Underground Station
Join local artist and London National Park City ranger for Barnet, Becky Lyon, on an evening walk in Edgware. At first glance, the suburban high street might feel relatively nature-poor but how might we shift our attention differently in order to invite ecology to shimmer to the fore? You will explore how to recognise the signs of ecology in the margins, gaps and cracks and build your own magical relationships with your surroundings wherever you are. You will also follow parts of the “Let’s meet on the Edge” alternative walking trail developed for the London Festival of Architecture 2023 drawing attention to hidden layers as we go. This forms part of a two-part walking series by the artist.
