This activity was looking at the heritage of Mary Seacole Housing Association and the timeline of the organisation over the years. Participants have been creating a heritage vegetable patch at the back of the garden at Seacole House and an area where people can learn about the heritage of the organisation. The plan was to create a relaxing space where people can visit and enjoy the area.
The target group for this activity was a group of university students who came from Oral Roberts University in America and Mary Seacole’s residents. This session also aimed to and was successful in building new healthy relationships, encourage conversations on heritage, teach new skills and life skills that participants can use on a day-to-day basis.
For the first part of the day the participants cleared all the rubbish from the garden and then went on to cut the grass, cut back bushes and clear all the weeds. Mary Seacole staff then spoke about Mary Seacole and outlined her life story. Mary Seacole staff then went on to give them information on the heritage of Mary Seacole Housing Association and the development over the years.
For the second part of the day the participants brushed down all areas of the garden and broke down all bush’s cuttings. They then went on to prepare the vegetable beds and started planting their vegetables.
Over the next few weeks, we will be working on making the signs that will be placed around the garden to outline the heritage of Mary Seacole Housing Association.
A Day In The Garden
Heritage Through Art Day
This month, the Let’s Not Forget project has focused on heritage through art. We have been working alongside Sophie Gresswell, who is a local artist. We have contacted community groups and invited them to get involved in art sessions to create pieces of work that show old and new heritage.
The first session we held was at the Luton Irish Forum, this session was highly successful, and we had a great turnout of participants, who were all excited to be involved. We used old and new images to create a collage of pieces representing different eras in history. Then participants put them together creating unique pieces of art, that will be used throughout our heritage project. The session went really well, and we had the opportunity to talk to participants about their heritage and share stories and experiences.
Feedback from participants was that they really enjoyed this session. It gave them the opportunity to talk about their history, get involved in creating art, remember and share their heritage and meet new people.
We plan to do two more art workshops over the next month with children and some of the residents at The Mary Seacole Housing Association.
Head back over to the main page to look at other months for this project.
This project has been made possible by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thank you, lottery players and grant funders for taking part in making this project happen.