Transition Town Tooting

Tag: Refugees & Asylum

  • ‘Gardens of Refuge’: our new partnership project for 2017 with CARAS & The Grange. Vote for funding online through the Aviva Community Fund!

    “To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” (Audrey Hepburn)

    We are thrilled that Gardens of Refuge, our new partnership project plan has reached the final public voting stage of the Aviva Community Fund! The project is centred on the refugee and asylum-seeker community who are supported by the Tooting charity CARAS.

    Read the description of the project online here.

    For the future: bulbs for 2017

    Gardens of Refuge is listed under ‘CARAS’ on the Aviva Community Fund website.
    You’ll see that the project is all about growing the therapeutic benefits of gardening plus greening the community we share in Tooting.  
    And it’s about building ways to enable refugees to share their knowledge and skills locally to imagine and create a more beautiful neighbourhood as a legacy for all.

    Legacy: flourishing from 2015’s cuttings
    There are three partners in Gardens of Refuge:

    CARAS – with whom we have worked in depth for 18 months  on Rooting in Tooting.

    The Grange – a residential respite and permaculture centre in Norfolk who work with CARAS. Please see The Grange.

    & Transition Town Tooting

    As of today, the website is live for the public to vote for the projects they would like Aviva to support. 
    Voting is open until 18th November: but please don’t delay!
    Please vote and encourage Aviva to support Gardens of Refuge!  

    You have to register individually before you can vote: to register, please click here for the Aviva webpage
    Then search for CARAS or Gardens of Refuge to vote!

    Thank you so much for your support, 
    and please contact us by email if you have any queries.

  • Update on Border Control – Gold Medal garden at RHS Hampton Court Palace.

    On the 30th June CARAS Youth Club members travelled to the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show to help with the build of the Border Control Concept Garden. It was a fascinating visit – to see the TTT blog post, click here.
    Now the garden is finished and open to the public. The Youth Club paid a second visit this week to see it.

    In the past week there has been a lot of interest in Border Control. Although we don’t claim any responsibility we are thrilled…
    The garden won an RHS Gold Medal, and also won the Award for the best of the ten Concept Gardens. 
    We’re proud because taking a very small part in the garden has helped us spread the word about the reality of refugees’ experiences and helped us be confident that our Rooting in Tooting project with CARAS is valuable. The visit has given fascinating experiences for Youth Club members as a group about encountering new aspects of Britain, and created and opportunity for them to explore and communicate their own responses.

    The Evening Standard covered Border Control again yesterday, including an interview with one of the CARAS Youth Club members – you can read the article here

    Finally, there are a few free tickets available for the Hampton Court Show, for tomorrow (Sunday) – the last day.  
    These tickets have to be collected in Tooting today, Saturday 9th July, before 4pm.
    This is a very last minute-offer so excuse the rush – if you would like to have a ticket or two, email as soon as you can to TTT at transitiontowntooting@gmail.com and we will explain how to collect.
    Go and visit Border Control in person!

  • Rooting in Tooting project: CARAS Youth Club members explore ‘Border Control’ show garden at RHS Hampton Court Palace flower show

    For over a year TTT has been facilitating Rooting in Tooting project activities with diverse groups of all ages via the Tooting charity CARAS (Community Action for Refugees and Asylum-Seekers).

    Yesterday we accompanied a group from the CARAS Youth Club to explore the build of the Border Control show garden at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show which opens on 5 July.

    Not ‘herbaceous borders’…. the garden is aiming to illustrate the physical and emotional challenges and successes faced by refugees: goals, barriers, borders, setbacks, surprises, hopes and fears.

    The show garden is the creation of 2 designers Tom Massey and John Ward, and supported by the UN Refugee Agency. Thanks to you all for the hospitality and discussions!

    Photo: Paul Wu UNHCR

    The young people met Mark Tran from The Guardian, and here is a link so you can read his article published today, titled Hampton Court Palace flower show to highlight plight of refugees.

    There were many more human stories just in the short journey we made together yesterday. For some of the young people it was their first ever train trip. “Look how big the river is here…where does it come from?” The dozens of teams of contractors on site made us wonder “how do they all know what to do..?”

    At the security gate we filled in forms and collected wrist ID along with our high-vis vests and brand new safety boots (thanks to Chris at the RHS, to Tom and Mark and to Laura from UNHCR for sorting all that out).


    We gazed thorough another fence at the semi-wild deer living in the park. In a preview of the butterfly dome, the free-flying insects settled on our shoulders and on the lantana flowers: “we have that plant everywhere in Afghanistan”.

    The build will be completed this weekend (it has to be) and on show all next week. The CARAS Youth Club will go again to see the finished garden. Maybe there will be other local visitors from Growing Tooting grow-your-own classes.
    Do visit Border Control & say you’re connected with TTT and our optimistic work with partners in Tooting.

    It’s the largest flower show in the world – have an eye-opening trip if you go!

  • Rooting in Tooting update: TTT’s project with local refugees and asylum-seekers

    We’d like to update you on the Rooting in Tooting project: TTT’s joint project with the Tooting charity CARAS (Community Action for Refugees and Asylum-Seekers).

    In our past blog posts (view them here) we’ve outlined that we have a year of diverse activities planned with CARAS.

    Participant groups include the CARAS Youth Club and After-School Club, with families and the Women’s Group still to come.

    The project purpose?
    Threefold – to help develop teamworking and relationships while enjoying new activities, to help develop language and communication skills, and to help participants feel that they are joining in with the local community.
    We’re so proud that CARAS won a Team Community Hero award at the Balham and Tooting Community Association annual celebration of local contributions on December 10th.

    Working with the Youth Club
    This is the group with whom we did the pilot project in spring – and it’s typical of working in the refugee setting that the individuals and participant numbers have been changing all the time.

    In one session we were making models of the rain-fed growing planters that we hope to build for real outdoors – a fun and focused session with a dozen young people.

    In another session two dozen young people carved pumpkins, and in another we did more screenprinting using local photos of Tooting scenes. That day one or two lads were on still in their first few days in England…others translated and helped them join in.

    What else?
    We’ve embarked on measuring and preparing timber for some of the outdoor planter construction projects that will turn into flourishing gardens in the spring.

    In December we did a mighty evening session printing 70 cloth bags with nearly 30 young people and volunters, again using local leaves as stencils.  These bags went home as presents over the holiday season, and many others were exchanged for a donation to CARAS.

    The Youth Club designed and printed many different bags!

    Working with the After-School Clubs
    In November and December we joined the clubs, in four age groups from 4 to 11 yrs old. We designed and screenprinted cloth bags with each child, using local leaves as the stencils (..’rooting in Tooting’..!)

    The children were great – and hats off to their energy to join in until 7:30 on mostly wet Monday evenings after full days at school.

    What’s next?
    We continue with the plans and preparation for building flower and vegetable beds, and we’re developing a new strand: designing and making a mural for the site. We have the Women’s Group and family groups to meet. We’ll be planting, growing and harvesting with the 2016 Tooting Foodival in mind.
    The reality is that our project approach has to be very flexible and responsive…we’re learning about the best approaches, all the time.
    In parallel the participants have other activities – for example the Youth Club have support for their college studies and they cook and enjoy meals together. They are taking part in games and training to explore stress, sleeping well, and keeping fit – all those as part of CARAS’ own Happy Future Project.

    Who is supporting Rooting in Tooting?
    People like you! We’re all keen to learn and contribute to alleviating a global challenge that we can work with on our doorstep – thanks so much to all who have volunteered so far.
    In the spirit of flexibility and responding to change, we’re a group of a dozen – some of us do a lot of other things with TTT, some join just this project. We’re never all there at once; some do more time and some do less and we have a mix of skills.
    This has worked out well so far – and if you are reading this and feel you would like to contribute, please get in touch with Charles or Jenny by email at transitiontowntooting@gmail.com

    We’re very grateful for funding and materials from the Royal Horticultural Society’s ‘Greening Grey Britain’ campaign and from the Sir Walter St John Educational Charity.
    Further support is welcome!
    Thanks to all – Charles

  • Exploring facilitation choices for our ‘Rooting in Tooting’ project with asylum-seekers and refugees

    Our new ‘Rooting in Tooting’ project has been developed with the Tooting charity CARAS (Community Action for Refugees and Asylum-Seekers). We’ve written two posts so far, please scroll down this blog to read them. You’ll see that our pilot project in May and June was enjoyable and positive. 

    For Those in Peril on the Sea – Hew Locke

    Quiz question A: what percentage of the migrants who have come to Europe so far in 2015 have reached Calais? 1%, 4%, 8%, 15%? Answer is at the end of the post.

    On Sept 1st, 11 of us gathered at CARAS for an orientation hosted by the charity team. 
    Against a background of dramatic media coverage, our intention was to understand just a bit more about the ‘whys, whats and hows’ for refugees and asylum-seekers, and the experiences of the young people and families with whom CARAS works.

    We know a lot about the activities we are going to do offer: growing and gardening and improving biodiversity at the CARAS office, creative projects, telling the Rooting in Tooting story over the next year, and exploring low-carbon living. 
    We’re not familiar with the reality of life for refugees now. 

    • How should we offer activities so that they are meaningful to participants, and so that we share them in an appropriate way? 
    Rug People – Paloma Varga Weisz

    A 2-hour discussion on this topic had to be very selective, and we take our TTT hats off to Eleanor and Molly as guides. 
    Thank you for your preparation and care, and thoughtful, challenging comments.

      Quiz question B: What was the country of origin for the largest number of unaccompanied children entering the UK so far in 2015?  
      Afghanistan; Eritrea; Albania; Syria? Answer is at the end of the post.

      Three of the topics that we discussed:

      1. Refugees and asylum-seekers have been repeatedly processed and questioned…of course those are the steps for coming to an agreement about official leave to stay in the UK. 

      • To balance that experience in our activities: we’ll ask for and trust that individuals have skills and that they can teach each other; we’ll tackle things together rather than directing.We’ll let participants volunteer what they want to tell us.
      The Folkestone Mermaid – Cornelia Parker

      2. Unaccompanied teenagers are resilient and ambitious, not passive. They have crossed many countries (at CARAS 18 home countries are represented), and weathered many setbacks (the ones that make it). Asked in youth club discussions about their ideal futures, they want to give something back – for example become a teacher, or a pharmacist. “In many ways they are the alpha children of the world”, and they deserve respect. 

      • We’re encouraged not to shy away from new vocabulary that can be stretching and thought-provoking. We’ll explain specialist and unfamiliar language.

      3. What is going well in the UK for refugees? The UK system sees teenage unaccompanied asylum seekers as ‘children first’ and provides a range of services to support them, so that as far as possible they can experience life like other teenagers locally – with everyday choices, opportunities, and challenges. 

      Public Works – Folkestonomy

      These approaches are role models for other countries.

      • We’ll try and reflect the atmosphere in the youth club, which “feels like a group of people having a nice time together”.   We’ll encourage putting down roots.

      All the photos are taken at Folkestone Sculpture Triennial shows 2008-2014, which included themes of dislocation and distant travel in the setting of a derelict Channel port railhead. 
      And the two quiz answers? Question A: 1%. Question B: Albania.

      Please contact TTT if you would like to discuss or contribute to this project. – Charles

    • Young people’s garden project leads to Rooting in Tooting

      If you’ve walked past the Derinton Community Centre in Tooting recently, you may have noticed vibrant yellow planters bursting with colourful flowers, where rubbish used to reside, and young people sitting on bright benches doing their homework.

      Those young people, who attend the CARAS youth club on the site, worked with a team from Transition Town Tooting to build the planters and the benches and paint them over a number of weeks. They sowed seeds early on in the project and also chose plants that now grow there, during a visit to Share Community Garden

      The project came about after the youth club made a visit to Tooting Community Garden.  This led to the idea of the teenagers creating an urban garden on-site over eight weekly Saturday sessions.

      “Before this, I didn’t know how to plant and grow plants, but I learned how, and I enjoyed making the planter too”, said Waseem, one of the young people who transformed the space.

      CARAS (previously Klevis Kola) is a community based organisation working with refugees and asylum seekers.  The gardening project was developed with the young people, encouraging teamwork and communication, developing and practicing new skills and meeting new people in the wider community.

      Jenny Teasdale, who coordinated Transition Town Tooting’s involvement said,

      “Working with these young people over the last couple of months has been wonderful. Together, we imagined the possibilities of an urban garden, creating a mood board of ideas, and then we made some of those ideas a reality.

      Everyone planted seeds in the first few weeks and the kids tended them throughout, watching sunflowers, beans and salad leaves growing, ready to be planted out in the final weeks. With wooden materials from the community garden, the kids cut, assembled and painted planters and benches – making design decisions on the fly and developing new skills along the way. As a group, we decided what plants to grow and where to site what we built.

      I know I wasn’t the only person sad to see the project come to an end, having enjoyed every second of the process. At the same time, we are all really happy to see the transformation in just two short months.”

      CARAS Youth Coordinator, Molly Abraham spoke about the project,

      “The gardening project with TTT has been a fantastic opportunity for young people who attend CARAS to gain skills, share knowledge and create something we are all extremely proud of.  It’s been amazing to watch the group grow in confidence as they became proficient with drills, saws and secateurs, and to relax into sharing stories of growing in their home countries.  Working with the wonderful team from TTT has been a real pleasure for all of us and we are excited to be able to develop the work, and the friendships, over the coming year.”

      “We painted the pallet planter and the yellow planter, and I sowed flowers and beans. They’re still growing”, said Hafso, shown here painting.

      Spurred on by the development of the space and the enthusiasm of the youth group, we are delighted to announce that CARAS and Transition Town Tooting are now working in partnership with the RHS over the next year, running monthly sessions with the youth club and adults at CARAS.

      The new project is called Rooting in Tooting, and is part of the RHS’s Greening Grey Britain scheme. We’ll be developing more flourishing, attractive growing ideas that will transform the site.  This practical, experiential project is just one of the ways CARAS is helping newly-arrived people to integrate into the vibrant community of Tooting.

      Chris Young from the RHS led a session with the youth group last Saturday:

      “I was very excited to make my first practical visit to the CARAS youth club, and had a great afternoon working with the youth club members and volunteers. We started by talking about our project to grow plants in various spaces surrounding the centre and then looked at propagating some herbs that could be used later on.
       
      I gave a quick demonstration of how to take cuttings from the plants I’d brought and then everyone got stuck in and had a go.We finished up by extracting seeds from dry seed heads and sorting them into origami seed packets we’d made earlier.

      Everybody was incredibly helpful, enthusiastic and welcoming. I was also impressed that some of the young people knew the plants I brought and told me about how and where they grow in their home countries.Fingers crossed that the cuttings root!
       
      Looking forward to my next visit for the community fun day on Saturday where we’ll set up stand for the project .”

      We’ll be promoting the new project at the CARAS Family Fun Day on Saturday, 22nd August.