After the summer, Knivsta's berry garden and sand bed were ready. Its central location, near the train station and right outside the Knivsta Center for Sports and Culture (CIK), making it accessible to many.
”The garden can become a gathering point for all ages,” says Jon Hulander, who is a cultural strategist at the municipality and has made the garden project a reality.
Susanne Loheman from the Upplandsbygd board and I, My Sellberg from the office, visited the project on a grey day in early November. Jon has his workplace at CIK and took us on a short tour inside first. The five-year-old building is full of artwork, large sports halls and a stage. Here, art and sports come together under the same roof, framed in pine. Jon says that the focus has primarily been on designing the indoor environment and that the outdoor environment has been more standard and consists mostly of parking spaces.
”This project is a way to create qualities in the outdoor environment and strengthen biodiversity in a place that was a biological desert,” explains Jon.
The garden is also an example of what can be done when more people are involved. The local association Knivsta trädgårdsällskap designed the garden and has its own growing bed that they look after. The county administrative board arranged a course in fence construction where they built the fence on site. Young people working in the summer collaborated with artists to design and build the seating areas. They are built in the experimental material ”concrete canvas”, a type of concrete fabric, and in themselves create several nesting places for insects. The LEADER project financed the construction of the garden and the sand bed. The municipality has also contributed, for example, wood for the growing boxes. Raspberries, cherry and apple trees, mini kiwi, blueberry bushes, wild strawberries, rhubarb and various herbs now grow here. Several people are involved in the care of the garden: the property manager, the park management and the garden society. Jon and his colleagues are also involved and were out watering the growing beds this summer.
Jon says there is the possibility of expanding with more plants, tables and seating in the future. The season is over now, but in the spring there is potential for an accessible gathering point – along with flowers, berries and bees. Read more about the project here.
