Welcome!

Hello! Welcome to Stirchley Thought Exchange's blog space! This is an environmental art project that aims to gather the stories of residents and plants affected by physical changes in their environment.

Garden plants saved from Stirchley's derelict sites will be given back to the community through 'thought exchange' events - where residents and visitors to the area can take a plant and its story, and add their own story of their experience of the ever changing Stirchley, for others to take away. The ultimate idea is that members of the community can re-house a plant that otherwise may have been bulldozed or sprayed with weedkiller along with the rest of the overgrown gardens and car parks of dilapidated buildings around the area. They also can take away a thought from someone else; a response to these changes, or a thought for the future.

I have lots of plans of how this project can develop and flow, but am interested in hearing ideas - for example, I hope to contact the local school and think about taking a session with a story telling approach - looking at the lives and emotions of these plants, who have been uprooted from their surroundings, and how they might look forward to growing in someone else's garden; and how this reflects the thoughts of the buildings and people around us - our sense of community, and sense of place. If there is anyone who uses story telling as an art form who is interested in helping to develop this, then please let me know! I am also interested in working with local shops too, so there is much work to do and many contacts to make.

I hope to update this blog with progress on this project, and stories from the rescued plants... notes from my walks around the area as I see new patches containing plants of interest. As the project progresses I too will learn so much more about horticulture and understanding plants, and get to know my local area in a very different light.