PEACE is set to flourish in Shaw thanks to a new garden being established at Dunwood Park.
The space for peace sits in Dunwood Park’s Railway Garden and is the brainchild of Shaw and Crompton Parish Council Peace Champion Cllr Angie Farrell.
It will form part of the community growing hub which was set up by Amanda Wright, owner of Café Mandels, and social enterprise Right Opportunities.
The Parish Council has committed to doing one project annually after taking the Pledge to Peace last year with Oldham Pledge to Peace Forum.
The peace garden will include a bench where people can sit to reflect, an arch over the top of the bench, and flowers that represent peace.
There will also be an outdoor oven where ‘pizzas for peace’ can be cooked and shared with friends.
Cllr Farrell said: “I thought this would be an ideal thing to do and something everyone can use all year around.
“People can come to sit and reflect on peace and things that are happening around the world as well as in their own lives.”
The garden will also feature a new Peace Pole kindly donated by Oldham Pledge to Peace Forum after the previous one in Dunwood Park was removed due to vandalism.
Richard Outram and Maria Ellis, from the Forum, delivered the Peace Pole, which is inscribed with ‘May Peace Prevail on Earth’ in English, German, Italian, Japanese, Arabic and Hebrew.
Elsewhere in the park, an ash tree stump will be turned into a peace sculpture and Maria and Richard have recently helped a panel select one of several designs submitted by students from the Oldham Sixth Form College.
Work is progressing on the garden over the summer and it will be officially opened in September as part of the annual Peace Day Celebrations.
The community growing hub offers a space for local people to volunteer growing fruit, vegetables and herbs as part of a borough-wide healthy eating programme.
The hub is open every Wednesday from 6.30pm when all are welcome to come down to volunteer, enjoy the space, walk around the labyrinth, and sit in the peace garden.
Anyone wishing to volunteer or offer donations for the peace garden can contact Cllr Angie Farrell: call 07789 716 097 or email: a.farrell70@ntlworld.com
Dear Reader,
Just to explain why the Peace Pole has May Peace Prevail on Earth in German, Italian, Japanese, Arabic and Hebrew, the Oldham Pledge to Peace Forum has links with other villages and towns working for peace around the world – Rickelrath in Germany / Mazara del Vallo, Pisa, Lari and Calatafimi-Segesta in Italy / Hiroshima in Japan, and Neve Shalom-Wahat al Salam [the Oasis of Peace] in Israel – and the languages displayed reflect those links.
Kind Regards Richard Outram, Secretary, The Oldham Pledge to Peace Forum
on the subject of closure i have offered to take on the lease with OMBC ,as for the vandalism this can only be sorted by a meaningful discussion with young people & getting them involved as so many times i hear them saying there is nothing to do but walk the streets after closures of most if not all social centres locally
Thank you Ian Freeman, that sounds great news. I will be happy to have a chat with you about the possibilities. I am going to help Cllr Angie Farrell & Richard Outram with setting up the Peace Garden. We are keen to get young people engaged in activities to encourage them to think about Peace & look after the parks facilities.
Maria Ellis
Founder & Chairperson of Peace Talks Oldham