This was not about some nice cottage garden in Wiltshire, or the grand expanse outside a stately home, but rather an old factory. In Germany.
Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord is in North Rhine Westphalia. Judging by the photos of it now, it is hard to believe that in early 1985, this place was still a working ironworks.
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| One of the old bunkers converted into a garden (Wikimedia Commons) |
He even went as far as designing in the retention of all the polluted soils. Rather than excavating and replacing them, they were filled with plants that could achieve phytoremediation, that is, using plants called hyperaccumulators to clean the soil! Such plants include many from the mustard and cabbage family; the bioaccelerate, degrade or render harmless, many contaminants including heavy metals and organic pollutants.
The ironworks structures were turned into features of the park, and the site was divided into separate areas which were then joined together by a thread of pathways and waterways, using the old railway and sewage systems for guidance. The park opened in 1994, and now regularly gets around a million visitors a year. The Guardian newspaper, here in the UK, added it to its list of the ten most beautiful urban oases in the world.
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| The frames of the old ironworks buildings stand out, but have been softened as nature regains old ground (Wikimedia Commons) |
- Old ore bunkers turned into intimate spaces, such as alpine gardens.
- An old gas tank used as a massive pool for scuba divers.
- The old concrete walls retained for use by rock climbers.
- The middle of the steel mill is now the grand central piazza.
- The Casthouse has a high-ropes course set-up.
- The blast furnace has had a viewing tower added to it.
- For the kids - a massive tube slide goes through two of the bunkers; and there is also a children's farm and multiple play areas.
This is a great story about, in essence, recycling and reusing, but just on a grand scale. The sustainable impact of such a place is huge - no mass displacement of waste or polluted soil, not much virgin material added, hectares of new woodland and gardens, all wrapped up in something that has become a vital community resource.
But such an urban park is not the first, nor is it the only one - although it may be one of the more impressive ones.
And now, London is set to become the first so-called National Park City. The National Park City Foundation is a registered charity that has worked with the Salzburg Global Seminar and World Urban Parks to formulate a Universal Charter of National Park Cities - which aims to provide a framework and key principles to work by. The Charter says a National Park City is;
"A place, a vision and a city-wide community that is acting together to make life better for people, wildlife and nature. A defining feature is the widespread commitment to act so people, culture and nature work together to provide a better foundation for life.
It is a timely cultural choice, a commitment to a sense of place and way of life that sustains people and nature in cities and beyond.
People and cities around the world can draw from the goals, principles and aspirations of this Universal Charter for National Park Cities."
London launched this status with a festival last month, with 300 events across the city to help people with a 'free celebration of the great outdoors.' Dr Cecily Maller says of this initiative in London;
"In the past, cities have been considered impoverished forms of nature compared to places such as national parks, but this is changing."
This change is necessary, as the UN predicts that almost two-thirds of the world's population will live in cities by 2050. Other urban rewilding comes with 'wildlife gardening'; that is, removing some of the weed plants that choke native species, adding in water features, adding / retaining trees, and re-introducing more native species. This can create 'safe spots' for wildlife to survive in, such as the brush turkeys that returned to Brisbane in the 1970s, because residents planted the rainforest plants that they like. Maller adds;
"Research has shown that cities provide important habitats for a wide range of species, including those that might be endangered or under threat. We undervalue the richness of nature in urban areas by positioning nature and humanity as inherently separate."Research:
Transform Magazine: 'Into the wild' -May 2019
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