PRESS RELEASE: MAY 13, 2008
A “little Eden” symbolises hope in Kosovo
The planting of nearly 2,000 trees and shrubs in a park in Kosovo marks a symbolic moment in the healing of a community and the strengthening of ties with the UK.
The Eden Project has been working closely with the charity Manchester Aid to Kosovo (MaK) and local groups to create the Manchester Peace Park in Podujevo, a town still recovering from the conflict of a decade ago.
Eden’s landscape architect Jane Knight travelled to Kosovo to take delivery of the oaks, maples, ginkgos, hollies and several types of flowering trees.
With the help of a project team of 11 men from the Manchester area who all belong to the group 4 Mission and work with MaK, she led the planting of a tranquil grove within the 22-acre open space.
The peace park was the brainchild of ethnic Albanian cousins from Podujevo, Saranda, Fatos and Jehona Bogujevci, who were medically evacuated to the north of England after escaping with their lives from a massacre that killed eight members of their family and eight members of the Duriqi family in a back garden in their home town in 1999.
Recovering from terrible injuries, and inspired by Manchester’s parks and open spaces as meeting places for families and the community, the children proposed a park for their home town of 120,000 people, which until then had only over-used and poorly maintained open spaces.
The 22-acre site on the edge of the town was given over by the authorities on a long lease. Part of the land had been stripped of topsoil and lays adjacent to an unused railway, overlooked by a tall silo used as a snipers’ lookout. There was a sewerage problem from housing which had been built illegally nearby. The adjoining area of woodland had to be checked for unexploded shells and landmines.
Jane Knight first drew up her design for the park in 2004, working with the local community in Podujevo along with Eden’s artistic director Sue Hill, the team from MaK, and Vision of Peace, a group of young artists.
The park master plan, to be built by MaK over several years as funds were raised, was to create a place for the whole community to enjoy and meet. A woodland area has been cleaned up and trails constructed for running or strolling. Places for quiet reflection have been established, along with children’s play facilities and flower gardens. Picnic tables, chess tables, and bird boxes have all been added.
The Kosovo Ministry of the Environment has been greatly encouraged by this international collaboration and has contributed by paving a meeting and performance arena central to Jane’s design.
The local council, Podujevo Municipality, has minimal resources for all its public provision and is enthusiastically promoting the joint effort, with the mayor even working on site.
The latest chapter in the project, the planting of the trees, was funded by proceeds from a concert given by Manchester musicians Ian Brown and Badly Drawn Boy at the Eden Project three years ago.
Jane Knight, who recently returned from leading the week-long operation, said: “The planting of the trees and hedges was a great step forward in the progressive transformation of a desolate, open area into a park.
“The trees represent a long term legacy to the park and the community and many have been selected as reminders of those who have been lost.
“MaK have done amazing things to help this community and Eden has been only too pleased to help. This is a story of transformation and hope. The project has gone from strength to strength. It’s a huge human story of dedication to the place. The park is the focus of the renewal of the community. It is the best and most significant project I have ever been involved with.”
Pam Dawes, of MaK, said: “We are on course to complete the Peace Park ten years after the liberation of Kosovo in 1999. The Eden Project’s vision and practical support have got us to this exciting stage. It has been excellent to work with creative staff and horticulturalists and as the costs are being met through Manchester musicians performing at the Eden Sessions, this is a true collaboration, a real success story.
“The Eden Project workshop visits and residencies for MaK, Kosovar artists, political leaders and the Bogujevci children who inspired the project, have been highlights in all of our lives. We learnt such a lot working at the Eden Project during inspiring, happy days. We believe the Peace Park will encourage and inspire Kosovo as it moves into a new period in its history.”
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