‘Webster’s Triangle: Herbs for Picton’

We live in a housing regeneration area called the Webster Triangle, situated in Picton, one of the poorest wards in Liverpool. A number of us who live here have formed ‘Webster’s Triangle’ – a group who want to create a new perception of the area by taking direct, visually recognisable action such as holding community events and making public spaces greener. For 2020 we want to create a herb garden at the entrance of the Webster Triangle. The herb garden will be around the perimeter of a car-park that sits on the corner of Garrick Street and along Smithdown Road. We have permission from the owner to line the sides of the site. Located on the busy thoroughfare of Smithdown Road, the herb garden will be visible and accessible the many pedestrians that walk each day on their way to schools, supermarkets and the city centre. The garden would be a green statement on what is possible to achieve without necessarily relying on old economic models that leave a large carbon footprint, such as supermarkets. The garden would also contain some fruit and vegetables and would serve as a tactile and educational benefit to the children who walk through. We have already seen a positive response to our smaller ‘pavement-garden’ that we implemented last year. As with this smaller garden, our herb garden would be made from upcycled materials such as the many pallets that are left in the area. Changes that we’ve seen from the trial of our smaller garden include a reduction in littering and fly-tipping in the area, as well as making the area greener - which has been shown in studies to improve mental well-being and reduce anti-social behaviour. We believe the main road would make a statement about the Climate Emergency and how we can each contribute to making shared local spaces greener. The majority of the work to implement the Herbs for Picton Garden would be done at our monthly community events.

Funded by Liverpool (January 2020)