In January, over 8,000 representatives gathered for a major event focused on collaboration and growth, with sessions exploring new advancements in technology. To offer attendees a moment of respite amidst the information overload, a calming garden space was created, transforming the bustling venue into an oasis of tranquillity.
The serene space was filled with real trees, shrubs and plants to make an oasis to be enveloped in, with a small interactive feature for anyone who wanted to take part. Delegates were invited to pick up recycled and repurposed flowers and leaves, and plant them in the garden as part of a pledge to support the environment and local communities.
The 2,450 repurposed creations that adorned the garden were crafted and constructed by three organisations—a charity, a social enterprise, and a campaign designed to achieve Net Zero. Each piece held a unique story, showcasing the creativity and dedication of groups working to make a positive impact while helping the event become more sustainable. These organisations were compensated for their work, ensuring that their efforts benefited not only people and the planet but also supported their ongoing missions financially.
Wooden Leaves
Round and maple leaves created by a community group supporting men’s mental health.
Remo, a social enterprise and charity, creates opportunities for people and the planet through the reuse, recycling or remanufacturing of resources. They believe that accessing home essentials and creative opportunities doesn’t need to cost the earth. For almost 20 years, they have been on the frontline of rescuing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling materials to create sustainable, useful and creative products and services.
Remo made their allocation of wooden flowers using reclaimed wood and an onsite laser cutting machine, which enables them to create numerous pieces using a set template.
Plastic Flowers
Plastic poppies and bottle top daisies made by a community art and DIY space made from only recycled materials.
Wiltshire Scrapstore is an award-winning environmental and community charity situated on the outskirts of Lacock. They collect resources that would otherwise go to landfill and redistribute them for creative activities and projects. They encourage the community to come together through a series of events and workshops, one of which created these beautiful bottle flowers for the event.
Paper flowers
Donated by Barnet Council after their use on the New Year’s Day parade float as part of their sustainability campaign and were made entirely out of paper.
Barnet Council launched their borough-wide campaign “BarNet Zero” in January to become one of London’s most sustainable boroughs. It is designed to bring residents, communities and businesses on the borough’s journey to Net Zero, through advice, information and support.
As part of their launch, they demonstrated their initiative at the London New Year’s Day Parade, in the form of a float decorated with paper leaves and flowers. Here the councils have the chance to enter into the Borough’s Competition, competing for a share of the big charity cash prize of up to ₤50,000.
To encourage their initiative, the paper flowers were donated to be part of this event.
The story doesn't end there…
Working with Event Cycle to commission charitable organisations to create the flowers and leaves also meant the decorations would go on to have an onward life after the event was done. It’s not our nature to waste materials and it wasn’t in their clients either.
Five different organisations benefited from the donated leaves and flowers which were put to even more creative uses.
The Belton Preschool Playgroup used the 333 wooden leaves to paint on. The children they look after decorated the leaves and displayed them outside the building as well as using them to decorate their church in the spring.
Chiltern Music Academy are using the wooden pieces they received to decorate their themed parties which provide musical opportunities to children between the ages of 4-18 years old.
A parent association supporting Friends of Hanover Primary School Islington are taking the wooden leaves to be used as part of art projects they put on for students at the school
“We are an amateur theatre group who produce scenery and props for other groups across the Northwest. We ask for small rental charges for our items which contribute to our charity running costs. The flowers will fill a gap as we are always being asked for flower displays by groups. Our team of volunteers will use the flowers to create stunning arrangements.” Junction 4 Productions
Shaftesbury High School is a Secondary SEND (Special Education Needs and Disabilities) school which will be using the paper flowers to make a Spring Time display together with pupils' drawings of the animals and birds they see at this time of year. The wooden leaves will be used to make rubbings from, printed from, or to be drawn around. Pupils could also decorate the wooden flowers and glue them to wooden bases, to be given as gifts.
For the Performing Arts the flowers present a wonderful opportunity to add depth and visual imagery to the various sets that will be used during performance in Term 2 and Term 3. This includes in class performance, assemblies, and grander production pieces. The flowers will be of particular use for the Spring Musical and Dance Festival. The flowers will be an integral part of the scenery and set in keeping with the floral season.
Each repurposed flower and leaf, having served its purpose at the event, embarked on a new journey, enriching educational and creative endeavours across various communities. In this way, the event not only fostered innovation and collaboration among its attendees but also extended its impact beyond the walls, leaving a lasting legacy of environmental consciousness, community support and sustainable practices.
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