The above image was taken when the Memorial Garden was in the process of being built.
Newham Council invites residents to the opening of a Covid Memorial Garden dedicated to those who lost their lives during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Memorial Garden will formally be opened in Plaistow Park on Monday, 3 April at 11:30 am.
Three years since the first lockdown was declared in March 2020, Newham Council are unveiling a memorial garden in Plaistow Park in honour of Newham’s residents who lost their lives during the pandemic and in recognition of the front-line services and volunteers who have been supporting Newham’s most vulnerable residents throughout.
Newham is one of the London boroughs most heavily impacted by covid-19 and tragically, 1,013 residents lost their lives to covid 19. We continue to offer their families support.
Throughout the pandemic more than 500 Covid-19 champions volunteered to support the Newham community by distributing advice and information across the borough, 655 volunteers participated in the #HelpNewham befriending initiative and 100 volunteered to become Vaccine Peer Supporters. A large number of food distribution schemes were set up across the borough with countless volunteers offering support to the most isolated members of the Newham community.
Designing the Memorial Garden
Jon Sheaff & Associates and Newham artist Matt Ponting (Doodling Around) have carefully designed Newham's Memorial Garden. Design workshops took place with residents from Plaistow Community Neighbourhood, who provided valuable input into the design concepts and identified features and design elements that they felt were important in creating a reflective and meaningful garden that all members of the community would be able to access and connect with.
The garden is a sensory space where visitors can explore sight, sound and touch; the space features different planting areas integrated with handcrafted artworks including three hand-carved timber totems specifically designed for the space. Each totem has a ‘touch trail’ engraved on its surface, inspired by conversations with residents who reflected on the impact of social isolation and the lack of physical contact with family and friends during lockdown periods.
Each of the totems represents a different theme identified through the community workshops: Support, Community and Regrowth.
A joint statement from Councillor Neil Wilson, Cabinet member for Health and Adult Social Care, and Councillor James Asser, Cabinet Member for Environment and Sustainable Transport said:
"We hope that the new Memorial Garden in Plaistow Park will be a place where those who lost loved ones during the pandemic will find solace. We offer our deepest sympathies to all our residents who are still living with the loss of their loved ones and acknowledge the pain of not being able to share final moments together.”
“We also hope that the garden will be a reminder of the unity and togetherness that Newham residents displayed throughout this time and continue to display today.”
“We offer our immense gratitude to the front-line workers who demonstrated an incredible show of strength and resilience and the extraordinary kindness and bravery of local people from all walks of life, who came together to support each other in a time of need.
“This memorial is a lasting tribute where all generations are invited to visit, sit, reflect and remember.”