About the project
Brandhall Eco Park is a new park, being created on the site of a former golf course in Sandwell. We have been working in collaboration with LDA Design and Sandwell Council to run a series of youth engagement workshops to better understand what the young people of Sandwell would like to see in this new park.
We initially engaged over 80 pupils aged 9 to 11 from two local schools across two workshops. Giving the pupils a brief of ‘woodland play’, we used natural materials, wooden blocks, corrugated card and coloured paper to enable the young designers to create 40 mini parks. These mini parks were then brought together to create one big installation.
Working with the same materials, a third workshop engaged a smaller group at Bleak House Youth Group. These designers focused on spaces for gathering for teenagers.
Some of the outcomes of the engagement sessions were: Creating parks with adventurous treetop play, with specific pieces of equipment like zip wires and monkey bars; designing spaces to gather that could be used by children, young people and adults; ensuring the park has new sports facilities that are integrated into the landscape.
